Arndale Centre

I've finally got round to finishing a pdf to send to a shopping centre in Eastbourne! I've just sent it to the manager of the centre too, to get some feedback and anything else which may come of it! :D

I can't believe how long it's taken me to finish it, but I guess it's done now.

I'm pretty happy with it, although I think areas could be improved. It's only a mock up anyways.

I'm aware there's many Arndale Centres around the UK, so I'll be sending this to them too.

Here's hoping I get some good feedback! :D

End of Module Self Evaluation

Well, it's that time again, the end.
I can't say I didn't enjoy this brief, because I wrote it. I did however find it challenging, and a definite experience.
I liked being in charge of a brief. Knowing I can change or alter it is like a safety net. I did find myself getting a little lost at times. Being in charge of something, knowing I can do whatever I like intimidates me a little I have to admit. I'm a very indecisive person, so I'll never fully decide on something until the last minute which is something I need to address.

Writing the brief wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Having an idea as to what kind of work I want to produce made it easier, so I simply chose a brief I liked the sound of and adapted it to what I wanted to do. Although I've got my interests, it was still difficult choosing exactly what to do as the options were endless. I found my outcomes changed as the brief progressed.

I feel as though I made it harder for myself, which isn't a surprise. I try to pick something relatively simple and straight forward (in the most un-lazy way possible) but somehow I always tend to confuse myself. I'm still working on this, by laying things out. I found action plans really helped, so I knew what needed to be do for when.

I think my time management has really improved during this brief. As I mentioned before, I made action plans which helped me get things done on time, which left me plenty of time to do other things. I usually find myself rushing my outcomes, but it's kind of been a breeze this time round. I'm hoping to keep this up in the future.

Overall I believe my brief was successful. I've always said I've never been able to produce high quality finishes, and I know my outcomes could have been a lot better, but I'm really happy with how they've turned out. I still feel as though the concept and entire meaning of my work is so much more stronger, but I can safely say I'm pleased with what I've produced.

I've thoroughly enjoyed writing a brief for myself to put in to practise, and I look forward to writing more.

Here we are, my identity. I'm relitively happy with it, however, I think I will probably have a play with it some more.
I'm really liking the colours. I couldn't choose between the two as I think they both look and work well.
I've gone for simplicity, although I gave it a little edge with the curves at the beginning and end. It looks a little more classy I reckon.

Type work. Letterhead/Compliment slip

Here's my final compliment slip and letterhead.

I can't say I'm over the moon with them, so I'll be doing them again during Easter. I won't be using the same design either. I've been working on creating a new logo for myself, so this will be used instead. I can't wait to get started!!

Website sketches

Identity

I've been trying to create an identity for myself. It's proving to be tricky.
As you can see I've been using my initials within shapes. I want to try and get off this path as it's used so much. I want something different but catchy. I want to come across as confident, creative and approachable. Since creating my first lot of business cards, I'd got feedback which I wasn't expecting. The way in which I'd designed it looked too stylish and upmarket. I'm not into ''fancy'' design and glamour; I like simplicity. So I'm trying to communicate that within my identity.
I'm thinking the way in which I'm going to take this now, is purely using type.

List of 10

I've been doing my research and I've found a fair few companies I'm thinking about sending some work to, to get some feedback.

http://www.bluestonedesign.co.uk is a marketing and branding consultancy. They've produced work for plenty of large brands such as morrisons, siemens, skanska and many others.

http://teabagstudios.com work within brand design, web development and 3d animation. They have studios in Leeds which is very appealing to me as I would like to stay within the city. They also have studios in New Zealand.

http://mccallassociates.com specialise in design museums, commercial galleries and publishers.

http://varoom-mag.com is a contemporary illustration magazine.

http://elmwood.com is a brand design consultancy. Their work is fresh and clean, a style I have a great interest in. They've produced work for very well known companies; asda, comic relief, durex, bbc... They are based in Leeds, so again, another company for a potential placement perhaps?

http://www.miracle.com.bh/index.php work within branding, publishing, print and digital.

http://www.gdusa.com/index.php is 'A news magazine for creative individuals'.

http://www.bluestonedesign.com/index.htm

http://thomasmatthews.com/index.php

Elmwood

''Will I have to work late?'' -Yes.

Type work. Business card

I opened my 'business card in progress' file on the college computer and it lovingly unrecognized one of the typefaces I used, so I changed it. :) There's a few I liked the look of so I've uploaded them for people to have a browse

through.

I also tried using another colour. I'm still unsure as to which one I'm liking more!

Yes

"What you see is what you get"

Dreamweaver session 1!

Purpose?

• online presence, easily accessible
• increase profile
• standardize work

Who's the website for? Who are the target audience?

• potential clients
• potential employers
• like minded people/collaborations/students (educational) etc

Audience needs

• identity
• showcase of work
• contact
• prices
• feedback/examples

Research

• browse others sites
• look online at examples

Fonts/layout needs to be standardized. The webpages need to be kept similar, so they look as though they belong and work well together.

