Below is a copy of my PDF Portfolio
Now What Show – CSAD Degree Show
I decided to look around the CSAD Degree show, Now What. This was really inspiring to look around because it allowed me to see what can be achieved and see others work that have been through the process that I am just starting. I really enjoy looking at all the piece within the show however, there were a few that I found really inspiring.
To start off with one piece I found inspiring was by Maris Latham, Bias Sans. It was inspired by the gender stereotypes, masculine, feminine and neutral. The aim of this typeface was to raise awareness surrounding the biases that we possess unconsciously. I really liked how the colours chosen appeared to be related to the stereotype that society holds. Blue for masculine, a coral shade for feminine while neutral is in a grey. Type is something that I am thinking about looking further into as I develop throughout the course this is why I found her work inspiriting to look at.
Furthermore, I also found the work by Joe Tophum-Taylor inspiriting as it showcased the ability to use graphic skills alongside others such as photography. As I come from a photography background I found this work inspiring. In particular I liked the editorial piece magazine which showed the negative connotations of certain places within Wales, I thought the concept was very clever. When looking through the guide created, I really admired the use of large spread with only type on them, this combined with the photography I personally thought made the guide interesting and engaging.
Thirdly, the magazine Tide which was created/designed by Megan Jones was another piece which was inspiring to me. Again I liked the use of photography within this piece and how the editorial magazine had be. engaging with the variation in pace. Also, I like the use of video alongside the magazine from a presentation point of view I thought that this was really strong. As editorial is something that I am very interested in and want to potentially purse in the future, it was inspiring to see what others were designing and how I could develop to maybe create something like this in the future.
References
Latham, M. (2019) Bias Sans [Typeface] CSAD: Now What!.
Tophum-Taylor, J. (2019) Negative Connotations. [Editorial] CSAD: Now What!.
Jones, M. (2019) Tide. [Editorial] CSAD: Now What!.
Portfolio Development
Since having the peer review have decided to start making some developments to my portfolio. I started by ensuring that the visual language was consistent throughout the portfolio. I decided to continue using the combination of Kiro Light and Thin in my body copy of type to ensure than there was consistency , as this was something that was suggested in the peer feedback. I have also started to complete photographing the work in context, below are a few of the images that I have taken for the portfolio.
I took the feedback that I was given and displayed the Reimagining Designs Histories poster in a better context, on a notice board. I have also experimented with using hands within my photography in order to show both the context and scale of my work. This was something I discussed during my peer review of my portfolio, and I felt that it was something I considered.
In relation to my peer feedback I have added a contact page at the end of the portfolio to allow any one who reads to get in contact with me for more information or view more of my work online social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter or WordPress. I decided to give it a similar aesthetic to the cover page of my portfolio.
Portfolio Peer Review
As part of getting our portfolios ready for submission we took part in a peer review session where we were given feedback on how to improve our portfolios. I found the session beneficial because I was able to have the strengths and weaknesses of my portfolio pointed out to me. It was also useful to discuss what my peers thought about ‘branding’ and what they thought about the way in which I had presented the work in general.
We worked in partners for this task and Megan gave me the positive feedback as followed:
- Including information of the programmes – shows varied skill set.
- consistency with the paint mark in branding throughout.
- Large images help to break up the portfolio
- Strong photography/imagery
- placed projects in context.
This was really positive to hear as it allowed me to consider how I can continue to develop the portfolio to show these. However, there was also feedback about the weaknesses of the portfolio and ways forward to improve upon these.
- Spelling – Check over synopsis for mistakes, proof read everything before final submission. Get somebody to double check.
- Image layout of reimagine design histories project, needs to be places more in context consider maybe a wall of a posters and yours being the main focus. Would lead nicely into the next image.
- In synopsis could make the type similar to the heading to bring in consistency. (put brief in bold)
- Hello opening page – consider adding some imagery to the page as you are trying to show who you are and theres not reference to your work at all, consider maybe adding something to show this.
- Repetitive images – be careful not to use to much repetitive images, its good to show imagery in content but could get to repetitive using the same background (Dog-go.)
I agree with these weakness and feel that they are something that I can work on to improve the portfolio before hand in.
Portfolio Project Development
To begin designing my portfolio I wanted to start by considering what my ‘brand’ would look like. Using the workshop from before and thinking further about who I am as a designer helped to start to create an idea for the look of the portfolio. I see myself as a creative individual coming from an art/photography background gave me the idea to consider using a brush mark within my identity. This combined with a clean background would show I’m creative & ‘hands on’ but I am still professional to work with.
In illustrator I started to experiment with a brushstroke effect however, after considering and talking to others about their thoughts I decided to use an actual brushstroke mark which I created then scanned into the computer to create the identity. This showed me as a designer better I think as it shows that my background is in art/photography etc and it shows that I am not afraid to experiment with media to create a unique outcome.
