Berlin Visit: Studio Visit (Onlab)

Berlin Visit: Studio Contact

Today I spent roughly an hour emailing agencies that I am hoping to visit whilst over in Berlin during reading week. The first point of contact is to accquire some primary research for my dissertation, but hopefully once a relationship is established I can investigate potential internships etc. In all honesty, I have left it a bit later than planned to organise this which is a fault on my part. However, I still confident that even if I can't visit I can at least get some suitable responses through email or phone calls.

Visiting Professional: Paul Pensom

soon.

OUGD301: Proposal

OUGD301: Crit Feedback

This afternoons crit was particularly useful and some strong feedback was received. I'm confident that this was due to the fact that I was able to choose the relevant individuals within my group whose skill sets directly related to the feedback I was seeking.

The most re-assuring element that I gained from the session was that everyone generally agreed that my core briefs suited my proposal and would allow me to carry out my design ambitions. This was a substantial relief as I feel I have spent a considerable amount of time writing them and I know at times you can become so immersed in what you are doing within your own practice you can sometimes overlook certain things.
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In relation to the brand identities that I am developing (and have nearly resolved at present) there were a few points raised by each group (Ross and Tim)/(Matt and Heather). They were as follows:

Robin Moore Carpentry

+ The 'joinery' of the individual letter-forms was visually engaging and conceptually strong.

- The logo itself doesn't really convey the profession.

Equine Engineering

+ Overall look is expensive which is suitable to the context and profession.

- The discontinued 'EQ' resolution was visually stronger than the chosen identity.

Market Week

+ Effective logo that conveys market week as an important event to attend, however...

- Seems too design led when the brief is client led. Too expensive given the budget?

General

+ Layout is strong and theoretically correct. Nice attention to detail especially with small type.

- Layouts for letterheads etc looking quite similar between the briefs, but they are strong.

- Need to explore stock and end production.

- No hand drawn development of identities present on the blog.

- Need to annotate and evaluate blog documentation.

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All of the above points are valid and something to evaluate successfully against. I do feel that I have an answer for most of the issues, but it is my own fault for not evaluating thoroughly on my blog. As for the rest, they are definitely topics to think about and make decisions on.

OUGD301: 5x Questions For Today's Crit

01. Do my four proposed briefs cover all aspects of my proposal / design practice statement? Are there any gaps or areas that I have perhaps missed and should explore?

02. Through working with live clients I am noticing the struggle between producing work that I like and work that the client wants. At what stage does / should the line be drawn? Do my resolutions accurately reflect a balance between the two?

03. How would you suggest I handle quick turn around branding briefs when the client always comes back with amendment suggestions, other ideas etc. or simply doesn't like what you have done?

04. Do the resolved identities (as present) suit their relative contexts and do they successfully communicate across all media?

05. Given that each branding brief is aimed to be quick turn around, do you see any reasonable scope for expansion (even if it is just proposed). Is this needed / necessary?

Tutorial w/ Joe Gilmore

Tutorial w/ John Watters

Revised Portfolio (again)

I spent a quick half hour / forty-five minutes today updating my portfolio ready to send out to potential agencies that could offer me a placement. This includes agencies identified in Berlin who could essentially be useful for dissertation research. (I fly out 28th Oct, return 1st November).

It has been revised to include my new brand identity (as seen on my business cards), new e-mail address that links in to my web presence and two of the three typefaces developed in response to British idioms last year.

OUGD301: Group Progress Tutorial

soon.

Berlin Visit: Studio Research

Quick suggestions from Amber in regards to studios that could be useful whilst over in Berlin. Very commerical (so much so I don't think I would approach them for a placement), but a fair amount of type led work & branding which is relevant.

Kross Werbeagentur have a very impressive website.
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I also had a word with John after my PPD tutorial (which was actually with Jane) to see if he had any additional info. Some of his suggestions (received just tonight) mirrored my own findings that I have been researching recently. I will be emailing the most relevant within the next few days and they include:

Edenspiekermann
Pentagram (Berlin Office)
Node
Onlab
Staendige-Vertretung
123Buero
Weiss Heiten

Obviously the first two are huge, but if you don't try then you'll never know.

