Tuesday, 23 March 2010


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.

Thursday, 18 March 2010

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!!

Wednesday, 10 March 2010

Sunday, 7 March 2010

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.

Friday, 5 March 2010

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.

Thursday, 4 March 2010

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!

















Wednesday, 3 March 2010

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.



Tuesday, 2 March 2010

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.