I decided to use the typeface Kiro as I felt that it was clean, sophisticated and professional which show me as a designer. This typeface choice combined with the brushstroke mark I feel sum up me as a young designer perfectly. I decided to chose to different weights of fonts, to show a level of hierarchy. The emphasis on my first name as I felt that this was the most important as I want people to know who I am. I thought from a design point of view that having the more dense font over majority of the stroke would allow it to be more legible. This idea of contrast weight in is something that I felt I could continue throughout the course of the portfolio.
I wanted to showcase my outcomes in context to allow the viewer to gain a better understanding of their purpose. I decided to print off the outcome which were design for print and photograph them in their context setting as well as the studio. I thought that this would also showcase my photography ability, which is another passion of mine. At the current stage I have only photographed certain projects as I waiting on things to be printed and bound, in the case of the editorial project.
Like in the editorial project pace is an critical part of the design the portfolio, to help engage the viewer. I wanted each page to have a different design but still all link together. I did this through the use of the ‘branding’ I used on the first page scaled down and paced in the corner of the page (either top/bottom left). Furthermore, I wanted to showcase certain images from particular project so I felt that it was appropriate to have some pages where they image is consuming the entire page.
Changing Faces – Responding to Feedback
I received feedback on my changing faces editorial project after the formative assessment point. Overall I was very happy with the feedback and agree with the few areas that could be pushed further. As these editorials are going to form part of our end of year show, we are given time to make some adjustments prior to printing.
In the feedback it stated that my pull out quotations could be more evocative of their content. They seem to long and make the user disengage. This is something that I needed to address further. I decided in many cases to shorten the quotes that I had, taking out any information that was needed. As an example using “I know bits and pieces” rather than “I know bits and pies of stuff that’s happened”.
The feedback also stated about my typesetting and how things such as my rag needed more work. In order to try an create a more natural rag I decided to change the point size from 11 to 9. This created a more natural following Rag, to further this I also tried to move certain words to the next line. Moving words to the next line also help frame the type better around the imagery, for instance the title page.
I wanted to push the concept of the project more, the idea of missing/broken connections, alongside the content of the article which talks about fading memories. The visual language would still include characters missing from words but maybe as the editorial moves forward the more and more character start to fade. I used this in the pull out quotations mainly. Furthermore, previously the pull out quotations where black but I felt they would compliment the imagery more if they were coloured to match. I feel that this both compliments the images but also allows the quotes to stand out more and don’t seem placed unnaturally.
Also, with idea of the pushing the concept/content further I thought about fading the running heads as the article/editorial progresses. Starting off being 100%, moving to 50% then to 10% I think that this really adds to overall story and starts to strongly communicate the message of the article.
Overall I think that with these improvements I have really been able to enhance my work and showcase the message of the article/ the concept of spreads better.
Portfolio Project – Inspiration & Research
Before starting to look at designing my own portfolio I thought that looking for some inspiration and ideas would be helpful. To do this I thought about looking as some of my favourite designers portfolios and looking at some layouts I could find.
Even though Angela Lyons’s portfolio is an online website I thought that it would be interesting for me to look at to gain an understanding and see how her work is presented. One of the things that I really like about Angela’s is the simplicity of the layout, white background to allow the work to speak for itself with simple black type. I also liked the layout of the projects, they were clearly organised into their categories allowed the client to simply go to the area they wanted. This is something that I don’t feel I would need for this initial portfolio but as it progresses I think that it would be something to consider.
I also looked at Sagmeister & Walsh another favourite of mine. I particular like the layout again, in the reverse of Angela Lyons’s portfolio, the work is displayed on black. I think this is very dynamic and different. In this ‘portfolio’ website I like the amount of images that shows the context of the design, it showcase the design better than having a long synopsis next to it.
Furthermore, I also started to create an inspiration board on Pinterest. I thought that this would allow me the opportunity to see various portfolios that I wouldn’t necessarily known of. Through doing this as well it gave me the chance to see how portfolios that aren’t websites could be laid out.
From looking at some of these I found that I prefered the cleaner style of layout, lots of white space and the images being large and bold. This was something that I could consider when designing my own portfolio. Through doing this it allowed me the chance to see what aspects I liked and others which I didn’t. This mini research will enable me when designing my own portfolio and help me to ensure that I am showcasing who I am as a designer.
Portfolio Project – Workshop #2
As part of the workshop we were asked to look in future detail into the three companies that we would love to work for and reflect on their practice.
Company/Agency Name: Jack Renwick Studio
Ethos: The ethos of this studio is summed up in one very simple line on their website, “Make it different. Make a Difference”. I think that this is a very quick and easy way to sum up the studio.