The principles of web design:

1. Layout, balance, flow, alignment, resolution, grids (use grid paper when designing)

2. Type, legibility, font size, font used (standard ones found on every computer), font stacks (telling the computer to replace typefaces with another if it doesn't work on a computer)

3. Colour, RGB, websafe, hexadecimal

4. Navigation, clear/simple

In photoshop, in 'colour picker', click on 'only web colours'.

Monitor = 800px x 600px

-Home

-Work/Portfolio

-About/CV

-Links (influences, friends)

-Shop?

-Blog

HTML = hyper text markup language

PHP = works for any database driven site

I've been looking at examples of website design.

I really want to go for a simple layout, with plenty of white space. This will ensure the focus is purely on my work rather than having distractions around.

This Gorilla Visuals website is a great inspiration to me. It I love how the information is kept within a boundary.

The typography is relevant and is a good choice. They're a friendly business and want the customers to feel welcome.

The typeface used for 'Gorilla Visuals' at the top of the page has been used to represent the photography. 'we endeavor to capture your event as naturally as possible'. The keyword being, 'natural'.

I very much like this also (below)

Again, it's very simply laid out.

Instead of a vertical layout, the information and work has been displayed in a horizontal direction. I think this is how I'd like mine to be. I feel as though my work would suit looking like this.

Seen as it's my first website, I don't want to have to scroll up or down to view anything. I want to have everything on one static page. This will make it a lot less complicated for people who look at my site as everything will be right in front without having to search up and down the webpage.

Business card altered

The same as before, but slightly altered.

Business card in progress

I've been trying to tackle the task of designing my own business card.

Obviously it's one of my first few, so it's nothing special, although I do quite like it.

They're not actually in order of creation. I used the purple first, then moved onto the aqua then pink.

I quite like the pink and aqua. I feel as these work better than the purple. The aqua has a clean and professional look, whereas the pink again, looks professional, but stands out more. I feel as though it is very eye-catching, and couldn't be forgotten in a hurry.

I feel as though the two typefaces I have chosen fit me well. The large 'L' in the background is typeface 'Belphebe'. It's an elegant yet rough looking typeface. The other I used is called 'Chaparral Pro', a typeface I feel fits me really well. It's really quite modern. The letters are curvy although has some square-like qualities to it, something I appreciate and have a big liking for.

I've realised I still need to add my home address and a possible home phone number, although this isn't a necessity. I will also play with the size of the typefaces. The contact details look rather over-powering, so I might make them a tad smaller. I reckon my name could do with being a little smaller too.

Creative CV

I've attempted my CV. I thought as I like working with type, I'd try to make the most of it and arrange it accordingly.

I've also started to think what kind of work to put in my CV. Again, I thought using work containing type would be appropriate, so, so far, I've used a typeface I created during the summer holidays. I've yet to play around with it. I'll try using a few letters rather than the whole typeface. It'll hopefully leave the person looking at my CV wanting to see more.

''Don't step on people's fingers on the way up, you may need their help on the way down.'' John.

''If you accept a broken pie once, you will get broken pies for the rest of your life.'' John.

More cv's

• Who are you?
• What skills do you have?
• What kind of designer are you?
• What kind of person are you?
• What is special about me? (my individual taste)
• Will I fit in with the company?

Forms CV's could take:

• Pinboard
• Pack of cards
• Write on a wall - a photograph, with me beside it
• Folded piece of paper
• Photo album
• Diary
• Tshirt - ''Offer me a job''

KEEP IT SIMPLE

Think of the audience/company. Will my CV format fit with the company?

I've been looking through the videos John gave us the titles to, and they've been somewhat useful.

• Portfolio first then they'll move onto the resume to see what the person is like
• Talk to designers
• They may give you a test piece of work so see how organised you are, to see whether you can reach deadlines, to see whether you have good communication skills, to see what you're like to work with

• Portfolios can be in the forms of folders, media kits, dvds, emails, websites, packages etc
• They explain that spending a lot of money on making the portfolio look snazzy won't help. Save your money. They want to see what you can do, not what you can spend
• They can tell if the person has work experience or not
• Use 6-10 pieces of work in the portfolio, no more. Sequence the work appropriately. Put your best work at the front so they'll want to keep looking through the portfolio.

• The company will look at the portfolio of work first before anything else. They're looking for a good person to work with, someone who is easy to work with.

• Be honest. Not everyone knows everything, so just show off your strengths, not necessarily the thing's you're just OK with
• Illustrator and InDesign over-weigh Photoshop

Group Tutorial Prep

What is a CV?

• Is an introduction about you. It should be short and sweet
• A way of selling yourself
• A way of creating contacts in the industry

What should a CV contain?

• A 'to the point' personal statement, selling yourself and your skills
• Shows what you're interested in, not only just as a designer
• Shows what experience you have
• Depending on how you go about creating the CV or how you distribute it, it shows your creativity first hand

What is a portfolio?

• A collection of work produced by you
• A portfolio can be onscreen as well as to hand

What should a portfolio contain?

• Your favourite pieces of work within the area of work you are most interested in
• A range of work, to show you have diverse skills
• Work included should show originality, experimentation and commitment