Tutorial w/ Jane Denton

Design Strategies Presentation Feedback

Design Strategies Presentation

Design Strategies Presentation (prep)

Business Card Finals

Business Card Development

Identity Final(s)

Identity Development 02

Umbrella Statement & Questions

'Conceptual, illustrative and layout driven promotional and publication design combining type with/as image for print'

...is what my umbrella statement has evolved into as present. It was mainly aimed to trim the fat and get down to the nuts and bolts of what I think my practice is about currently. There are still some aspects that need focussing, such as the type of clients I envisage engaging with in future for example.

To help with this however, the subsequent session raised some other important questions worth considering and so I may need to find myself answering these in the near future. They were as follows:

01. With design for publication being dramatically enhanced and pushed forward by digital media, how will your engagement with the discipline change and adapt?

02. Have you considered the scale of the publication and promotional design that you would like to work with. Do you want to challenge conventional formats?

03. As mentioned, have you identified clients that you WOULD like to work for?

04. In combining illustration with type and layout, will one aspect be more important than the other of governed by the conceptual aspects of the brief?

I Want & Don't Want

I WANT TO:

01. Develop a design practice heavily geared toward the print process and print based media.

I hate to sit on a Mac 24/7 and alternatively like to get my hands dirty. There's nothing more satisfying than the tactile qualities of print finish, I even love the smell. Whether it's high end expensive stuff or the imperfections of screenprinting, I believe I can produce design that I will feel passionate about.

02. Significantly engage with screenprinting, publishing, layout and branding.

As mentioned above, I prefer to get my hands dirty with print jobs rather let technology take the reigns. Industry has also given me feedback that I need to let my passion for publishing design shine through more and the same goes for branding. Admittedly I have at times been scared to let myself loose with book based design, but this is something I want to confront and be confident with.

03. Engage conceptually with each brief and ENJOY the projects I work on through selecting subject matter that appeals to me.

The latter part is simple, if I don't enjoy it then it makes me miserable. I really, really like the feeling of solving a problem in a more obscure manner though. I like to make people think 'ohh, clever!' I am aware of getting caught up in my own cleverness, but I don't want to be like every other graduate either... I know that sometimes simple is effective.

04. Collaborate with other designers on the course and professionals in the industry.

I like to learn from others and hand over certain aspects of design that I feel someone else can do far more successfully and efficiently than I can. I understand that you can't be good at absolutely everything.

05. Develop a strong relationship with an array of agencies; network and make contacts.

I guess the real desire here is to get a job that I enjoy and put myself in a situation where I can get paid for doing something that I love. The opinion of professionals who have been in the game far longer than I have should additionally be invaluable and assist me in putting together a top-notch portfolio.

06. Set myself up to work in an agency where I can develop a freelance practice alongside it.

I like the prospect of potentially working for big 'pain in the arse' clients and being on a salary, but I think it is important to have a bit of breathing space and some time dedicated toward being self centred. Also, at the end of the day who wouldn't like to be their own boss one day?

07. Encorporate an element of illustration into my design practice and resolutions.

I like to draw, I like to engage with image as well as typography. Sometimes I feel I don't it enough and to put it simply, I'd like to develop a balance of using both where appropriate.

08. Have a structured and more efficient routine.

This is solely to snap out of going to bed at silly o'clock and facing the prospect being shattered the next day unless I have an outrageous lie-in. At some point I need to accept that the world doesn't keep the same hours that I usually do. I would like to increase my productivity and make the most of the time I have left on the course. I just need to be German and efficient really...

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I DONT WANT TO:

01. Work with moving image or screen based animation.

Sitting on a Mac 24/7 gives me a headache and sequential design does the same. I don't enjoy storyboarding although I appreciate the skills and its usage. I'm just fine with my print based practice thank you.

