Binary Box

I contacted The Binary Box by phone. They are a wall sticker company also working in bespoke sticker designs for clients.

I was surprised when I spoke to Chris when he said I could drop in a couple of days later. It was a complete contrast to what I have become accustomed to when contacting the industry.

The studio is run from a building complex hosting a variety of businesses so when I arrived at reception I waited to be greeted. When I got there James and Andy who are two of only four working at Binary Box met me. They took me to a couched area to sift through my portfolio and were impressed with the variety of work I had especially some of the screen-printing I produce in my spare time.

Once we’d chatted about my projects for a bit they to give me a tour of the studio and how it runs. It was good t see how a professional and fast expanding printing business could run from one average class size room. The thing I liked about the setup was that everyone did a little of everything from illustrating the vector designs to feeding and printing the stickers making everyday a little different. I like the idea of mixing up energy and focus this way; it keeps work from becoming stale.

After being shown how everything was run and helping out for a bit to peel stickers and find stock they told me tat they are often looking for volunteers and to give them a shout when I’ve got the time.

Raw

I managed to contact Tom Heaton from RAW in Manchester. It was lose to the normal situation where people are too busy but thankfully he did offer to take a look at a PDF version or website.

It took me a while to get this together and unfortunately I had to leave a fair bit out of compared to my physical version. These were all of the prints I’m yet to have scanned into Indesign to uniform the overall portfolio format. I also left out the storyboard for the cross pathways collaboration as I thought it might be a little difficult to digest if I was not present to explain it.

I didn’t really get to ask Tom about his opinion on the industry or the ins and outs of the RAW studio but he did say that he liked the work in my portfolio but that maybe I should experiment with my layout a little more.

I am trying to stay in contact so that I can gain a visit as soon as things calm down in the studio.

Blue Apple Design

I discovered that the Houldsworth Mill in Stockport host a number of businesses and a number of design studios. One of those I contacted was Blue Apple Design. They produce a number of refreshing visually stimulating and lighthearted solutions for their clients.

When I first same across them I found their website opening animation really engaging and I loved the “Plastic Fantastic” project they produced for Cumbrian Containers, they managed to fun and energetic.

I decided it was best to call up the Studio to save time and get a straight answer. This gave me a direct email to contact as opposed to an information address that generally gets you nowhere. I emailed David at Blue Apple Design and didn’t get a response so I decided to call again as the receptionist friendly and helpful and far from intimidating. She told me to send another email and it worked as this time David replied asking for a digital version of my portfolio (which I expect feedback from shortly) I decided to send the animations I created for the End Sting project but needed to upload these onto a site for them to be downloaded from. I was also told we could arrange a visit to the studio once we’ve discussed his feedback. Fingers crossed.