Studio Brief 2 - Self Branding: Colour palette

Colour palette

I wanted to keep to a minimal colour palette as I didn't feel one colour consistently represent me.  I chose a montone colour palette  of black and white as  I felt I could make this look sophisticated and modern through the fine details of my typographic choices and effective imagery.  Was inspired my the Artvvork branding that I analysed as part of my research, I liked how their stripped back colour palette created a contemporary aesthetic that did not restrict the design, It really allowed for the content to shine through on their collateral such as website and mobile app which I feel could work well for me as this would ensure that my branding does not contrast with my portfolio. If required a more diverse colour palette I would incorporate a Pantone ‘Dark Blue C’ into the my colour palette taken from my display logo, I feel this would add subtle bursts of colour and will keep an audience engaged.

Inspiration from the contemporary minimalism of 'Artvvork'

I trailed purple as well but felt that in some instances it gave slightly email connotations. This informed my decision to choose the a royal blue as from further research found that: The blue colour communicates significance, importance, and confidence without creating somber or sinister feelings. This is where the corporate blue power suit and the blue uniforms of police officers and firefighter came from. Considered a highly corporate colour, blue is often associated with intelligence, stability, unity, and conservatism.Different shades, tints, and hues of blue have different meanings. For example, dark blue can be seen as elegant, rich, sophisticated, intelligent, and old-fashioned, royal blue can represent superiority, and light blue can mean honesty and trustworthiness. (Bourncreative). I feel this represents the aesthetic I want my self branding to have and small burst of this bold colour could work well to tie my whole identity together. 

Studio Brief 2 - Self Branding: Type choices

Type choices

My first university module taught me a lot about type and gave a new found appreciation for typesetting and typographic choices. I learnt that each typeface affects the design and leads to different connotation. I wanted to choose a range of appropriate typefaces that I could use throughout my personal branding. I will pick a body copy typeface and display typeface, by keeping these consistent throughout my personal branding I can create a sense of continuity between all of my designs so that they look like a sophisticated brand package. 

I considered a range of typographic choices for my business card I wanted something structured yet personality, I quickly regarded serif typefaces as I wanted to represent my practise as modern, simple and contemporary. This left me with a range of sans serif typefaces, I avoided the generic typefaces such as Helvetica and Futura as I felt they would look almost copycat on a plain white background as they have been used so frequently. I wanted a subtly different typeface that would appeal to other graphic designs as they would appreciate the detailed typographic choices. I narrowed down a short list of typefaces that I then experimented with typing my name and adjusting the kerning etc to see which suited the desired aesthetic I was trying to portray with my self branding project. 

Typographic Short List

Display Typeface: 

I Experimented with a range of typeface for my display typeface, I felt this was important as it would be used for headings and titles so I wanted it to be engaging. I wanted my display typeface to be bold without looking invasive, contemporary and adaptable across a range of media. I ultimately decided on a sans serif typeface as I felt this represented my style of design better than a serif typeface could. I felt the low x height of Brandon Grotesque would make the titles harder to read and thought Karla looked too structured for a display typeface and potentially quite un-engaging to an audience. 

I chose GT Pressura as my display typeface because I felt it embodied all of these characteristics. I feel the bold weight stands out yet the rounded corners of the condensed sans serif typeface gives it a softer edge that is more approachable which is how I aim to present myself. I was inspired to use this typeface as Local art project East st Arts uses GT Pressura within their branding, I think it looks really effective as a display typeface as for me personally it hits the right contrast between legibility combined with subtle features making the typeface quirky and unique. 

GT Pressura Bold Display Typeface

Body Copy: 

I decided I wanted to use Karla Regular as my body copy following a talk from the editor of our student magazine NEST. The main element I considered when choosing body copy was its legibility. I wanted it to complement the display typeface yet look constant with my contemporary branding when stood alone.

I chose Karla my body copy typeface. This grotesque sans serif typeface is symetrical and contemporary. I especially like the unique ear of the ‘g’ and tail of the ‘q’ I think these quirky features give it a sense of personality. Another major bonus is that it is a free google font so no premium license is required which is great for me being a student, and shows that uniquely crafted typefaces don't have to be extremely expensive from the top type foundries there are great quality alternatives available too. 