02. Get too involved with back end web design.

I understand the basics of html and css and that's about it. It's enough to get me by and in some cases avoid seeking the help of others for simple problems, BUT... Maths, numbers, line upon line of jargon and a caffeine addiction? I'd rather pay somebody else to do it whilst I focus on the things that I like doing best.

03. Produce design based on strong ethics, envrionmental issues etc.

A lot of issues surrounding this annoy me and don't interest me in the slightest. I am aware of current trends and realise at times that I may have to bite the bullet to make ends meet but that's about as good as it gets.

04. Design for charity and 'good causes'.

Designing for free is always going to be less appealing and I don't want to produce lacklustre work as a result.

05. Work on text heavy corporate projects.

Dull, dull, dull. I like typography but not to that extent. The challenge in terms of layout could be beneficial, but I wouldn't want to make a habit of it.

Identity Development 01

Shark Design

Similar to Morgan Agency, Shark Design are another agency that I was interested in working with over the summer as part of the eight week funded internship scheme and things were looking pretty good until today when I received this quite disappointing news;

'Hi Liam,

Apologies for the delay in getting back to you – things have been really hectic here recently.

At this stage, I can’t commit to a summer internship unfortunately as a large project which was scheduled to start shortly, and which I was planning for you to be involved in, has been delayed.

Thanks for expressing interest in working with us though and good luck with your third year.

Regards,

Matthew.'

It would seem that it might just not happen for me this summer, although I am in the process of negotiating the opportunities for Christmas and Easter.

Morgan Agency

Another agency that I have been in contact with over the summer is Leeds based Morgan Agency. I initially applied to gain an internship via the funded scheme organised by Steve Smith, although this would consist of a full-time eight week spell at the agency (something I wasn't too keen on).

Either way, it turns out today that the position has been awarded to David Gasi so congrats to him. Again I pushed for some constructive portfolio feedback to get the most out of the situation;

'...it’s having more commercial, campaign-led stuff in there really, though we wouldn’t have even seen you if we didn’t like what you put forward!'

I think I agree to a certain extent, especially in terms of securing a job at an agency that deals with commercial clients after I graduate. However, I do believe that there should be a balance between this and freelance, self initiated work... I don't want my practice to be dominated by what the client and industry are already looking for, I feel that I would like to challenge conventions to a degree.

Bivouac

Today I heard back from Bivouac in York with whom I got in touch a few days ago regarding summer internship opportunities. Unfortunately I didn't get the place on offer, but I did however push for some useful portfolio feedback;

...'Overall we were pleased with your portfolio, we particularly liked your 'speaking from experience' project! We just felt it would have benefited from showcasing a bit more variety and evidence of layouts featuring a large quantity of copy (e.g. magazine, etc.). Hope you find this helpful.'

In light of this I'm not too sure about the issue surrounding a diverse variety, but I am confident that examples of publication based design would benefit when showing my potential in a portfolio format.

Final Presentation

OUGD203: Self Evaluation

1. What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?

As with the optional module, this brief for me was all about getting to grips with the technical aspects of type design and learning how to apply experimental letterforms across a range of both print and screen based media. Through working in a creative and more experimental manner my specific aims were to explore what could be achieved with everyday, three dimensional objects; subsequently converting the results back into a two dimensional format. As a result of this, some of the main skills that I have acquired from this module have naturally manifested through the software package Adobe Illustrator as a means to develop vector based graphics. This is something I am particularly proud of as I now feel considerably fluent with the process and is a capability that I have been wanting to achieve since joining the course two years ago.

What's more, I also feel a sense of achievement in writing my own brief despite the fact that it was quite time consuming and a task that I originally considered to be fairly daunting. I hope this will continue through and prove to be as successful in next years endeavors.

Lastly, as a new experience all together I found that designing for digital distribution outlets such as Apple's iPhone applications was in actual fact an enjoyable and interesting experience. I particularly liked engaging with the design for the home screen logo/button as it tied into my interests with branding and corporate identity.

