Conclusion/Evaluation of Module.

Conclusion of Report

From looking at Neil Springham, who I believe is the master of art therapy across the UK, I have been able to reflect his career accomplishments on to my own personal aspirations. The writing and research I have put into this report has helped me greatly understand the person I aspire to be and what I need to do to get into that profession.
I started by discussing where I fit in industry along with who my market is and who my competition are. After this I went on to talking a little bit about Neil Springham, The head of Art Therapy across the trust. The feeling of helping someone less fortunate in terms of their mental health state can be more rewarding than a highly paid salary.
After this, I began reflecting his career on to the person I aspire to be in future, which is an art therapist. I looked at what art therapy is, who uses it and how it can help people who use it. I went on to looking at what I would need to do to become an art therapist along with career prospects in the profession. I looked at courses I could apply for after my current university studies to gain the qualifications of an art therapist.
I asked questions to members of the charity I volunteer at to see if their time spent at The Artrium has improved their mental health, I also asked the project manager if I could include some comments made by the members on a similar subject. This helped me a lot and it proves that a community art studio, which uses art therapeutically, can improve the state of a person’s mental health.
I then went on to putting together a personal development plan for myself in terms of what skills and experience I already have, what areas need growth and development and what I can do in the future to gain the qualifications and experience to become an art therapist.
If I were to do this module again I would include interviews with service users to give me a wider range of primary research.

Evaluation of Module

All of the research tasks that have been set, have helped me understand what needs to be considered when going into industry as an illustrator. I have learned a lot about defining markets and understanding consumer needs, conceptual branding, communication, understanding commissions, writing commissions, delivering work professionally, contracts and legal requirements. I mostly looked at the UK government website to find certain parts of information regarding contracts and legal requirements because I felt it was a reliable quality source of information and it related to the legal requirements in the UK which are the regulations in the country I live in. I could have done better regarding book research since I didn't really research the tasks heavily, which I should have. Looking at master of trade helped me a lot to visualise my career as an art therapist in the future and helped me understand what I need to do to reach my career goals. If I had the chance to do this assignment from scratch, I would use more research material and research each task further to gain more knowledge on the subjects. 

Legal Requirements of a Contract.

Contract Terms
The legal requirements of a contract usually refer to the terms. If an illustrator has a contract to do some work for someone this is called a 'contract to provide services'. The contract is an agreement between the illustrator and the person they are doing the work for which sets out their conditions of employment/duration which services are being provided, their rights, responsibilities and their duties.

Agreements
All agreements must be made before work is started to ensure everybody knows what they want and how they want it without changing their mind. No changes can be made to the agreement once everyone agrees but either client or illustrator can ask each other if they can make changes and if the other person agrees, the changes can be made.

Written Statement

A written statement should include;

• The business’s/clients name 
• The illustrator's name
• Description of work
• Start date
• How much the illustrator will be paid and how often
• Deadlines
• End date of contract

Reference

https://www.gov.uk/employment-contracts-and-conditions

http://91.109.3.30/~theaoi/theaoi/members/contracts.html

Contracts within Industry.

Small job = Small contract.
Big job = Big contract.

Knowing who you're working for
Before an illustrator starts any job they must research and understand the company they may potentially be doing work for. If they agree to do work for a company that they haven't looked in to, they may be faced with problems such as the company not being able to pay them.

There is a service on the government website which lets anyone seach for details about a company. It lets a person find out its office address, previous company names, directors details, if it has been dissolved, when its accounts were filed or due, a history of its files or documents and a person can check if a companies name has been taken, all of these details can be viewed for free. There is a charge of £1 to use the service if a person wants to view details and filed documents such as accounts, annual returns and reports.

Pricing work

This depends on what exactly the job is. The price may be calculated depending on how long it will take to complete and how much money would need to be spent on certain materials, this may be a hourly or daily rate, then this could be calculated as a lump sum.

Copyright laws in different countries
If an illustrator is doing work for a company or person in a different country, different laws regarding copyright may apply, they will have to look into this for the specific country and decide if they want to go ahead and take on the work.

Exchange rates

In the contract, there will be the price that the illustrator will be paid for their work. For example, if the illustrator is working for a Japanese company, it could say that the illustrator will be paid 50,000 Yen which seems a lot of money, where realistically, 50,000 Yen is worth around £280 British Pound Sterling.

Understanding terms and conditions
An illustrator must understand the terms and conditions fully before agreeing to the contract. The words used in a contract can sometimes mean the illustrator may lose money because he/she does not understand what they mean. They may be able to seek advice and be fully aware of what they are agreeing to before they sign the contract.