Karla Body Copy

I feel I have make informed decisions about my typographic choices and feel they work well together. My display typeface is bold and direct yet has a quirky characteristics that make it approachable and engaging. My body copy is highly legible the characters are very geometric which links into the inspiration behind my logo. The body copy works well balancing the thick weight of my display typeface and will appeal to my target audience of designers who will appreciate the attention to detail with my typographic choices. 

Studio Brief 2 - Self Branding: Logo Development

Self Branding: Logo Development

Having decided I wanted to focus my self branding concept around the flower of life/second year studio decal I started to sketch some initial ideas of what a potential logo could look like.  I sketched the overlapping circle design as I felt this worked well in portraying a bold simple shape that would be recognisable, easy to reproduce and is directly relatable to me. I started experimenting with different combinations of text and image with my name and logo too see if I found any I thought could work well together. I decided to take this forward digitally as I would be able to experiment with different typefaces and line weight to create a more developed design concept. 

I experimented with different weights and typographical combinations to see if I could create a contemporary memorable logo. I liked the inserts of colour as I felt it make the logo stand out and had more impact however I felt the circles of colour looked too digital and restrictive and gave me medical connotations such as BUPA. I experiment with different alignments of type however after consulting other students advice came to the conclusion that for the logo it would be most affective with just the overlapping circular symbol for the logo as this could later be paired with text on collateral such as the business card. They felt the simplicity of the design worked best with just the circular design as a stand alone logo which I agree with as I wanted a simple, bold and contemporary logo to represent my personal branding. 

Final Logo Design

Display Logo:

I felt confident wit my logo design as I felt it was representative of me; my interests and ambitions. I liked the simple contemporary aesthetic of the final design, its strong weight gave it bold assertiveness that would not get lost on the page. My only concepts was that is might not be that eye-catching on the front of a business card. I wanted to create a more elaborative display logo that would be featured on my more visual collateral such as business card, website and social media presence. I liked the idea of incorporating colour within my logo like I experimented with in my development (seen above) but wanted to eliminate the restrictive digital feel. When talking through my ideas with other students someones suggested that I use a physical art material such as watercolour or marker pen to create colour as they felt my work way not always digital and had noticed I have used a range of materials in response to briefs thought the year. I felt this was a good idea as it would highlight my diversity to potential clients showing that I have a range skills and this would also add an extra element to my designs making it more engaging to an audience.
  

I trailed a range of materials however found that I preferred brush ink as it was very expressive, and totally eliminated a digital feel. I thought this technique was quite unusual and innovative and represented me well due to my ability to use a range of materials within my work. I trailed a range of colours however felt blue and purple came out the best with the most aesthetic feel. I liked the creation of unusual patterns as this would intrigue an audience making the want to look more closely. I decided to use the blue and purple within my design as relating back to the psychology of business card chart found in my research analogues work together well.

I then developed this design digitally removing the background and adjusting the hue/saturation and contrast to ensure the best aesthetic. Once I was happy with the colours I experimented with the logo overlaying in onto the colours and reducing the opacity of the colours within the overlap of the circles. I also experimented with negative space however felt this was not as affective and wouldn't look as good if reproduced at a smaller scale. 

Final display logo

I feel my final display logo works well in attracting the audience attention and engaging potential clients. The image is bold and unique due to the brusho ink which removes the overly digital feel the previous developments had. I think the display logo is really effective and will stand out to potential clients, similarly to the logo I do not feel it is restrictive as it highlights my diversity and ability to experiment with a range disciplines. On a more subtle and contextual level I think the ink exploding out of the overlapping circles could be my uniquely creative way of demonstrating I think outside of the box, I feel this could produce a walking point when ending my card to clients as it works on a range of levels so could stimulate conversation.  The overall aesthetic of the display logo is bold contemporary and striking I feel it along with the standard logo that would be used in letterheads and other simpler collateral that I have created an engaging logo that represents my intercepts and aspirations in a uniques creative aesthetic that will appeal to a broad client base. 

