Aimie Marie Photography.

After posting up my designs for a client, Aimie Marie Photography, I recently revised them. I felt my first designs did not fully suit the brief and decided to continue to expand my ideas.

Keeping the logo design, I decided to create a different colour scheme and utilise colours inspired by Aimie's photography, rather than attempting to deviate against it. I found a lot of gold within her images of her travels and felt this was more fitting.




Something I wanted to experiment more with was line art. Aimie had originally wanted a mandala within her branding identity, and I decided to create such. Inspired by the geometrics and simplicity of the logo, I feel this has really worked nicely and flows well with the rest of the brand. Again, I used the idea of laser cutting the logo into the business card and creating something personal by giving each receiver of the touchpoint a keepsake, namely a film negative. This is a nod to her style and also means the receiver has something personalised and adaptable.



My last attempt at Aimie's branding identity didn't work as well as I had hoped. The purple mixed with the watercolour was soft but didn't really compliment her personality, nor her photography style. I definitely feel these amendments are much more fitting for the brand.

Evaluation of the Year.

From the beginning of this year until now, very close to the end, my creative process has changed massively. I have slowly become heavily reliant on paper and creating ideas using these means. Spending more time focusing on my idea and the expansion before turning to digital to create a final outcome, I believe I have been saving myself time due to experimenting first, rather than whilst creating digitally. I also feel my ideas this year have been greater due to this.

When comparing my work from this year and last year, I can see a huge difference in the outcomes and the work I am producing is of a higher quality. Though I still make mistakes, such as making a mistake with my typography within my Digital Skills module, I have learnt from them and rectified them for my portfolio.

I can see there is still room to improve. My confidence using illustrator has grown to a point where I feel proficient using the program, but I believe that by following more tutorials and experimenting with the program I will better my standard and be able to use the program quicker than I do currently. This will aid me when working in the industry, as its extremely fast paced and if I want to succeed I need to be able to match that pace myself.

My ideas this year have been more creative and less heavily reliant on the influences found via pinterest. I think I have focused more on the brief itself rather than the final outcome: digging into what’s required and what is in front of me, I can see that the idea itself truly lies within the brief, it just requires being broken down and scrutinised before it becomes apparent. This has really helped me become a more conceptual thinker, and learning this will really help me in the future, especially through my final year of University.

This year I’ve taken the time to contact other designers, and have got to know others within the industry. Hearing their take and experiences, alongside advice has been extremely beneficial to me not just as a designer, but also as a person. I hope to take this through to my final year, and also further to my life within the industry.

I’ve also branched out on research websites, and feel that by no longer being heavily reliant on pinterest, I have found many different designers and work that has been inspirational and aided my own idea generation. Websites such as Behance which allow the designer to show their creative process and how they came to create their final outcome has shown me new ways of coming to a conclusion and breaking down the brief. I will be continuing to use these websites when researching.

Finally, I feel my time management and organisational skills have grown since last year. Leaving most modules until the last minute, this year I have used apps and diaries to help me plan my time more efficiently. Though there have been a few cases where I’ve struggled, especially when working 20 hours a week alongside, I want to continue to improve these skills to a higher level as it will be necessary within my final year.

Something I also hope to improve is my confidence. After researching on women in the design industry and why they are somewhat less represented than men, I found that this is mainly due to women not having the self – promotion and bold attitude than men often do. This is something I have recognized within myself, as I often second guess my work and do not want to open myself to criticism by putting my work out there: despite this, I have began to try harder with my own confidence and have created social media platforms to be able to share my work and blog. I hope to continue to do so, and upon finishing my portfolio, I will be adding many of my pieces onto Behance.

This year has been beneficial to my design, and my own personal development. I have grown in many ways I didn’t think I would, and I am excited for my future and the goals I have set. I aim to continue working on my design skills over summer using briefs and home study, and return to university for my final year whilst working placements and getting to know more industry figures.  

Placements.

As I am reaching the end of my second academic year, and not having yet had industry experience, I was felt I was somewhat lacking. With a lot of support at Newcastle College in terms of placements, I began to worry whether I would manage to find a placement after leaving. Placements and industry level experience are important to understand the pace and the way the industry really works. That being said, I want to look more thoroughly into agencies and possible placements for summer and felt now was the time to begin.

