SELF PROMOTION.
MINI PORTFOLIO.
I knew that now, from creating my box and the creative cv, the size that my mini portfolio would have to take on. Designing and putting this together was very easy as I already had a strong visual identity from the creative cv, business card and box, It was solely a case of furthering this branding across my mini portfolio.
However there were some definate elements I wanted to concrete alongside the already existing aesthetic.
- I want to accentuate my work and really make this the focus of my book, as it is a mini portfolio afterall.
- Choose a range of works that showcase my range of abilities.
- Give a small explanation of the purpose of the work, but try to let the work speak for itself.
When Designing my mini portfolio I wanted to combine these elements with my already existing aesthetic, therefore, for the content I came up with this design below:
I then made a list of my favourite works I wanted to include:
- Cath Kidston print.
The Cath Kidston print for the YCN competition is something that I really enjoyed doing. I have always loved illustration, and I knew even from studying art at school and coming from an art driven background that pure forms of design that come from a pen, pencil or paintbrush would be a strength of mine. I was able to play on that when adapting to the strong painterly style that Cath Kidston already had. This paired with my strong concept for the brief, a print based upon memories of trips to the british seaside which many 29 year old women would have, created a response that I was really proud of, and also helped to define my interests in Graphic design. I had also realised that via completing this project, Working as a designer for a company is something that I would also like to do, alternatively to working as part of the studio. I am also currently designing for the brand Yankee candle which I am really enjoying, as this is also giving me the same kind of experience, however this project is currently unfinished and so I am unable to include it in my current mini portfolio.
- COP1 Modernism book.
This is my only piece of work from my first year on the course which I still truly love. The response had a concept which I put 100% into building, and is a piece of work that I truly refined to work for my audience and for the message. The book titled 'Out with the old, in with the new' was a publication directed towards children between the ages of 6-8 about the revolution of modernism. Not only did I talk about how modernism impacted all sectors of design such as art, furniture and architecture in the book, but I also made it with a modernist sense in mind such as printing the book digitally as in modernism we celebrate the possibilities from new technologies and giving the book a metal ring bind as tubular steel was a new material celebrated at this time. The book all written by me, was wrote in a child friendly rhyming style to enhance interest in the subject.
- Kate Spreckley business cards.
I created a business card design for a hair stylist and Make up artist called Kate Spreckley. Having worked at Mac part time and as a freelance artist for the remaining time, the freelance side of her business was beginning to grow and become very popular. The project allowed me to further strengthen quite a lot of skills including my ability to brand, the audience for Kate's business cards were mainly weddings and special event bookings and so It was important I communicated this with the write aesthetic via colour and style, wanting something totally opposite to an already existing brand such as Mac, known for its more edgy and modern design. It also helped my improve my crafting skills which was something I really wanted to hone in on at the start of this year, and because of this project and others I feel that my crafting skills have improved dramatically.
- Yoga teacher logo.
I recently created the logo for a new and up and coming Yoga teacher; Tasha Rae. This was actually a competition brief from the site 99 designs. I was quite weary to enter a competition on this site as at times, looking at the range of briefs it seemed like it could lack some professionalism. However I entered one of the competitions anyway with high spirits. Although I didn't win the competition, (I tried to balance what I thought was right for the project, with some of the clients wants for the project) it gave me good experience working with clients whom im not able to speak with face to face. Even though I didn't win I'm glad that I still gave my opinion and essence to the design, as I feel this is an important step to take as a designer. It is important to blend your wants for the project, with the clients wants, and not just throw your hands up in the air for every request the client makes, even when you don't particularly agree.
- Barbie packaging design.
I created the Barbie packaging for this years COP submission and I was proud of how I was able to take such a strong political issue (Globalisation) and translate this into something truly creative. I think that last year I was truly able to synthesise well, but this project in particular helped me refine this skill even more. It also opened the door on a train of thought of 'Is what I am designing for a good cause?' which is something I might like to look into more so next year, not the ethics of design in terms of production, but more so, the morals of design. I also think that this project proves how much I have improved on my crafting skills, I was pleased myself, and got many compliments on my crafting skills and how the aesthetic of the box truly fit the already existing brand, something I have really succeeded at this year.
- Bear cereal packaging design.
The last piece of work I want to include is the project that I paired up with Caitlin Walsh to complete for YCN. We were warned by Fred not to work with our friends as this would probably not work out. Nonetheless, Me and Caitlin not only both shared skills but also had skills which the other envied, so we thought that now would be a great time to learn from each other. I found that through out the whole project, friends or not, myself and Caitlin were really successful due to two things; we both had best intentions for the projects at all times and always practiced great communication. It was because of this combination that we were able to create a successful response that we were both really pleased with in the end.
Using the above layout, I started applying this to my projects using the same colour scheme and illustration style as my other promotional ephemera.
BEAR:
Kate Spreckley:
These are the two different colour combinations which I experimented with for my mini portfolio interchanging them between the 6 different pieces of work. I used the above format for every double paged spread in the book.
To complete the mini portfolio I created a front and back cover with a similar aesthetic to that of my creative cv as I wanted to keep them consistent. Whilst the front of my cv reads 'Get to know me' the design I have created for the mini portfolio in the exact same style reads 'Get to know my work.'
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