Fran Payne / FMP Pro-Forma

Student Name: Francesca Payne Email: francesca.payne@googlemail.com


1. Project Summary
Working with Rock Events to develop and implement the visual identity for the high-profile Collars & Cuffs Charity Ball in aid of Battersea Dogs & Cats Home.

2. Context
Rock Events have been employed by Battersea to stage a fundraising event on a massive scale to raise awareness of the home, which is currently full to capacity with a further 400 homeless animals at an ‘overflow’ centre just outside London. The Collars and Cuffs Ball is a charity ball and auction with a strong emphasis on involving the contemporary youth culture, fashion and music scenes in bringing the organisation back into the public eye. There will be select media coverage to achieve this, as well as a host of attractions and personalities with particular relevance to the cause. The event as a whole will require a visual identity to run throughout all graphic elements of the production, and this is the area in which I will be assisting.

3. Rationale (Why the project is relevant to you and to GDComm practice)
My work to date has focused heavily on printed media and this is the direction in which I would like to take my career in future. I have a strong interest in typography and the basis for my role in the project is initially to develop a strong typographic identity for the event in question. It is a contemporary event for a cause well-loved by the public, and demands an appealing, accessible and highly contemporary treatment. In addition I am very interested in mass visual and written communication and will benefit hugely from working with professionals in the PR industry as well as those in the design field.

4. Skills Evidence: (describe your approach to the following)

Topicality and future projection potential
The charity is celebrating a significant anniversary and this major event is the first in what is projected to be an annual occurrence. The charity is well-known already and the coverage this event will receive is going to be significant, hopefully generating huge funds for the organisation on the night as well as bringing Battersea Dogs & Cats Home back into the public consciousness.

Intellectual rigour and debate
All the work I produce will be overseen by the director Ben Judge and the creative designer Sarah Mursal. Battersea Dogs’ Home will also be regularly reviewing the progress of the project. There is also potential to consult with certain fashion houses who have expressed early interest in the project.

Focus of research and analysis
At the outset I will be given an outline of the various aspects of my role in the project and what the company would like me to produce during my time working with them. The initial research will be into how to brand the event independently of the existing Battersea Dogs & Cats Home identity, with subtle reference to the charity as opposed to using their current logos and typography.

Practical skills involved
• Designing the typographic identity for the event
• Helping establish a visual concept for the look and feel of the occasion
• Implementing the design across a range of printed and online media

Sustainability and Content of project (over as a double unit)
The event itself takes place on an as-yet-unconfirmed date, most likely during July 2009. In the months preceding the event itself the design process will be ongoing, supported by a series of meetings with the team in charge of its organisation. Because there will be a definite deadline and pre-production for the event itself is already well underway, the momentum of the project will be continual.


Projection of professional or further research ambitions

Elements of risk and challenge (originality and direction against the status quo)
I will be working with experienced professionals with my input overseen by collaborators at the top of their respective fields, to whom the highest standards of presentation will be imperative. The focus of the night is to raise awareness of Battersea Dogs and Cats Home by staging an event incorporating fashion, music and other elements of youth culture, placing the charity in the media spotlight by generating interest in the event. Working to such a high standard introduces levels of pressure and quality greater than anything I’ve previously experienced, but this only strengthens my enthusiasm and determination to produce work of the highest standard.

Predicted outcomes
• A typographic identity design to implement throughout the course of the project
• Print-based promotional pieces to attract guests and contributors, including posters, mail-outs and invitations
• Printed material for the event itself, including event programmes, posters, signage
• Potentially a microsite reached via the Battersea Dogs and Cat Home website

Manufacturing and production issues
Because the production of the event is essentially in the hands of Rock Events, the manufacture of any items I design will be overseen and organised by them. It will be my job to suggest specific treatments and materials I deem appropriate to the design, taking into consideration the budget and deadlines set by the company.

Opportunities for professional feedback
I am working with a high-profile events company who in turn are collaborating with a wide range of companies, all of whom will have a say on specific design elements. Therefore my work will constantly be subject to the feedback of professionals from a variety of fields.