After an industry talk via Sarah Hanley, I began to look into her agency Sumo and found their designs inspirational. Working with clients such as the National History Museum, having a placement there would be extremely beneficial to my portfolio and CV, and I could really see myself working within her design team, especially alongside someone such as Sarah. I hope to reach out to Hanley soon and ask for advice on my portfolio and whether I would be suited to their agency.



I also came across an advertisement recently when skimming through The Crack, a local magazine. Editorial is an area I am interested in, and I have already gained experience working with Metro Centre Marketing and Design team when working alongside them. I would like to continue gaining experience in the area, and though the deadline for this position has ended, I have emailed the address given with the hopes of getting a week placement to understand the process more thoroughly.

Other agencies I have been looking into are Cravens and Wonderstuff Studios. Both agencies specialise in branding, and I feel it would be beneficial to be able to gain experience in the area. It is another area of design I enjoy, and creating a brand identity is also one of the most difficult areas of design: you really need to encapsulate the brand and what it stands for, and the way it wants to be percieved.

In the next few months my aim is to reach out to these agencies, and others within the north east to really understand the industry I hope to work in, and truly find out if it's for me. Another option I have been thinking of is becoming a freelance designer, and with someone I recently reached out to and interviewed, Breanna Rose, running a workshop and a successful business from doing just that, I think it would be interesting to apply and gain more knowledge in the area.

Aimie Marie Photography.

I recently received a snapchat from a friend asking for help with her logo. Aimie is a 23 year old photography graduate, who has recently travelled through south east Asia. Upon returning, Aimie gotten a job working at her local newspaper as a "camera operator" but is setting up a freelance business alongside.

Though travel and documentary photography is her passion, Aimie also enjoys capturing portraits and people, and works with both digital and film. After playing around with her initials, A + M, I decided to create a monogram logo. I think this works well as it's simple, easy to remember and imitate, would work nicely as a watermark and is also reminiscent of her travels due to looking similar to a mountain. The A + M paired together, with the A creating a triangular shape and the M's diagonal strokes being the bar within the A.

Currently, I have created the logo, website design, business card and editorial brochure for the identity. Other touchpoints I want to create are a compliment slip, alongside a usb stick featuring the logo with which the images can be placed upon and given to the customer. I think this works nicely for a photography business.

The idea for the business cards is to use the logo as the focal point. The logo will be laser cut, with a square of film negatives between the card. This allows the business cards to be personalised, with each film negative square placed between being different, therefore the receivers can see Aimies style of photography quite quickly.

I think this idea is quite sweet and really matches the brand. I also chose to use the colour purple as it ties in nicely with the negative film. It also wasn't a colour that features often within Aimies work and will not clash with the images. Though the images above are only mockups, I hope to continue to expand the design and get it laser cut soon.

The brochure itself features the logo, alongside the font face I chose to use. Originally wanting a sans serif font such as Brandon Grotesque, I changed to the serif font Didot as I personally felt it worked better with the identity I was wanting to create. I also used an image of Aimie herself, as I do think it's important to personalise the brand and add a face to the name.

Separating the photography into different categories and areas, I think this brochure really works as a look book with the added quotations to tie into the pages and use of titles. I used a modular grid system to focus the images into different areas on the page.

Following on from this I would like to actually get this printed and photographed professionally, rather than using mockups. I do think it looks smart and flows well with the characteristics of the brand. This is one of my first home design experience and I've actually quite enjoyed setting my own brief, plan and targets, working to my own schedule. This has been great practice for the competition briefs I would like to tackle, as seen in the post below.

Competition Briefs.

I recently tackled a D&AD brief, which you can see here. This was brand new territory for me, and was something I had never really considered before. I didn't actually enter my entry into D&AD due to, as previously mentioned here, doubting my own ability and finding it difficult to share my work. Following completing my foundation degree I will have the summer to experiment with my skills and truly challenge myself.

Rather than putting my designs on hold, as I did in my previous time off, I would like to use this to explore my home study and really work on my portfolio. Whilst researching on different briefs I could follow, I came across a lot more competition briefs. I didn't realise how many design competitions there really were: it's not something that comes up regularly in class. I would like to use my time to practice with some of the past briefs and actually enter my work into some.

