Moving on from all my original concepts, ideas and design sheets, i decided to put my plans in to action and create the content for my 3 booklets. Each booklet will be categorised into three. Work, Play and Domestic (but the names will be more 'student friendly'). Each booklet will be a hot-dog fold booklet with tips on one side to make a booklet which will then fold out into a poster on the other side for the students to keep on their walls in halls.
As you can see from the diagram above, each hot-dog fold booklet when folded down contains a front, a back and six inside pages. I have already learnt how to lay out, print and fold this type of booklet as I did this in a previous brief, which is handy for me. I will use the six inside pages to house six of the best tips that i find out from both my own and first year peers experiences. Here are the tips that i have so far below. (These may change as my research evolves)
I am also trying to keep the dialogue i use quite friendly in order to make the first years feel a little bit less intimidated. I will also be creating scrappy illustrations to go along with the information i form.
Booklet One - How to keep Fred off your back (WORK)
1. Use The Library
Yeah, I know it sounds pretty obvious and you probably got told to do this in high school but coming from previous first years, we're being serious. It might seem quicker and easier to just google whatever you need to know but the LCA library is one of the best in the country for art. Use it! it beats the shit out of google!
2. Buy a Macbook
Seeing as your going to be spending 99.9% of your life behind a screen, you may as well get the best of the best. MacBooks are not overrated. If anyone said this to you, then please slap them. They are a lifesaver and a necessity for any designer. And above anything else, they are beautiful! Your best bet is to get your parents to buy you one as a 'moving away from home' present.
3. Don't ring in sick.
Simple as it sounds, its true. Don't waste your time ringing in sick when your hungover pretending to have a migraine or an upset tummy. Fred will not buy it. By all means go out, get drunk, enjoy your first year but just be prepared to turn into college feeling like shit. It's not so bad, you kinda get used to it after a few weeks
4. Make Lists
Probably the most useful thing you will recieve at the begining of the year is a diary. This will save your life when it comes to being in the right place at the right time and meeting deadlines. Don’t be afraid to make lists. Make sure to keep lists weekly, daily, hourly. They help you stay on track and get the work done.
5. Become friends with James
James is the don of the printing world. You'll find him in the digital dungeon and you will more than likely be relying on him throughout your first year when it comes to deadlines. It's important that you stay on his good side because he is the last person you want to be pissing off. His job is stressful enough so make sure all your files are set up properly when you go down to print and try to befriend him. (you might just get some money knocked off your prints)
6. Sign up for inductions and experiment
It's important to make sure you sign up to all the inductions as early as possible. The most useful for you lot are probably screen printing, laser cutting and letterpressing. The earlier you do this, the more time you have to experiment throughout your first year. You are studying at one of the best art colleges in the country, so you would be daft not to make use of the facilities.
4. Make Lists
Probably the most useful thing you will recieve at the begining of the year is a diary. This will save your life when it comes to being in the right place at the right time and meeting deadlines. Don’t be afraid to make lists. Make sure to keep lists weekly, daily, hourly. They help you stay on track and get the work done.
5. Become friends with James
James is the don of the printing world. You'll find him in the digital dungeon and you will more than likely be relying on him throughout your first year when it comes to deadlines. It's important that you stay on his good side because he is the last person you want to be pissing off. His job is stressful enough so make sure all your files are set up properly when you go down to print and try to befriend him. (you might just get some money knocked off your prints)
6. Sign up for inductions and experiment
It's important to make sure you sign up to all the inductions as early as possible. The most useful for you lot are probably screen printing, laser cutting and letterpressing. The earlier you do this, the more time you have to experiment throughout your first year. You are studying at one of the best art colleges in the country, so you would be daft not to make use of the facilities.
Booklet Two - How To Play around Leeds
1. 241 Tuesdays @ Hyde Park Picture House
Basically this is the coolest little art-house cinema in the north. Perfect for all you first year hipsters to hang. It only has a single screen, but is 241 on Tuesdays which means you can catch the latest 'indie' film, that vice has told you to go see for a mere £2 with a student card.
