Girls Club Zine

The summer of 2016 i submitted a piece for a small publication called 'Girls Club' a zine celebrating and publishing art and designs by female creatives across the country. 

Yesterday i received an email saying how my design is going to be included in the 4th issue, available April 4th.

I'm really pleased about having some exposure of my work, I've also worked in collaboration with a journalist student in Manchester to create a zine focused around young emerging designers and artists. 

During this summer when i have time away from college i'm going to create and sell a zine of my own. 

Not only could this have the possibility of gaining exposure to my work but it will also act as a demonstration of my work at this current time, which i feel will be beneficial to the growth of my designs; being able to reflect on previous skills and approaches. 

Reflective Evalution

PPP has really engaged me throughout the course, it's provided me with time dedicated to thinking about what i want out of my life, acting as a point to gain inspiration and motivation. 

If i could change how i went about engaging with ppp it would be to take a risk, and use my time to find out about new methods and new designers who i enjoy so that i'm able to develop my work, but having said that i feel like ppp has made me confident with my current style, and has now engaged me and informed me to step it up and essentially create exciting work that is progressing from my current style, not changing. 

That's something I've learnt, that trying new methods of producing work is not creating a whole new style, rather it's developing your current style in to one which is evidently mine, but with an innovative, advanced touch to it. 

Inspo : Music

Inspo : Film

Design inspiration

Mangitt Happ - UK based illustrator

jordyn mcgeachin

Here i have began collating images that i have gained inspiration from within my current and upcoming design ideas.

New Orleans-based Instagrammer @joythebaker - Drake themed cakes.

Alice Bloomfield, Brighton based illustration student

Jeff Östberg

Design Strategy

The final presentation was titled 'Design Strategy' in which i presented what I've learnt this year upon reflecting, and examples of my work throughout the year. 

I went in to this presentation fairly confident, i felt like i knew what i was going to say, i knew the slides i will be presenting and my skills have increased and my nerves have decreased in terms of presenting in front of a class, however this presentation was perhaps my least successful out of the three I've done. 

Based on the feedback i received I feel that it was the content and the approach to the presentation which made it less successful. 

I took a hand drawn approach to the presentation slides, much like the previous presentation. However it was safe, and upon reflection quite predictable. The content i included in the presentation was good, i believe, the lack of imagery and exploration of different mediums is what set me back. 

Upon reflection it's becoming apparent that i need to advance my approach, i can't just continue illustrating the same lines in the same colours or else my work will be predictable. 

Inspiration: bryant giles

I first came across Bryant Giles' pieces on twitter which he frequently uses as a platform to showcase his work.

Above is his piece titled 'Migraine'. I really appreciate Giles' use of layering and the different mediums he uses throughout his work. Although he uses a vast majority of colours, materials and line qualities, the delicateness of the drawings along with the serious themes which run through them work really well together. 

Inspiration: Polly Nor

London based illustrator Polly Nor's illustrations of 'Devils and Women' have been a source of inspiration for me recently. 

The simple use of lines and flat colour work are effective and provide impact due to the subject matters of her pieces, which i believe to be lust, reality, sexuality, gender, mental health. 

The themes of Nor's pieces are what intrigues me the most, she has the ability to address serious issues in a way that could be interpreted in a number of ways, and softly at that, theirs no, i believe, forcefulness to Nor's work despite the theatrical recurring elements (devils). 

Self Branding

Devising self branding for my self wasn't as difficult as i thought. I know what materials i like to use, i know what work i produce, i know my style and i know who i am as a designer and person right now. 
I chose to reflect my main hobby; drumming, along with design, the two creative outlets in my life. 
Coming up with a colour scheme wasn't hard either, i want to have self branding which can be interchangeable and adapt depending on how i feel, always using bright colours but not limiting my self to one colour pallet from the beginning. 
I wanted to ensure my self branding reflects my hand drawn approach to graphic design and so all imagery and typography were hand drawn by me, to give more of a personal touch and true reflection of my practice.  

After having to give a brief presentation for the reflective practice A2 poster I was slightly more calm going in to the presentation. The presentation received good feedback, the design of the presentation was aiming to reflect who i am (at this moment in time) as a designer, staying true to the work i produce and i believe this concept was understood and appreciated. 

To improve for the next presentation i believe i can enter the situation more calm, speak more confidently, speak slower and remember to bring some water.  

reflective practice

For the reflective practice brief we were to create an A2 poster demonstrating what we've learnt over the course. 

I chose to approach this brief by hand as it's what i feel most comfortable in doing and what is most reflective of my self s a designer. 

Using A2 paper in a bright mango colour (i tend to use bright bold colours in my work) i sectioned off a smaller rectangle within the center to show how (reflecting back) i tend to give my self a smaller time limit to complete things in than originally set.

The poster is made up of hand drawn typography which is something i use across most of my work, presenting what i have learnt over the past months such as hands > mouse, waking up at 7am isn't fun and making shit work is also okay. 

The feedback the poster received was positive with comments that the style and hand drawn approach was something that i should carry on doing in my work as it gives it a point of difference.