Studio Brief 1 - Reflective Practise: Live Brief - Secret 7"

Secret 7" 

Secret 7 is an annual competition that takes 7 tracks from well-known musicians and then invite creatives from around the world to interpret these tracks in their own unique and individual way, 100 designs for each track are then selected and made into limited edition sleeves and sold for £50 a piece to raise money for a selected charity. These 700 sleeves are exhibited for the public and then sold on record store day. The innovative concept is that the buyers don't know who created the sleeve or which song it is for until they have purchased their limited edition vinyl. 

This year secret 7's chosen charity is Nordoff Robbins. This charity works with people with a range of challenges such as dementia, autism and learning difficulties. Their range of terrify programmes helps to provide support with communication and social interaction. The results are said to have a high impact on not only the individuals but their families and friends. They are heavily involved with the music industry as a charity as they hold their own music therapy centres in local community environments and train therapists to an extremely high standard through their masters degree programme, this makes Nordoff Robbins an excellent choice of charity that will truly benefit from the donations raised through the secret 7 competition. A vast selection of designers from a range of backgrounds have been selected and exhibited in the past years of secret 7, from students (including Students from Leeds College of Art) to children and professionals such as David Shrigley all exhibiting their original artworks for charity. Below highlights a number of successful artworks that have been exhibited in past years. 

I felt this was a great start to emerging into the real world of graphic design. I thought this brief would give me opportunity to showcase my work to a real audience and potentially give me chance for some recognition. I felt as though I will have to step up my work load in order to be in with a chance of winning the competition.  created a range of 30 thumbnails then took part in a range of critiques both formally and informally to find out which designs were most popular with other students, I then developed these into strong final concepts that I presented in my final critique. 

Design 1

Design 2

I feel the pair of my final designs worked well and showed that I had clearly communicated the concept I was trying to portray. I found the evaluative feedback from other students encouraging as the feedback showed the concept had been clearly understood without the need of any additional description as they were able to identify the track and analyst the design easily. I chose to submit Design 1 as the final resolution to this brief as I felt it had a stronger concept behind the design. Although design 2 is equally aesthetically pleasing I felt the concept of design 1 was stronger and is a more unique and interesting interpretation of the track.  I then submitted this design to the secret 7 competition through the website. I feel this design is an interesting and unique interpretation of the track however I am unsure if it will be successful in being selected for the secret 7 competition based on the high volume of entries from designers all over the world however I am satisfied that I have successfully create  an engaging outcome for the brief and am happy with my resolution. 

Studio Brief 2 - Self Branding: Inspiration

Inspiration

Following the discussion with module leader in my interim critique I decided to revert back to my mind map to look for new directions in which I could take my personal branding. I felt that because I had thoroughly documented a range of my design interests in one place, I could easily analyse different aspects of their design and find a way to incorporate them into my self branding as it would reflect me and my interests. 

I looked more closely at the flower of life as this is the type of design that I really appreciate, it is simple symmetrical well thought out and aesthetically pleasing, I find the whole design very satisfying to look at and find it's structure intriguing, as it uses the simplicity of a circle to create an sophisticated design that has become timeless. I wanted to implement the basis behind the design into my self branding as it reflects the type of design I find aesthetically engaging. 

When working in the second year studio I was attracted to the vinyl decals on their windows particularly the 'collaborative space' symbol as it was simply two interlocking circles. I liked the simplicity of this design and noticed that it would fit in well with my inspiration from the flower of life as it is made up of similarly interlocking circles. I felt the second year studio reflects my development as it where I aspire to be moving forward through the course and improving my work to a higher standard such as the current second years. I felt I could develop this into a sophisticated design concept as it has a strong concept of my personal interest and reflects my ongoing development. I will develop some initial ideas from this concept as conduct an informal critique to see if people thing the design would work and if it reflects my practise. 