2. What approaches to/methods of research have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?

Secondary research into existing typographic design was essential throughout this module and proved to be a significant source of inspiration that also informed my own decisions throughout the developmental stages of my brief. In doing this, I was quite intrigued to find a new process whereby looking in design publications and journals often led to designers own websites where they had further links to even more designers. This as suspected was extremely useful and assisted me in looking outward into the creative industry more; a weakness that I first outlined within the Design for Print module at the beginning of the year.

3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?

From the few strengths that I feel I can take away from this brief, I believe that my three resolved typefaces work effectively and are both readable and legible whilst being experimental and creative. I do however believe that I need to exploit their contextual reference a lot more both in terms of how they relate to idioms of the British Isles and how they can be distributed within the environment.

In direct relation to this though, I feel that through working and designing for screen based distribution outlets such as Apple's iPhone applications I have in actual fact developed professional looking mock-ups for a realistic, working product.

Lastly, I believe that I have significantly improved upon producing professional looking boards that utilise a working grid/layout structure. I am especially proud of the boards produced for the collaborative YCN brief although a large part of me believes this is down to the high quality product photography I was able to carry out prior to their design.

4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these more fully?

Over the duration of this final brief it has really hit home how much I have let myself down, especially in contrast to the significant progress that I felt I had made over the collaborative part of the module.

First and foremost, I didn't manage my time half as well as I did in the YCN brief completed with Chloe. In fact it was shocking and I have no reasonable excuse to defend it. Consequently, I was not even able to screen print my deliverables as originally intended and as a skill I was very keen to develop I am really disappointed in myself for letting this happen.

Furthermore, I believe one of my main downfalls manifested through the way in which I worked from home a lot more than I have in any other module. Even though this was due to the transportation of household objects, I am certain there would have been a logical way around this and that it could have been overcome had I not let myself get so lazy. Overall, I have to say that this aspect in particular is something that I regret a lot as it hindered my progression massively, lowered my motivation and allowed me to become distracted. I also feel that it contributed to my lack of time management and subsequent non-production of deliverables, not mention that it meant my interaction with the dialogue going on in and around the studio floor was non-existent. Ideally I would have also liked to photographed my final typefaces with professional studio lighting... that was never going to happen at home and I should have done something about it.

Continuing this, I additionally spent FAR too long vectoring letterforms on Illustrator as opposed to actually producing more developmental work. In addition, I should have also invested a lot more time trying and testing through methods of quick experiments instead of dancing around the idea of doing so and then not actually doing anything.

Lastly, for no justifiable reason I cannot believe that I didn't engage with Graham at all throughout this module, especially as both parts were heavily orientated around type and layout development. If I am brutally honest with myself, this is not acceptable and is an element I definitely need to sort out in terms of my progression within the third year.

5. Identify 5 things that you will do differently and what do you expect to gain from doing these?

1. Never again am I going to allow myself to work from home and become so detached from the dialogue going on within the studio.

2. Engage with tutors more, especially Graham should I be working with type and/or layout design.

3. Balance all aspects of the brief. Again I have invested far too much time on one element (in this case the vectoring of final resolutions) and not allowed myself enough time for production.

4. Dedicate portions of time directly towards writing action plans and timetables. At the moment I see time spent doing this as a waste when I can actually be designing... this is not the case and definitely proves more successful in the long run (as proved within the collaborative part of this module).

5. Exploit how my resolutions work in context more as I feel I have let myself down on this front throughout the brief.

6. How would you grade yourself on the following areas:

Attendance 2
Punctuality 4
Motivation 1
Commitment 2
Quantity of work produced 1
Quality of work produced 4
Contribution to the group 1

Revised Portfolio

Self Promotion 06

OUGD204: Self Evaluation

1. What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?

This module for me was all about getting to grips with the technical aspects of type and grasping how to apply fundamental elements and rules in relation to point size, weight, case and leading etc. In making progress on this I believe that I have also developed a much stronger sense of hierarchy with some areas almost developing into intuition. In addition, the application of grid structures and understanding what you can explore in regards to margins and gutters has assisted me no end in producing more consistent layouts that suit the purpose of the document.