YCN Student Awards



Similar to the New Blood Awards, the YCN student awards are a great way of showcasing work whilst in education or being a recent graduate. Issuing two different programmes for Europe and North America in terms of brands, so they are familiar and relevant. Also similar to New Blood, YCN partners with many organisations and brands, allowing you to get your work seen by leading businesses.

Penguin Random House Design Award



Quite a well known business, this competition is only open to UK based students on a design course at degree or MA level. Whilst there isn't many categories of choice, the aim of the competition is to create a book cover design, for Adult Fiction, Children, or Adult Non-Fiction books. The award is one of the most prestigious student awards and allows you to have your work seen by a huge audience: the winner is also offered a work placement within the business itself, alongside £1,000 in prize money. As someone who has always been drawn to books by their covers (though we all know the saying, don't judge a book by it's cover, oops!) I think this is one I will most definitely be looking more into.

RSA Student Awards

The RSA Student Awards are an opportunity for students around the world to work on industry level briefs and get their work viewed within the design community. Aiming to help students get their foot in the design industry, the Awards are based in the UK, but students and graduates from all over the globe can participate. The RSA also offer £60,000 in cash prizes, alongside paid internships each year.

Whilst there are many other notable competition briefs, I think these are the most relevant for me. I think it's great practice, and could also develop into a career, whether you win or fall as a runner up. However, I'd also like to mention another competition, though not a brief. A fellow classmate brought this to my attention recently: It's Nice That, who I have followed on instagram and twitter for quite some time, are hosting a Graduate of 2015 award. The winning graduates will have their work posted on the website, alongside being invited to an industry event in July. The winners will also be invited to take part in a 12 month, one to one mentorship scheme with the It's Nice That team, featuring portfolio advice, introductions to design types in the industry and answering any questions you may have.

I do think this competition will need to be left until next year, as I still have my final year of university to focus on and the opportunity to bulk up my portfolio more so than I have managed this year. With all of these competitions, I really want to push myself and enter. Not only would it be great for my self esteem and reverting back to the post I posted recently on Women in the Industry, I lack the bold self promotion characteristic you need within such an industry: it would be a step in the right direction.

An Interview with Corina Nika.

Corina Nika is the mastermind behind the blog, Cocorinna. An art director, graphic designer and letterer, Corina has worked with the likes of Elie Saab, Nicole Scherzinger, Virgin Australia and Pimkie. Corina began her blog as a creative outlet: an area to document her life, a place to inspire and be inspired and a way to connect with her clients and fellow designers all over the world. Nika uses her home, the island Kefalonia, as an inspiration. I recently contacted Corina in hope I would be able to get a little bit more of an insight into her life: you can see the interview below.



1) What sparked your interest in design as a whole? And when did you decide that Graphic Design was your path?

A few years back when i was in the arts school studying interior design, at the very first year we had a graphic design basics course. Finishing that year, my teacher told me that if i didn’t change direction and study graphic design i would regret it my whole life. And he was right! Once college ended, so had my interest about interior design and the love for the graphics grew stronger and stronger.

2) What challenges have you faced in the design world?

Quite a few, but not as many as others. In my bad luck, i was lucky. I had a surgery a few years ago that had me stay home for about a year not being able to work. So basically i was forced to go freelancing right away. The main challenge was starting from scratch and putting myself out there, building skills, finding clients and slowly - very slowly growing.



3) The creative industries are often seen as a 'mans environment.' Have you felt any sexism towards you as a woman since working in the industry?

Not at all! I would actually say that i’ve seen the exact opposite. I know so many talented ladies in the creative industry and they’re all so strong, empowering and inspiring. I’d like to think that sexism is something that slowly stops existing, replaced by mutual respect and admiration.

4) What would you say your biggest accomplishment is, and why?

Living a creative life. It’s something i’ve always dreamt of. I actually found an old tape back from school where i was asked what i wanted to be when i grew up. And i said, being a famous designer. Well i don’t know about being famous, but i’m definitely a designer, with the luxury of freelancing, and most of all creating everyday. It’s something that fuels my whole life.



5) How important do you think social media is to a designer in this day and age? Do you believe your blog has helped your business in any way, shape or form? And do you have any suggestions of websites you believe a designer should utilise?