Reflection on practice: After listen to Jack speak at 4 Designers I felt compelled to look further into their practice. One of the projects that I really connected with and felt related itself very clearly to the ethos of the studio was Wide Horizons. This are a charity that aim to take children out from the classroom and help them learn better through outdoor curriculum. To me personally I think that with this project it really relates to this idea of “make it different. make a difference”. I thought that they way they used classroom stationary to make different objects out of for the identity for this project was an amazing concept, as it clearly shows learning but in a different way to the normal classroom.
Why you would want to work for them: I would want to work for Jack Renwick Studio for the experience of working with the ethos. I think that there ethos is something that I would enjoy working with. I would like to design innovative and creative outcomes but ensure that they also had a positive impact.
Company/Agency Name: Blogosphere Magazine
Ethos: Blogosphere are a magazine that publish 3 issue every year with content based around blogging (social media). They are aiming to help people get into this growing industry, not only though magazine but through other aspects such as podcasting.
Reflection on practice: Blogosphere have published many issues yet there is something that is magical about the style of editorial that they do. The style is very contemporary and clean, Even though each issue is different there is constancy from issue to issue. Angela Lyons who created the branding for the magazine and spreads is an inspiration of my mine.
Why you would want to work for them: I would like to work for blogosphere as I feel that my strengths are in editorial design and concepts. I love the content that they create and the way in which they design their work is something that I aspire to be like.
Company/Agency Name: Bluegg
Ethos: I think that the ethos of Bluegg is again summed up with the following from there website, “Challenging. Bold. Big thinking. Fast moving. Grown up. Juvenile”.
Reflection on practice: As the are a Digital branding company there work is very different from both the two companies above. One of their projects that I love is the re-branding of Wales Week. I think that its a clever idea and concept using the connector within the logo allows it too be used with multiple content (for example as the event expands).
Why you would want to work for them: I would enjoy working for them because I think that it was be very interesting to work with that ethos and create branding that everybody recognises.
References
https://bluegg.co.uk/work/wales-week-in-london
https://www.blogosphere.biz
http://www.jackrenwickstudio.com
Portfolio Design – Workshop #1
For the final project for first year we’ve been asked to create a portfolio to showcase all the projects that we have done throughout the course of the first year. The portfolio would be a Digital PDF document, designed using InDesign.
As part of the briefing for this final project we took part in a workshop where we were asked various questions such as what we thought we are strengths, what things best describe us and what companies do we aspire to work for. Through doing this is enables us to evaluate ourselves as designers and start to think about what our ethos is as designers. This workshop would also provided us with initial ideas of what we wanted our portfolios to look like and the impression that we would like to give.
Workshop Questions & Answers
If you were a brand, which three brand would you be?
- Apple
- Canon
- Natural Collection
I chose these brands as I use majority of them everyday and they are like a part of me. Canon is more related to my love of photography and capturing the moment within a image that will say 1000 words.
If you were a font, which three fonts would you be?
- Rubik Medium/Light
- Zeitung Mirco Pro
- DIN Alternative
These are font which I think throughout this first year I have been drawn too and have used throughout multiple projects.
Three words to describe yourself as a professional designer.
- Editorial
- Creative
- Realistic
I chose these three words in particular because I felt that they best describe me. I felt that the editorial design project was my strongest. I feel that I have been creative throughout the course of the first year in all aspects. I think that I have also tried to communicate the message as easily as possible and show the audience the realistic picture.
Three Companies you would love to work for.
- Blogosphere Magazine
- JackRenwick Studio
- Blue Egg
All three of these companies I would love to work for, blogosphere are a editorial magazine and I find there work very inspirational. I’d love to work with Jack Renwick Studio after hearing her talk at 4 Designer this year and looking further into her work and the meaning/thoughts that go behind it. Also Blue Egg a local studio who work with Digital branding which is an area I am yet to explore in detail but find their work exciting to look at.
What is your strongest skill as a creative person?
Being able to come up with creative concept ideas. Alongside being able to work well in a team and organisation.
In a sentence, sum yourself up as a professional designer?
I create designs with innovative concepts and communicate the message well.
Reflection
I found this workshop useful because it allowed me to really think about myself as a designer and where I want to start navigating my studies towards. I did find it difficult to talk about myself and my strengths as a designer, however, I think that over time I will be able to be more confident in talking about my strengths. This will be useful to look back on in a years time to see how my feelings have changed but also how I have progressed as a designer.
UX/UI – Design for Web & App in Context
As majority of apps out there have a website alternative which people are also able to use. I created a mock up of what this would look like as I thought that it was important to consider what the target user could use if their phone wasn’t available. On this webpage mockup I have tried to kept the same layout as the app, however, with the side menu being permanently accessed. I have also included a logout button in the top right hand corner to allow the user to simply logout of the app if required.
It was important to me that I was able to show the app in context when talking about it. I personally thought that it would allow the user to visualise what the app would look like better, rather than just having screenshot of the app. I completed this by downloading free to use photoshop product mockups then taking the screenshots of the app into photoshop and editing them into the mockups.
Abbie Louise Williams 