2. What approaches to/methods of research have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?

Primarily my research has been driven through collecting and sourcing relevant materials to be documented within the type journal. Furthermore, I have also requested numerous stock samples from suppliers such as Benwells which has been useful no end; especially as you can specify what you would like to receive in terms of letter heads, business cards and compliment slips etc. In direct relation to magazine layout, analysing publications such as Grafik and Creative Review was also useful.

3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?

My strengths in this module have come through understanding the fundamental rules of typography taught to us within the timetabled sessions. In gaining this knowledge I have been able to rapidly advance in producing more consistent layouts that suit the purpose and temperament that they were designed for. In order to capitalise on this and make the most of what I have learnt, I would like to push the boundaries further and explore what is achieving whilst breaking rules through being informed of what they were in the first place.

4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these more fully?

As stated by a few of my peers, I also feel that my weakness within this module has been the type journal. Although I have engaged with it well at points, I largely felt I was compiling it as means of assessment; not because I actually enjoyed it and found the benefits of its existence helpful. Through collecting source materials for research I have been able to enhance my learning of typography, however I feel I may have over analysed what I was looking at – subsequently causing me to not enjoy the process. Next time I feel it would be beneficial treat the type journal in a more light hearted manner and enjoy researching in ‘little and often’ visits, as opposed to ‘intense but not so often’.

5. Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these?

1. Dedicate time to engage with type journal and the benefits that it provides.
2. Spend those extras few minutes/hours to explore just a few more possible outcomes in terms of layout.
3. Make decisions faster, as although I improved on this I still idle about too much.
4. Try to focus more time on collecting useful materials for research. Research I have learnt; is vital.
5. Push boundaries in terms of hierarchy and try to make progress more quickly.

6. How would you grade yourself on the following areas:

Attendance 4
Punctuality 5
Motivation 4
Commitment 3
Quantity of work produced 4
Quality of work produced 4
Contribution to the group 3

Self Promotion 05

Haven't had time to re-visit my self promotion over Easter up until now as I was fortunate enough to visit Berlin last week. Wish I was back there already. Anyway...


Beginning to feel like I am getting close to a resolve with this idea, not that I am entirely sure that I am 100% happy but I believe this identity is a lot more successful than the previous. It would seem no matter how hard I try, the letters 'L' and 'H' will just not look good together. So square and dull, not much to work with really.

In editing the original Bodoni typeface, I have flattened out the serifs as they were driving me crazy and have most notably stuck to the straight stem on the lower case 'a'. Why it was rounded in the first place is slightly beyond me.

Other than that I have mainly attempted to kern the letters to absolute perfection and gain a sense of neutrality between them all; had to bring the 'e' in a little as it seemed lonely.

To move on from here I think it may be wise to approach a use of colour, not that this is essential in my opinion.

Ria Ritchie: iPhone Wallpaper Final

Ria Ritchie: iPhone Wallpaper Development

Ria Ritchie: Myspace Final

Creative CV

The White & The Red: Open Evening

OUGD203: Collaborative Evaluation

1. What skills have you developed through this collaboration and how effectively do you think you have applied them?

My approach to this collaboration was heavily geared toward working alongside someone who would share my desires to experiment within the realms of a print based design practice and be willing to try/test high end print finishing techniques. Against the advice of some, I also tried to seek an individual who offered a similar skill set to that of my own as a means to strengthen my capabilties in print through learning new and relevant aspects that I had perhaps not considered before.

Through collaborating with Chloe I feel that the most significant skills I developed were naturally orientated towards print, with foil blocked invitations and spot varnished promotional posters coming to the forefront of our endeavours. Furthermore, I feel my newly learnt skills in typography and layout allowed me to successfully brand the hypothetical 'Folded' event programme and design the small-scale invitations for its launch.

