Studio Brief 2 - Self Branding Presentation

Self Branding and Presentation

Initial thoughts on things I am interested in

Experimental processes are particularly important to me as a designer. Learning new techniques is interesting and has helped me to develop new ways of working which leads to more varied and intriguing work. Having a catalogue of ways of approaching something means the creative process can be made easier. Handmade techniques such as collaging, photocopying etc I find are more engaging than working straight onto the computer which I find quite restrictive in the generation of ideas. I find it easier to better visualise things when I'm able to interact with them. I have an interest in three dimensional work, product design and interactive design such as learning aides and board games, which people can use in a functional way. Recycling and using found materials is engaging because its bringing life back to something that's been used before, making me quite resourceful when it comes to making things. Also re-purposing something means that it can be used in new and interesting ways. Collecting found materials e.g. papers, type etc gives me a body of work to take inspiration from and use. When defining myself as a creative I like to think I am committed and quite thorough in my approach to work.  As a creative I am interested in making, bookbinding and three dimensional design, as well as having an interest in graphic design and photography which sit side by side quite well.

Initial thoughts on how to approach the brief revolved around the idea of creating a functional object that people would be able to use and would want to keep, linking to my interest in three dimensional and interactive design. Some designs aim to encourage experimentation whereas others are practical objects. Other ideas reference my practice specifically.

Initial Ideas include:

- creating stencils with different shapes on them for people to draw around to create designs or patterns etc 

- creating a set of playing cards that have processes on them that reflect my practice and techniques learnt. These could be used by designers as a way of choosing a process or restriction 

- creating a set of rulers that measure different sized shapes, which examples of techniques could be applied too

- make post it notes that have different textures and processes on them 

- create a notebook that is made from different stocks and materials relevant to my process, acts as a swatch book.

After the creation of my Reflective Practice poster this cemented the concept the I wanted to use for the whole of my self branding. Using different materials to reflect my practice was the way I would visualise my creative identity e.g.grids represent restriction and post it notes represent listing things. 

Initial Logo sketches explored:

- the idea of torn scraps of paper to reflect the materials used in my self branding and the concept of using papers to reflect my process

- creating a 'note' to play around with the branding name Noted

- using a squiggle I use in my notebook to reflect things that interest me, that are important and  things I want to look at e.g. designers etc. Combining this with the brand name has also been explored.

The squiggle design was chosen for my logo as I thought this was the most personal out of all the designs and reflected my 'mark' making it unique to me.

For the brand name I wanted to use a singular adjective which would reflect the list making that I had initially used to formulate ideas about my process. 

- Found and Collect reflect the interesting things I pick up for inspiration or to use for projects e.g. offcuts

- Scrap and Scrapped make reference to the physical properties of torn paper as well as my interest in reusing materials 

- Notable and Noted link to my squiggle logo design which signifies inspiration or something that is interesting. These words suggest that something is worth looking at, has been acknowledged, or will be used for future reference 

  

Noted linked the most to the squiggle logo and best represented the idea of something being interesting an worth a closer look.

In my pay off I wanted to make it clear that I had an interest in crafting physical things as well as graphic design.

The logo design was refined further by experimenting with its creation in different materials. 

To reflect the original hand drawn quality of the mark in my notebook the design was created using different types of pens which were then photocopied onto different papers and tracing paper to see their effectiveness. When photocopied it was found that many of them faded quite considerably however this could be enhanced using the computer. Cutting out the design from a textured black print created an interesting effect that had an organic quality which also retained its tone when photocopied so this was chosen as the final design. 

The typeface Berthold Akzidenz - Grotesk was used as this would stand out on a range of materials and work effectively at a range of scales without losing impact.

The branding uses textures rather than a colour scheme specifically, each of which reflects an aspect of my process or a material that I use frequently e.g. newsprint is particularly useful for posters , tracing paper is used for rough designs. The use of textures in this way means the identity can change to reflect developments in my process. The typography would be black as this would contrast with any material aside from black card. 

Application ideas :

Business Cards 

- could use shapes as a framework for the textures whilst also suggesting restrictions as part of my process

- use strips of paper to wrap around the card, which could either be clipped or stapled. The logo would be placed on the thick card rather than the paper wrapped around the business card.

Posters

- create long posters made from strips of papers

- use shapes of textures on the posters to reflect restrictions , like seen in the reflective practice poster 

- make the poster from a range of overlapping papers in a collage style

- the poster could be perforated so sections could be torn off for people to take away with them

Pencils 

- re-purpose strips of paper to create pencils

Book 

- use torn papers for the cover and different papers inside with words to describe the processes the papers represent 

The final applications included business cards, a book of process and a poster. The designs were created from found materials that were frequently used in my day to day process. The use of acetate over the top of the textures meant that the logo and name could be applied easily over any surface. The book was created by photocopying words onto all the pages keeping to the handmade approach. If multiples of  the posters and book were to be created I would have to adapt the production method by setting all the text in illustrator so they were staggered across the sheets in an A4 frame, then these would be torn, rather than placing the text on a photocopier and trying to line them up in this way.

Photocopying designs on to acetate

Photocopied designs on acetate

Layering acetate over other materials for business cards

Binding the book with fishing line  

Finished bound book 

Feedback on my work suggested that it was a strong concept and that the use of the squiggle for the logo was the right choice in creating something that was personal to me.