Studio Brief 2 - Self Branding: Interim Critique

Interim Critique

I had a scheduled individual interim critique with module leader John today to discuss my ideas toward the brief so far. I showed him my mind map and initial ideas and talked through my response to the brief this far. He was really positive towards my research telling me that it was really good to collate all of my inspiration together as this will make it easier to design from. When I asked him what other directions I could take my deign he told me to resort back to my mind map as he felt there was a range of inspiration and number of directions in which I could take my design. 

He then talked to me about the importance of a digital and online presence and told be about countless jobs he has received as a practising professional from Linked In. He strongly advised me to make a lined in account and start trying to connect with practitioners as this was a good way to meet people and he has found a good way for students to get design placements. He also told to create an online portfolio to direct potential clients/studios to my work as this would increase my presence within the industry. I will definitely take on board this advise and create a range of digital profiles to make myself more discoverable. 

We concluded our tutorial by him reassuring game that I had a good foundation with the work I had already carried out and that the inspiration and design will come, he reinforced the importance of a digital presence and that this is consistent across all platforms. I feel a lot more confident now as I was beginning to panic with my lack on inspiration but I feel as though if I relax and revisit my mind map I will find a range of new inspirit that I can develop into successful concepts.

Studio Brief 1 - Reflective Practise: Student Ambassador

Student Ambassador

I was given the chance to apply to represent my course and the university as a student ambassador. I applied for the vacancy had a formal interview and got the job. The interview really got my to reflect on my UCAS application process which I found particularly difficult due because I ultimately had the change to move away from home and start a new life in any city that I wanted. I thought hard about my decision and intimately chose Leeds College of Art for its small cohort and close knit community. I also really loved Leeds as a city which made me more content with my final decision. As I looked at a range of universities I wanted to ask lots of question but found that sometimes the ambassadors/tour guides weren't that helpful, this is one of the main reasons I wanted to become a student ambassador to ensure I can give useful advice to prospective students. 

I feel being a student ambassador has also helped me greatly with this PPP module as it is a great form of networking. I have gained a range of new contacts that could potentially help me in the future from Level 5 Graphic students who I worked very closely with, to ambassadors from other courses such as Fine Art and Fashion students that I have become friendly. This could be beneficial for me as if I needed to collaborate across programmes I have already got a range of connections across the variety of degree programmes which could facilitate this. I have also met a vast range of prospective students and took the time to talk to them individually during the interview process, this could come in useful as even if they do not study at Leeds College of Art I have made a first introduction to other students that will ultimately be practising within the same discipline so there is potential to communicate with them in the future. 

I have enjoyed being a student ambassador as it has given me a better knowledge of the college through taking tours to areas I wouldn't typically visit. I have also made a range of new connections across the range of degree programmes within university which I am sure to take advantage of in the future. It has also reassured me that I made the right decision as to which university I chose to go to.

Studio Brief 2 - Self Branding: Initial Ideas

Initial Ideas

I started my initial ideas by trying to create a concept that I could then use as a basis for the rest of my design. I started by trying to come up with a range of memorable slogans that I felt embodied my practise.  I came up with "Rhys Jones, who else?" as I felt this portrayed me as an expert within my field. It also added confidence and a direct approach however I felt it was too early in within my practise to make such bold statements. I then came up with the concept of "Thinker. Doer." which I really liked it merged tow fundamental principles of design the thinking as I love conceptual design with a strong concept and Doer demonstrating I have the ability to create great quality design. 

I then started looking more closely into my name,  I realised it was a relatively unusual Welsh spelling so considered using this and adding subtle hints and wales into my identity such as using Red white and green within the colour scheme however I decided this would be too cliche and was not how I wanted to represent myself to the world. I then looked at incorporating my middle name into my designs branding myself as "Rhys Lloyd Jones" this middle name adds a sense of heritage as it is also my fathers and grandfathers middle names, I feel I could play on this to add a sense of heritage and sophistication to my design. 