Perhaps more importantly however, I feel a particular sense of pride in being able to develop a much stronger conceptual approach to the brief as a result of dedicating time to rewriting the original YCN briefs. Lastly, I am also proud of organising and planning the collaborations entire schedule down to the hour most days as documented through timetables and to-do lists/books.

2. What approaches to/methods of research have you developed and how have they informed your design development process?

Secondary research into existing areas of print based design proved to be a useful and prominent resource as with every brief I have progressed with this year. Regarding print however, it was particularly crucial to have existing examples to gauge our ambitions from and in light of this specified stock samples from companies such as Benwells and Fedrigoni also became very important to our progression.

In terms of first hand research methods, trying/testing origami and paper engineering techniques became a very time consuming but necessary process as it was important to experience what a potential customer of Fedrigoni may be willing to engage with as a recipient of the posted package.

Contacting Fedrigoni direct was also a notable step towards clarifying who they were actually trying to target via this brief as their original written description of this aspect was unclear.

3. What strengths can you identify in your work/the collaboration and how have/will you capitalise on these?

My strengths in this collaboration definitely manifested through negotiating ideas with Chloe and making quick decisions in order to keep a flowing momentum in terms of design development. As mentioned before, I also feel that the collaboration significantly benefitted through my time management skills that can be seen through the rigorous production of timetables, to-do lists and schedules.

More so in any other brief that I have completed over my time on the course, I am also very proud of the quality of my product photography and how this transcended into the development of the finalised concept boards submitted to YCN/Fedrigoni. I feel the end product looked very professional and upto the standards of a 2nd year Leeds College of Art design student.

4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work/the collaboration and how will you address these more fully?

An eye opening and problematic experience that I encountered in the latter stages of this collaboration presented itself through the way in which I neglected to consider the abscence of either collaborative memeber in regards to the structuring of mine and Chloe's final week of scheduled work/tasks to-do. To clarify further, although I was diligent in organising what myself and Chloe had to do in the final week before submission, my finalised plans were very un-forgiving and required a lot from both individuals to get everything done. Due to the unfortunate abscence on Chloe's behalf for the last 5 days of the brief, I subsequently put myself under a lot of un-necessary stress; especially in conjunction with the Critical Studies essay that was due in for submission the day before YCN.

Next time I approach a collaboration (or any brief for that matter), I feel that it would definitely be beneficial to time-table in a clear and distinctive 'grace period' that would compensate for any un-forseen circumstances that may arise.

5. Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these?

1. Plan for error, mistakes or un-forseen circumstances.
2. Although much improved, continue to blog progress 'as it happens' to avoid playing catch-up.
3. Rehearse concept pitches. This brief proved that a simple concept is not always the easiest to explain.
4. Dedicate more toward persistent contextual research.
5. Document development through photography more consistently.

6. How would you grade yourself on the following areas:

Attendance 5
Punctuality 4
Motivation 5
Commitment 5
Quantity of work produced 5
Quality of work produced 5
Contribution to the group 5

The Chosen 10

Here is the list of creative entities that I contacted today with my web based design portfolio. I specifically tried to focus on agencies within the areas of Leeds and/or London as this is where I would ideally like to work after I graduate. In addition I also contacted a few freelance designers whose work I really admire; there could potentially be scope for possible visits or discussions with these people but I doubt the opportunity of an 'internship' or 'placement' is very realistic. It's good to talk non-the-less!

Agencies:

The Consult, NousVous, Sea Design, Spin, Johnson Banks, Bibliotheque Design.

Freelancers:

Eduardo recife, Cristina Couceiro, Jacob Arden McClure, Nazario Graziano.

Let's see what happens then!