Definitely. My blog originally started as a way to connect with the outside world (as i was stuck in the house for a year) and to challenge me to get inspired and design. Today it’s still the same thing, with the difference that there are much more eyes watching, and with social media growing, it’s practically crucial to be present everywhere and be seen.

When it comes to suggestions of website, i’d say pretty much the basic. From having your blog, creating a personal space, to a portfolio and all the social media twitter, instagram, pinterest. Bechance is also a great place to promote your work professionally.

6) Do you have any advice for someone trying to get their foot in the industry?

Believe in yourself, don’t get intimidated we’re all different, embrace that uniqueness and passionate about what you do. Be always open and observant to hear and learn from others and slowly you’ll find what works for you and build your way of working.



7) Your collages with plants are visually stunning. What is your favourite kind of medium to work with, and do you have a favourite area of design, such as branding, illustration, typography or editorial? 

That is so difficult to choose from! I think it depends on the mood. Some days i’m more into branding, and others more into illustration. As a designer, any creative outlet even if it’s just taking pictures or dying is always my favourite.

8) How do you decide which projects you want to work on? Do you ever turn a brief down, and for what reasoning?

I think i’ve never turned down a brief! I love being challenged by different styles and different types of people with all kinds of visions. Working on something specific would be boring i think. It’s such a journey to adapt on each project and bring my touch into the clients vision.



9) What is your creative process? And who or what would you say are your inspirations?

The creative process always changes from project to project and from type of project. It mostly starts with lots of daydreaming, inspiring, sketching and generally experimenting. As for my inspirations, i’m being inspired by every little thing around me. From the small daily things to jaw dropping like magnificent nature.



10) And to make these questions a little more fun, what is a fun fact about you? 

Ok, here’s one that i’ve never shared about me! I get super emotional about raspberries! They’re a big part of my childhood when i was living in Russia. I would gather raspberries from my grandmother’s garden, something i haven’t done ever since i was 5. And lets face it, you can’t find raspberries in Greece! So when i had some in Berlin last month, i couldn’t stop myself and burst into tears! I just go crazy for raspberries.

You can see more of Corina here, here, and here.

A sense of community

You'd think in an industry which relies so heavily on competition and always striving for the top spot, that there would be a lack of support between designers. However, it's become obvious to me that that is not the case: after emailing designers, interacting with and attending industry talks I've realised that there is a huge sense of community within the design world. Many of the designers I have emailed have wished me well in my journey of the aspirational designer hoping to get her foot in the door -- there is acceptance and a hope for others to succeed in such a difficult industry to make a mark in.

Throughout my first and the majority of my second year I found it incredibly difficult to share my work on social media platforms. Always second guessing myself and what I had created, I struggled with the idea of letting others see and critique my portfolio. This fear was verified during my first university interview, which I wrote about in this post. It has held me back in terms of trying to get placements and internships, as I haven't felt ready nor good enough to show my portfolio to industry professionals.

I wanted to work on this and finally try to open up with my work. I feel I've done so and grown my confidence in this area using my blog: blogging has really helped me take a step in the right direction. Unfortunately, I haven't truly utilised any other social media platforms in order to get more of an audience for my blog.

More recently, I've created a twitter, which you can see on the right of my blog. After speaking to Breanna Rose, and hearing from Dave McDonald, I finally understood the importance of social media for my career rather than just using it to keep up with my friends. It's a valuable platform to have on your CV, and also having an audience and keeping up with others blogs and trends using websites such as bloglovin is advantageous to a career in this digital age and post internet generation.

Something I've also began to utilise in terms of showcasing my work, is Instagram. I recently posted up a few photos of current projects I was working on and had completed, using the hashtag design and graphic design to reach out to a broader audience, rather than limiting the images to those who follow me. I was shocked by the amount of likes and comments and direct messages I received, with many sending me compliments and critique. It's clear to see why others share their work, and I believe it will aid me in the future within my career. I do hope to continue utilising social media in the future and create a platform I can be proud of.

The design world is often thought of as a harsh reality. It's competitive, it can be malicious and, full of arrogance. It's a mess of self promotion and constantly striving to be on the top of the podium: As can most industries. What makes the creative industry great is that it is full of so many hoping to see you succeed. It's full of friendship, kindness, support, influence and inspiration: and it's that which makes me most excited to continue my use of social media and continue to connect with more creatives.