I started sketching up a few very basic logo ideas however wanted to quickly move on to developing my designs digitally as due to the contemporary minimalism I wanted to portray I felt it was easier to develop digitally so that I could experiment with typeface and colour schemes (sorry John). I started by experimenting with the heritage element adding Lloyd into my name,  I contrasted this against a sans-serif 'Rhys Jones' but felt this did not work effectively. I then changed it all to Goudy Book and felt this worked better with a dark grey and pale blue that contrasted nicely. I used lines to separate each work similar to that of the branding in the Ampersand hotel to give the design a contemporary touch which I felt contrasted well against the relatively modern serif typeface (see below). 

I then sampled this as a business card design central aligning the design leaving a vast amount of white space. I think this design looks minimal and contemporary despite the serif typeface which I feel works well to highlight the undertone of heritage I was trying to apply within the design.

I then worked on a reverse design flipping the colour scheme so that the back would catch the users eye. I included dark grey text to keep the design consistent with the front and added the slogan thinker. doer. in white which I feel pops against the blue so that it stands out. I included ta QR code next to my contact information that will link the user straight to me website however I am not sure that this element works with the minimal design aesthetic I was trying to achieve. Overall I think this design works in creating simplicity that is consistent and would attract the users attention however feel it needs further development.

I then worked in an alternative design with my other slogan to see how it looked in context. I chose a deep teal as I felt it was slightly unusual and looked quite serious and professional. I kept with the minimal design and heritage aspect of the Lloyd with a serif typeface. I then juxtaposed this with a sans-serif slogan 'who else?' I think this stands out and looks professional however feel its too pretentious at this point within my creative development as I am still learning a lot about the industry. I feel this is the sort of personal branding an executive or director might use. 

I then became quite stuck with which other direction I could take my self branding in as I was very critical due to the personal nature of the topic, I decided to teak a break and wait for the interim critique and talk through my ideas with John so that he could give me his perspective and we could talk about new directions that I could look at. 

Studio Brief 1 - Reflective Practise: Current Direction

Current Direction

I now feel more comfortable experimenting more within my resolutions to briefs. I think I have become more adventurous and am trying to push how I interpret a brief and not just come up with the standard expected resolution. The OUG405 module allow me to work with editorial design which was an aspect of graphic design that I had wanted to learn more about. I feel I have made a good start with editorial design however I feel as though I still have a long way to go as I found certain elements of this challenging, I think I will need to practise this aspect of design and research more into editorial design to improve the overall quality of my editorial works. Through this module I have become increasingly more aware of how important the concept behind a design is and have started to really look for a strong concept to base my designs around. I feel in future briefs I will ensure I have a strong concept before pursuing the rest of the design process as I am become more appreciative of conceptual design and think they provide the best responses to a brief. 

Studio Brief 2 - Self Branding: Research - Mind Map

Research -  Mind Map 

As a further research task I created a mind map documenting my visual interests. I gathered a range of imagery of things I found engaging and aesthetically pleasing. There is a range of sources and styles from brands which I like from a consumer perspecitive and designer perspective patterns I like, interior design and a range of typefaces I want to experiment with during my development, below highlights some of the reasons behind the imagery within the mind map. 

I included the Ampersand Hotel within my mind map as it represents my love for conceptual design. The hotel is based strongly around the concept of the ampersand with each room creatively combining two aspects for a unique experience for example the 'Fish&Chips" suite. This is consistent across all all its collateral with its door mat reading 'Welcome & Hello' and the wake up call named 'Rise & Shine'. All these little details create a rememberable concept that is simple by its nature but extremely well executed.

I featured the flower of life within my mood board as I admire the intricate nature of the design, the combination of circles creates a visually stimulating and engaging pattern that I think has a great aesthetic. It also represents my taste for natural products. I like to eat naturally where possible and the flower of life represents this in a way I feel could be incorporated into my design. 

I included the Hotel Chocolat logo within the mid map as I like how the brand has market itself from the collateral to the feel within the store. I also like the logo from a design perspective as I feel it simple and contemporary with its monotone colour scheme bold square design and simple sans-serif typeface yet adds presently with its hand-rendered 'chocolat' making the identity unique and rememberable.