Leeds Christmas Fair @ Munro House Why this brief? This wasn’t a particular brief, it was just a fair/market I found and wanted to participate in. However, I did write my own brief for myself so I had an aim to design my prints to. The brief I wrote required me to try to express myself as a designer through my prints. I chose this particular aim as this was my first time selling prints, and I wanted it to be known what kind of designer I am. Success/problems? A main success I had with this project was definitely my time management skills. I created a strict time schedule in which to complete the work by so I was completely ready for the market. A problem I had was actually trying to make a print that represented myself as a designer. I thought it would be quite an easy task, however it turned out to be very difficult as I am still discovering what kind of designer I am. Production I created the prints using Adobe Illustrator. This was quite a simple task (other than getting the measurements right), however I didn’t digitally print my designs, I screen printed them. I chose this production for my prints as I wanted it to be obvious that my own design style is quite minimal and geometric, but I also wanted the viewers/buyers to know that I enjoy the more analogue printing techniques just as much. Evaluation Overall, the print fair was a huge success. I didn’t sell many prints, however I did hand out a lot of business cards and a lot of people picked them up from next to my prints. This is great news as now a lot more people in Leeds know about my work and how to contact me. I have also been in contact with another contributor since then.
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Eurojust Why this brief? I chose to participate in this particular brief as at the time I had been really enjoying logo design. I thought that this brief would be an excellent opportunity to design a logo for assessment to see if I’m any good at it for live briefs and not just university work. This particular brief stood out to me as it was the only logo design brief I could find other than competitions on 99designs. Success/problems? A success of this project was my actual logo design. I think it communicates the companies ethics very clearly; it is corporate and professional. A problem that I had in this brief was involving the European flag aesthetically. It was actually very difficult to incorporate into a design, hence my submission being solely type. Production I created this logo design using Adobe Illustrator, however I did create mock ups free hand. I found creating mock ups very helpful as I could quickly sketch out lots of ideas, whereas it takes a lot longer when on the computer. Evaluation In the end, I believe I learnt that logo design definitely isn’t for me - or rather, I don’t want to specialise in solely logo design. I found it incredibly challenging to think of an idea for the brand, as everything I drew or created seemed to come across quite childlike, which is something the company definitely isn’t. This project will, however, help me with future work, as I realised it’s okay to create a logo that is just type, and also that coloured logos are often requested - something I thought wasn’t the case as I have been drummed into with the fact that a logo design is only successful if it works in black and white.
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Secret 7 Why this brief? I chose to participate in this brief as I have submitted work in the past, and its a very fun brief to complete. It doesn’t specifically require submissions to have a concept, however I don’t really create any work without a concept as I feel the concept really pushes me forward. Success/problems? A success of this project was the very last minute physical submission. I think this was a successful final outcome as it was very conceptual, and I think the concept was a lot clearer than the digital submission. A problem that I had with this brief was the fact I had this idea so late in the process. I had to go to the post office as soon as it was finished and ended up paying extra money for postage so that it would arrive on time. Production I created my digital submission with Illustrator. It’s based on the letter ‘Z’. I designed it to hurt the viewers eyes to represent the fact that dreams are often confusing. The second design was created by dipping paper into marbleing ink and then drawing over it will illustrations. Evaluation What did u learn - why will this help Overall I think this project was really successful and I am very pleased with my final outcomes. I learnt that it’s good to go with your gut instinct. I had the idea for the physical print a couple of days before I actually got around to executing it. This has taught me to never put things off within my design process.
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Brompton Bikes Why this brief? I chose to do this particular brief as my substancial brief, as I knew it would involve a lot of work once I’d had the idea to create the video using paper. I found this brief on an email sent out to students and instantly wanted to participate as I have wanted to get into video production for quite a while now. Success/problems? A success of this project was the actual time I put into creating the set for the video. It took me a number of months to create and produce and I think it was definitely worth the effort involved. A problem that I had with this brief was the fact that Instagram took all of the quality out of my video. This was pretty devastating as I had spent months creating it, especially as I literally couldn’t find a way around it. Production I created my bicycle and set completely out of paper. It took me months to complete and a constant sore thumb and forefinger. I then filmed it using a canon EOS 60D. I edited the stills from the stop motion together using Photoshop, as this is the main software I know how to use with a video function and photo editing software in one place. Evaluation Overall I am incredibly proud of this project. I learnt a lot about the nature of paper and how it folds/bends, as I will constantly finding new ways to resolve issues. I also learnt that paper can actually be very sturdy. From this project, I learnt that time management is definitely important, and I definitely managed my time well. It has really pushed me to get ontop of other projects and put as much effort in as physically possible.
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D&AD Desperados Why this brief? I chose this brief as I thought that it was the brief that was most open for interpretation as it was incredibly vague. I also thought that it was a brief that was open to any specialism - I knew that I didn’t want to work with a graphic designer and I chose to work with an illustrator and animator. Success/problems? A success was definitely my contribution to the group. I feel as though I had a lot of input in the group and we all worked very successfully together. It was good that we were all from different specialisms as nobody stepped on anyone elses toes. A problem that I had was waiting for other people to send me their designs. It was very difficult to design a completed website without any content or images. In the end, however, I did manage by creating my own background for the website, which worked out for the best. Production The website, posters and wristband were all created using Adobe Illustrator. My production was definitely helped with my research, as I took a lot of different inspiration from different websites, whether it was what is succesful in a website or what is unsuccessful in a website. Evaluation What did u learn - why will this help Overall I think this project was successful. I learnt a lot, for example, I didn’t realise that creating animations takes quite as long as it does. This is information I want to know, as I really want to get into animation over summer and teach myself to use After Effects. This will definitely be helpful on the course, as some of my other projects might’ve been more successful if I had known how to use the software. This project also reiterated my strong dislike of website design, as I find it very tedious and far too digital.
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