Photography Collaboration - Initial Meeting.

After the initial photography collaboration sessions with John and ross I was approached by photography student Lauren Danks. She already had branding but needed some editorial publications made for her end of year show collections. I showed her work that I had done for my millinery brief and she mentioned that something similar with simple layouts would be ideal for what she needed.

Presentation - Final PPP.

Level 6 Focus & Start of year statement

At the start of the year I decided that I wanted my collection of work to focus around retail. My statement explaining this and all of the briefs I wrote at the beginning of the year revolved around this. I Felt the projects I did nearing the end of second year also linked with this. With this main theme I could experiment with a variety of things that interests me, for example: branding, packaging, editorial and web.


Briefs

Here are a selection of briefs throughout this year that I feel have been the strongest or what I have learnt a lot from.


Rosanna Millinery

Rosanna Millinery that has been going on since September. Working with someone from an outside environment Proved difficult as it has been working with contrasting time scales, from me, photography and Rosie.The brief has escalated from what was originally stated, for example from one look book to three. Going with what she likes but influencing her to pick something I would also like.


M&S Picnic

M&S picnic was a previous YCN brief that I undertook with Beth Hayden. Collaboration is something that I have really enjoyed this year. Ideas flow a lot faster and its good to combine skills.


Champneys Euphoria

Champneys is a competition brief that I have entered this year, designed with Emily James. It is the  brief that I have enjoyed most this year and what I feel has been the most successful. I feel we have covered many areas and created something that suits the target audience really well. It was the first brief that was photographed by a photography student and really proved how necessary it is as the results were so much more successful.


Design Manchester

Went to design Manchester earlier this year and it was a really interesting experience and these are the speakers that were there. The highlight was definitely Kate Moross, as found that the way she presented was down to earth and inspiring. Her work is very different to what I do but it was really interesting and it was good to see the processes she went through.


Elmwood Pitch

Recently I was lucky enough to get picked to go to Elmwood and pitch my Brand the Boring idea. Initially I was very surprised as I didn’t think it was my strongest piece of work, although this showed that people aren’t always looking for the same thing or looking at something in the same way. I found it a really beneficial experience visiting the studio and pitching my idea and it gave me a big confidence boost, presenting in front of new people proved I could do it in the future. Doing presentations similar to this in the past really prepared me.


Updated Branding

I have recently updated my personal branding so it reflected more of the style I have been developing this year.  I have chosen a selection of colours and I like the variation it gives. I have kept the same logo that I designed last year as I like the simplicity and I think it can be applied successfully to a variety of things. I have applied this design using clear vinyl and I am really pleased with the effect it has given.


Studio Visits

I then took my branding packs to London where I went to visit studios with Emily. These are the places that we managed to visit. We had quite a clear idea of where we wanted to visit as we researched quite a lot before hand. After going I think it has made it clear to me that this is something I would like to explore in the future. I was surprised at how welcoming people were and how they seemed to like receiving the promo packs we were giving out.


Construct London

Here are a few of my favourite places that I visited. Construct deal with luxury brands and I love the finish that they produce. The areas they focus on also reflect my own interests such as packaging, branding and editorial.


Studio Twig

I can remember seeing this website by Studio Twig before even knowing who they were and I really loved it. When I found them I instantly remembered it and found that I also liked their other work. I found they were really welcoming and enthusiastic that we had came to visit.


Here Design

Finally is Here Design another studio that I find inspiring. It was interesting to compare the scale of different places from a large scale to two or three individuals After visiting all of these places it definitely pushed me to know that this is something I would like to look into.


Future Plans

This brings me onto future plans and what I hope to achieve in the future. So obviously the first thing on the list in to complete uni and graduate. I’d then like to hopefully get an internship, preferably in London, I feel it is something I’d like to experience whether I love it or hate it at least I’ll know by the end/ After this I feel to travel is something very important to me and I like to do it before I have any long term commitments and then after all that exploring I think it will be time to get a job whether it’s in London, Bristol or elsewhere.

Exhibitions - Stedelijk Museum.

