Branding/Identity

From my final business cards I decided to develop the rest of my identity. This was to include:

Promo pack
Letterhead
Compliments slip
Creative CV

This was my final outcome from the range I produced. The promo pack is still not complete and my creative CV is still just a draft.

Overall the consistency of my branding is pretty prominent, but is subject to change. It's probably my favourite piece of work from this year. It promotes exactly what I aimed it to, a friendly, efficient and innovative approach to graphic design.

Business Cards

After I finalised my designs, I developed ideas for business cards and the rest of my identity. My business cards and overall aesthetic needed to show craft, innovation and love for design in a clear and effective way.

I decided to laser cut parts of my business cards and to have the back, name and contact, screen printed.

These are the final business cards I made. I used the laser cutter to cut my logo from the top layer and the mouth from the next, including the size of the card. This enabled an easy registration when I spray mounted the pieces together. After this I had to spray mount the duplex onto orange paper, trim to size, then line up the screen printed details with the triplex and finally guillotine. I am really happy with the final product.

Self Branding

I had already updated blog headers and such with my new branding which has since been developed further.

I started out just doodling and trying to get a flowing line from initial to initial as I had no idea where to start really. I decided this way at least boasted clean, minimal and creativity and developed a form onto screen.

After further considerations on the shape and style of the logo, I developed a precise version, incorporating a sense of grid and mathematics.

After experimenting with the way in which I could develop my logo to look like a face, promoting a friendly identity 'putting a face behind the name'.

I decided that the original is the best design to go for.

The design is simple. It communicates my practice and hold elements of my personality and graphic approach. The design works well in the colours depicted, orange due to my headwear, and monotone.

Who am I? Who are 'They'?

Potential client groups that use graphic design:

Shops

Restaurants

Hospitals

Companies

Taxis

Publishers

Pharmacies

Food companies

Venues

Musicians

Artists

Television

Media (news)

Council

Cosmetics

Building firm

Architects

Schools

Colleges

Universities
 

For example:

 

Certain skills that would appeal to or relate to a client group, aimed at where I'd like to be working, would be:

Web Design

Branding and Identity

Packaging

Screen Printing

Publications/editorial

The necessary skills needed for a said client group would differ slightly. Working as part of a large in-house design team at a large corporation such as McDonalds. Generally working for a larger corporation would affect the type of work produced and your part in the process, be it just sizing images or applying content all the way through to concept development and artworking.

Working as part of a smaller team is more appealing to me, I'd like to be able to share ideas and be considered as a valued member and a part of the 'family'. As a part of this team I will required to have an advanced knowledge of the adobe suite, understand and be able to use typography, understand colour theory and have sufficient knowledge in stock and print/finishing. All of these skills need to be further developed and fine tuned to enable fast and creative work.

Cost of Living

I wasn't too sure how to go about filling out my spreadsheet so I decided to do two, one for now and one as a professional.

The reasons for this are because currently I pay no council tax, pension fund etc...

 This is my current cost of living at roughly £22,000 which would make my daily rate around £100.

This is a guess as to how much money I would be spending per year as a professional, including holidays would be around £33,000 making my daily rate around £150.

3's

3 areas of design I'm interested in:
 
Illustration
Layout & publication
Web development

3 main strengths of mine:

Illustration
Layout and communication
Attention to detail

3 main weaknesses of mine:

Time and project management
Documentation of my design processes
Following current design, knowledge of the current industry

3 main goals of mine for this year:

Create an online presence
Win a competition brief
Bridge contact with studios

3 wishes:

I wish my back and leg would be alright
I wish I get to collaborate with Parra, Patta and Asics
I wish I could afford to live somewhere in Scandanavia or Amsterdam

5 Studios

SNASK.com

Snask has to be number 1. I love their work and making things large scale and so complex to be photographed and scaled down so small that serve a clear yet playful communication to the viewer. They have clear and concise design that exploits the use of bright colours and large type, but still considering the negative space. Snask would be my dream place to work and I hope I can get the chance to visit them. They're some crazy Swede's with mental ideas which would be the perfect environment for me.

eatPES.com

Pes is a studio that creates stop motion short films and commercials frame by frame. Their work is insane, with clients such as Nike, Sony, and a more memorable from TV, the More Than animation. The style in which they work, giving inanimate objects personalities and movements with very clever choices of props. I really like their work and this is definitely somewhere I can relate too.

byParra.com

Parra has been a favourite of mine for a number of years. Based in Amsterdam and running a successful clothing line titled Rockwell, Parra has some awesome illustrative work. He uses bright colours and playful text mixed with minimal block colouring. This is work I can relate too and enjoy, but I do also really like the figures and ornaments he makes alongside murals and other art installations. All things I hope to do one day.

Nobrow.net

 I was first introduced to Nobrow around 2 years ago when a friend of mine had a small run of around 50 screen printed books. There was huge attention to detail paid to the work done which is something I look for. They also print a lot of Patrick Hruby's work, his alphabet that he did for Urban Outfitters is sweet, along with his vector images and use of colour. Although I don't regularly follow Nobrow and their website isn't the best, I still feel a connection through print and illustration to this studio.

permafrost.no

4 Norweigan Industrial designers, set up a studio a number of years ago which is an all round design agency. I noticed them through the Hall of Fame shop fitting they did, which is clean and effective, showing a relationship from the apparel to the street where it all started. They design furniture, toys, shop identity's, packaging and tools to name a few items. Their studio is minimal and clean and looks like an inspiring place to be. I would love to branch out into product design and producing exquisite items with my own hands.

Heydays.no

Another Norweigan design studio, Heydays are brilliant. The exact type of work I would like to produce as a professional. Well designed and considered design, just like their website making the most out of their work and experimenting with concepts and ideas. Norway is a place I'd love to go to once I graduate, if not before. I find it truly inspiring and think it would be the ideal environment to thrive in, especially at a studio of this calibre.


Snask would have to be my top choice. This is because of the work they produce which I really aspire too. 3-d work and subtle incorporation of different mediums such as embroidery, wood, paint and inanimate objects to such good effect. Thinking outside the box and producing something that would fill a room just to photograph for a flyer. I love how it creates a more personal attachment to the work, my kinda design exactly.

Who are they? 
A Swedish design company with good honest design. Working outside the box to create personal design which relates tot eh project.

Who am I?  
A big thinker, creative and focused on detail. I like producing work that has depth, subtle sometimes and other times not so. I've tried to create 3d elements to 2d work a couple of times and will expand on that this year.

Why are you contacting them?
They are my kind of studio, big thinking and subtle workings towards bigger ideas. They seem like they have a lot of fun producing the work that they do and I've never seen work like theirs.
 
Why should they get back to you?
Because I am similarly minded to the kind of work I like to produce. Not too bothered about being famous personally but having my work speak volumes across as many disciplines as possible. I'm creative and think up good ideas when in the company of other big thinkers. A valuable team member.

Methods of contact:
Phone them
Visit their studio
Send them a creative CV
Post them some samples of work
E-mail them some work, establish a relationship
Send them branding and something which is specifically tailored for them