Portfolio

The White & The Red: Submissions

The White & The Red: Contact Card Final

The White & The Red: Contact Card Development

Ria Ritchie: Myspace Header Development

The White & The Red

Ria Ritchie: Myspace Layout Development 02

With it being a Sunday I have again had chance to make progress with the Myspace layout imagery for Ria. Today I managed to redesign what I think may be a final background image. Having spoken to Ria again she expressed an interest in an off-white textured image which is what I have aimed to achieve here.

Overall I think this avenue looks a lot more professional and I'm very happy with how it has turned out.

For detail, click to enlarge.

Self Promotion 04

Having had a lovely Sunday lunch, I have again decided to revisit the notion of branding myself. It's something that I really want done, but the more I want it done the less I feel like I'm getting anywhere with it.


With this set of experiements I went for a more sophistcasted approach and used Bodoni, a typeface with some nice serifs. I first came across this in an article about Salavor Dali and how it was his favourite typeface, great minds think alike... or moustaches rather.

I definitely like the vibe this type conveys about me a lot more, I think sans-serif typefaces are a bit too contemporary in their appearance for my liking. All of these need more work however, but a step in the right direction it would seem!

Just need to clarify the legibilty of the letter-illision and ligatures. Quite like the broken 'a' on the bottom left experiment also; much, much better with a perpendicular serif also.

More to follow...

Self Promotion 03

Revisted this self promotion situation again today as it is something that has been niggling at me a great deal.. purely because I know I'm not happy with it and it feels unfinished.


This time I tried to experiment with rotating letters such as the 'e' and testing what would happen to the legibilty if the bottoms of the stems/bowls were removed.

To be honest, I am very unsatisfied again. It just isn't working, time for a new idea I think.

Ria Ritchie: Rebrand 03 - Final

Ria Ritchie: Rebrand 02

Back to Ria's rebrand today and I think a final resolve has been agreed upon by both parties.


From previous attempts I was determined to make the double R work in such a way that it would deliver clarity and remain creative. This most recent effort in my opinion does both of those. In addition I have also decided to include Ria's full name below. The typeface selection for this in my mind was imperative. I wanted to convey a sense of class in conjunction with a modern, sophisicated edge. In the end, Ria and I both agreed that Century Gothic (top right) did this best although the full stop was perhaps unnecessary.


From here, all that remained to be decided was the final weight of the type. Ria and I again made a mutual agreement, this time the bottom left example was the one to hit the nail on the head in terms of aesthetics. Job done then.

Self Promotion 02

Today I spent a few hours trying to develop the intial ideas that I had for a brand identity. It's certainly more difficult doing this for yourself as opposed to a company or other individual.


I eventually used ITC Avant Garde as I feel it connotes me as a designer...ish. I'm not really hapy with the results at present but it's early days as yet and my 'branding' will no doubt change completely in the near future. That's the plan at least.

Ria Ritchie: Rebrand 01

Managed to spare a couple of hours today drafting up a few initial ideas for the Ria Ritchie rebrand. I wanted to make a point of using the two R's as it's not everyday you get a job where the client has the same initial for their christian name and surname.


Ironically however, out of the above selection I think the single R is working better at present. It delivers more clarity than the others. I will try and get closer to resolve by the end of the week... time permitting.

Ria Ritchie: Myspace Layout Development 01

Today I began working on a new Myspace layout and rebrand package for a friend of mine from back home - Ria Ritchie. At present Ria is currently recording some new songs in the studio with Plan B and is in negotiation with Virgin Records so I hope that in doing this it will benefit us both; her web presence and promotion will look professional and in return I may get some coverage and recognition.

First off this is the image that I have been given to work with, credit to another friend of mine Ryan Mason for his photography. It will most likely be the main header image as opposed to the background.

Thus far I have only experimented with an inital idea for a background image which was intended to reflect the striped wallpaper within the photograph, the result as seen below.

In truth, I don't like it all and was very quick to dismiss it. The better part of me actually dismissed it as I was designing it, but either way it needed to be done in order for me to be able to progress with others ideas without hindrance -these of which will be explored within the near future.

To be continued.

Self Promotion 01