During a recent visit to Amsterdam me and some friends visited the Stedelijk museum. I found this to be a great experience and I really enjoyed myself. I liked how all areas of the arts were covered from Graphic Design, Surface Pattern, Photography, Fashion, Sculpture, Fine Art, Film etc. I found it very enriching and the atmosphere was relaxed and peaceful.

The first things to be viewed were some large scale murals that covered a great deal of space. It is interesting to look at things like this as it really makes you consider size and scale and I am so used to designing for small scale compositions.

There was some focus on three dimensional design like home furnishings and jewellery. I liked seeing how colour and patten were applied to these items and the different take on shape and scale.

I really enjoyed looking around the surface pattern design as this is something that I like to incorporate into my own work. It was interesting to see the different colours and textures and how items like this are displayed.

There were some examples of editorial design but due to it being within glass cases I was unable to see what it was like on the inside pages. However, these cover designs still really appeal to me as the layouts are quite unconventional. The colours also look fantastic against the crisp white.

This piece really caught my eye as I love the three dimensional form and how when you view it from different angles it gives a totally different perspective.

I  love the illustrative style of these pieces, the aesthetic reminds me of decorative tiles and I like how the composition has been broken up and all the pieces fit together. The colours are vibrant and exciting.

These examples caught my eye straight away due to the bold use of fluorescent colours. Not only are the colours so exciting but so is the incorporation of multiple patterns into the composition. I like how everything is overlapped and there is so many point of interest.

Here is an example of packaging on display, it isn't something that really appeals to me aesthetically but it is an example of how packaging could be displayed within an exhibition space. I feel that this isn't the most successful option as it very hard to view and see at different angles. The fact that it is in a drawer means someone needs to pull it out in order to eve see it.

After viewing the ground floor I then travelled upstairs to continue the exhibition. I love the high ceilings and white walls that really increases the appearance of space. On the upper floor the use of neon lights was great and added an interesting focal area.

Upstairs was a selection of really impressive photography. The images were very large scale and rather than being printed were displayed on very high definition screens that really made the images come alive and feel like you could just step into them.

Finally was fine art, what appealed to me here was the use of colour and again scale as it made the pieces very engaging, especially being able to get up close and see the texture.

Exhibitions - Dutch Design Year.

Whilst in Amsterdam I visited a small exhibition called the Dutch Design Year, the theme was around interior design but what interested me here was the similarities between it and areas within Graphic Design that I like including colour and print design.

I love how all the items have their own unique appearance with that being their shape or the material they're made out of. I like how even with these differences all of the elements still work together consistently with the composition of a home environment.

In regards to print design it is interesting to see how designs can be applied to a variety of different products, whether that be on multiple scales, materials or formats.

Looking into Studios - NB Studio.

Another studio visited during my London trip.

"Thinking

Creativity, ideas, naming, brand positioning, brand architecture, brand guardianship, competitor and communications audits, tone of voice, interviews and customer journey.

Doing

Brand identity, websites, brand guidelines, literature, packaging, direct mail, annual reports, exhibitions and campaigns."


Surname & Surname

"Public relations company, Blue Rubicon approached us to help create the identity for their new consumer focused offering; brand communications agency Surname & Surname."

I feel the concept behind this brand is really clever and translates well across all the products, the typeface is clear and simple which I think exaggerates this. Again the layout is simple and consistent which makes the theme even clearer to the audience.


John Lewis Broadband

"NB first started working with John Lewis on a project to integrate Greenbee insurance into the main John Lewis brand. The success of that project led John Lewis to take a similar approach to its broadband offer."

I like the use of iconography for this project and how the identity has been applied across the board. The use of overlaid colours and opacity really gives a new depth to the logo and illustrations. Alternative colours have been used to separate the different packages.


Crabtree & Evelyn

"Crabtree & Evelyn challenged NB to develop a compelling theme for Christmas 2013. This theme would then be applied to a range of festive produce, gift packaging, shop fronts and ‘pop-up’ concessions all around the world."