2. The Brudenell Social Club
Gigs
This little gem was once a lovely little working class mans social club but has been taken over by the thriving youth. The best gigs you will ever go to and the best bands you will ever see live will be here and tickets are nearly always under a tenner. It's only tiny too, so you nearly always get to have a pint and a chat with your idol that nobody else knows about after the gig.
3. Decide to like Bitter and Play Pool
Due to the end of term BAGD pool competitions, it's compulsory that you learn how to play pool or you will never get one over on Fred. The Brudenell is the place to do this. Great atmosphere, full of smelly students like you and £1.90 pints. Can't beat that.
4. Free gigs & Nation Of Shopkeepers
you got to keep your eyes peeled for them, but there is always a free gig on somewhere in Leeds. The Brudenell and Nation of Shopkeepers are the best places. Vice launch party is held monthly at Nation. This is a free entry gig that showcases the best new artists before it's cool to like them. You can also pick up a copy of Vice before anyone else to add to you hipster library. A little tip that didn't come from us: Sneak cans of red stripe in your coat pockets. £1 a can or £3.50 a can. I'll let you decide. Hifi has a free gig every sunday too.
5. Don't go to Wire.
You'll probably figure this one out by yourself but we're just here to give you a heads up. Wire is a pointless night out. First you pay a couple of quid for a taxi. Then it's like £4 to get in unless your the first one there. Then the cheapest drink is £2.50 for a tiny bottle of dry cider which you can buy 3 litres in sainsburys for. Above this, it plays the exact same playlist week in week out and labels the night something cool like 'Fresh Prince of Bel Air Night' where everyone wheres a jazzy shirt just to draw the vulnerable students in. Don't bother, save the £20.
6. Don't cross Hyde Park at night
Probably the most valuable information you will receive this year. It's not a wise move to cross Hyde Park after hours, especially if your alone. We don't want to scare you or anything but it has statistics bad enough to have the Mayor of Leeds tearing his hair out. Unless your looking to get mugged or attacked then please leave it out.
6. Don't cross Hyde Park at night
Probably the most valuable information you will receive this year. It's not a wise move to cross Hyde Park after hours, especially if your alone. We don't want to scare you or anything but it has statistics bad enough to have the Mayor of Leeds tearing his hair out. Unless your looking to get mugged or attacked then please leave it out.
Booklet Three - How To Stay Alive
1. Steal Toilet Roll From Starbucks
A clever student will cut corners in order to have enough money at the end of the week to contribute to the damaging of their liver. Don't spend a fiver on a pack of ultra soft toilet roll. 'Aqquire' it from coffee shops, that stuff is the bees knees.
2. Abu Bakar Will Save Your Life!
This is like the best place in Leeds, ever! It's a hindu supermarket that will have everything you need for a fraction of the price. Once you go here, you will never shop at sainsburys again. Fresh fruit and veg daily to make sure you don't die and you can get like a kilogram of mince meat for a fiver. That would probably make you spag bol for a month. Unbelievable value.
3. Best Budget Meal - Poor Man's Spag Bol (serves 2)
Your shopping list for Abu Bakar:
Spagetti - 38p
Chopped Tomatoes - 38p
Mince - £1
Pepper - 30p
Onion - 30p
Garlic - 30p
= £1.33 per person
4. Buy caged chicken eggs
Your a broke ass student now and that means you don’t really have any morals. You have got to save money wherever you can so you can’t splash out on free range eggs anymore. When your a proffesional designer on a comfortable range, that’s when you can decide to have morals and give back to the world.
5. Quit Smoking
This is easier said then done but trust me, you'll be surprised how much money you save and your old enough now to realise theres nothing cool about cancer. Your diet isn't going to be the best now your a student so cutting out smoking will make up for all the take aways and alcohol your abusing your body with.
6. Hide your Debit Cards
To avoid overspending your weekly budget, withdraw your money for that week then hide your credit card in your bedroom. This way, you won't be tempted to dip into that extra bit of loan when your out and about. Also, overdraft is the devil. Stay well away from this because the last thing you need is to be owing money to your bank.
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