Where is your work being published?
The illustrator will need to know where their work will be published and in what countries, may that be in the UK or Worldwide.

Royalties
This means that the illustrator will get a percentage or fixed fee for every unit sold. For example if the illustrator is creating a book, every time their book is sold they will get money from it.

Agency clause
Agents can look over a contract if it is needed by the illustrator, to ensure the illustrator isn't missing anything such as words used in the terms and conditions.

Reference
https://www.gov.uk/get-information-about-a-company

Week 8 - Current Master of Trade Presentations.

Week 7 - Current Master of Trade Research.

This week we had a 10 minute talk/presentation for professional studies. In the talk we were asked 'Where do you fit into industry' We need to be able to place ourselves in the field, understand our chosen markets and understand our competition. We were then asked who we aspire to be and why. Next week we will be expected to answer this question through a powerpoint presentation. This week I will be researching someone I aspire to be and explaining why, ready to put into powerpoint.

Ideas.
I do have my favourite artists such as David Shrigley but to really cater this module personally to myself I will be researching someone from an art therapy background since this is the field I am more interested in and would like to go into when I complete my degree.

Research.
I have decided to choose Neil Springham. He is an art therapy consultant and Head of Art Therapy across the trust. I aspire to become someone like him in future because He works with people therapeutically using art. Most people he works with may have schizophrenia, other forms of psychosis, serious depression or personality disorders. He enjoys his job and describes it as fascinating.

In my powerpoint presentation I will be explaining what I am doing now and what I will need to do in the future to become an art therapist.

Reference
http://www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/explore-by-career/allied-health-professions/careers-in-the-allied-health-professions/arts-therapists/art-therapist/

Week 6 - Professional Delivery.

How to deliver work professionally
Be polite to people, if a person is grumpy or not well-mannered, the person paying for this work will not be impressed and would most likely get a bad vibe. Work must be professionally finished or printed with no scraggy edges or marks on the paper. Everything must be crisp and clean along with the person's appearance. Whilst showcasing work to someone, an illustrator must explain their work from the theory, to the concept and the conclusion.

How will people feel about this kind of delivery?

• They will get a happy vibe from the illustrator and believe the work is a success.
• They will be impressed to see a professionally finished image/product.
• If the illustrator is dressed professionally and appropriately they are more likely to take the illustrator more serious and show respect.
• If the illustrator presents their work by explaining their theory, concept and conclusion, the person paying for the work will likely be impressed and will be more in touch with the work because they will know exactly what it is about. 

How to deliver work unprofessionally

• Turn up hungover with a bad attitude.
• Dressed in clothes from the night before. 
• Take the final piece of work in a carrier bag. 
• Final piece is ripped and marked with fingerprints. 
• Work is thrown on to a desk and illustrator leaves in a hurry without explaining what they have created. 

How will people feel about this kind of delivery?

• The bad attitude will put people in a bad mood
• Clothing choices will give off a bad vibe and the illustrator will most likely not be taken seriously. 
• Appearance of work is poor and unacceptable.
• No explanation of work so the person who is paying for it does not understand the theory, concept and conclusion of work. 

Week 5 - Writing a Commission.

What is a Commission?
A commission is when someone wants you to do some work for them and they tell you what they want. A contract will be made to make it binding and this will guarantee that the artist/illustrator will get paid.

How can it help an illustrator?
It can help the illustrator because it will have a guide or instructions of what they should be doing so they can refer back to it if they get stuck.

What needs to be in the commission brief?

• Deadlines
• Sizes/Specifications
• Description of content of work, what do they want you to draw exactly?
• Colour scheme if any
• What materials they want you to use
• How do they want the finished work presented?
• What file type if submitting work digitally?

What does an illustrator do after he/she has read it?
The illustrator may negotiate the commission in terms of the work they are doing, deadlines or the price they are being paid for the work. If they are happy they may create a timetable including checkpoints for certain aspects of the work to be completed by a certain time or date.

How and when do you communicate?
Progress meetings will take place at certain points throughout the commission for the commissioner to see if the illustrator is meeting deadlines and to see if they are going in the right direction with their vision. How an illustrator communicates depends on their preference or the preference of the person giving the commission, this could be by E-mail, phone, text, video call (skype), written letter or face to face. If a person has a quick question they might find it easier call the other person on the telephone rather than setting up a face to face meeting.