The illustrative aspect if this design is very detailed and the colours are very intense, I think this adds to the festive theme. In addition to the christmas feeling, the foiled aspects portray this even more.

Evaluation - Cath Kidston.

During this brief I improved my illustrational skills and creating recognisable characters. Before this I had never really hand drew initial designs and had gone straight to a digital approach. However I felt that not skipping this step was extremely valuable and gave the illustrations a more personal and quirky appearance. It was fun creating characteristics for the individuals that would make them recognisable in different settings. I also learnt how to transfer these characters into scenes that could be repeated.

I began this brief by conducting primary research into Cath Kidston, I did this by visiting the store so I could get a better idea of the products in context. The aesthetics of the brand became clear as I could clearly see the use of colour. Even things like the interior suggested the vintage theme. I also looked in detail to current prints and the visual style as well as research into my medieval theme. As illustration was something I am still developing I also looked into the work of illustrators and I feel it gave me a lot of inspiration.

A strength from this collection is the very consistent aesthetic across colour palette and illustration style oof the characters. I think it is clear that everything belongs together and I could see it all sitting successfully together within a shop environment.

I think a weakness of this project is that it doesn’t have an extremely strong visual aesthetic of Cath Kidston. I tried to replicate their iconic style but it was difficult to get the hand painted look as I don't have skills within this area. If I had more time I would have spent longer trying to find ways to product the correct aesthetic.

Evaluation - Champneys.

During this brief I think I improved most on my audience consideration and creating something for a particular individual. I think having this very specific focus actually made the design process easier as it was clear who we were tailoring everything to. I think this was particularly apparent with the copy aspect, with our tone of voice being very relatable to a younger person.

I did quite a lot of primary research for this project as it was very easy to go into shops and look at the competition and how products appear on the shelf. Whilst doing this I could also see the current Champneys products and how they needed to be adapted to fit with the new audience, I felt the colours were quite muted and dated. Whilst researching we also found that floral prints were very common within this sector so we wanted to produce something that would stand out from this.

I feel a strength from this brief would be the level of finish and production quality. We were really happy with the mock ups crafted as we felt they didn’t have a hand crafted appearance. We also went through a lot of trouble creating our plastic mould as it was an important part of aesthetic to us. I am glad we did this as I felt I learnt a lot about the plastic moulding process. This is similar with the marbling experiments this took a bit of time to understand the process but we felt the end results were very successful and transformed the identity of the brand.

I think a weakness of this project was that we could have pushed the campaign aspect. We focussed strongly on appealing to the audience aesthetically rather than reaching them with advertisements.

Exhibitions - Dialogue.

I recently took part in and visited the preview night of the Dialogue exhibition, put together by Nathan and Eve, Yoke. It was fantastic night with a great atmosphere and was amazing to see what the guys had achieved. The prints were really interesting especially seeing what had been paired together. It was interesting designing for this purpose as obviously it was unclear what the final outcome would be. Here is some further information about the exhibition:


About Yoke

Yoke is a duo based in Leeds with an aim to create an exhibition space that spurs dialogue between creatives. In late 2013, Graphic designers Eve Warren and Nathan Bolton joined forces to create 'Dialogue'.


About Dialogue

The exhibition is a week long, non profit pop up print exhibition that will be held at Leeds Corn Exchange from March 27th and April 3rd 2014. The theme is 'dialogue' where a range of the most up and coming designers and creatives studios joined forces and submitted a design with the open mind of their work being manipulated through print and a special pairing process. Over the past few weeks Yoke has created a series of screen-printed artworks that will be displayed throughout the running of the exhibition.


The Brief

The objective is to encourage contributions for a week long, non profit pop up print exhibition and shop that will be held at the Leeds Corn Exchange between March 28th and April 4th 2014. The theme of the exhibition is 'dialogue' where each creative will submit a design that will be used in a blind collaboration. Contributors must be open to their submissions being manipulated through the use of print and the match making process, that will pair the two submissions together. This will create a series of screen-printed artworks that will be displayed throughout the running of the exhibition.


The Exhibition