Self Branding 1.9

Self Branding Evaluation

Branding myself to effectively communicates me as a designer was a daunting prospect at the start of the brief because I hadn't established a style and direction in graphic design. However blogging for Studio Brief 01 really helped ground myself and encouraged me to think about what I enjoy and my main influences in art and design. During this process I have found numerous blogs, artists and designers that I have used to inspire my work during this year. Researching and discovering design studios that relate to me was encouraging because I could see people with the same perspective of design as me.

I chose to create a notebook for my self branding because I wanted to create something that I was proud of and reflected me as a designer. Researching into Aaron Draplin influenced this because it made me step away from creating a generic business card. This meant adapting techniques that i’d previously explored to create a book cover that reflects me as a designer yet still has a purpose as a 

sketch/notebook. I am aware that studios and designers get emails and phone calls everyday from people like me asking for an internship or placement and there work is probably at a better standard so I aimed to make my design unique.

I gained an interest and passion for publication design and contemporary graphics because it is a satisfying and rewarding process that has many variables that can be changed. Sagmeister and Walsh's cover for their publication was really inspiring because it’s an example of how a book can be adapted to be interactive. By simply cutting into the cover meant the page could be adapted, making it engaging and visually stimulating. I spotted that Gestalt Principles could be translated into graphic compositions, especially the basic geometric examples. Predominantly using educational internet sources was useful because it provided simple and basic explanations and examples, perfect for the task. Reflecting on the project, I should have made the publication bigger  so I could go into more detail and focused more on the typesetting. I aim to use more than just internet sources because the information can be unreliable. Sourcing books from the library on the subject would allow me to go into greater depth. 

People of Print was really beneficial because it provides me with a continuous source of print media inspiration. I found designers and studios that used analogue techniques instead of digital. This was refreshing and encouraging because I now have a  reliable source of inspiration. I have identified the studios and designers that I want to send my notebooks to in hope of getting a response. This would be a great achievement. 

Layering coloured stock was influenced by my design principles publication as I discovered I could create graphic art. Using vibrant primary colours meant I could use a colour palette influenced by Matisse, this was really useful when I was choosing what colours to overlap in combination with the negative space. Considering practicality as well as purpose helped me to refine my outcome, for example adding the 6cm to the cover meant I could tuck the coloured pages in which makes it easier to get to the white stock used for note taking and sketching. Discovering Yunma Design’s notebook made me think about the purpose of my self branding which forced me to push my ideas further than just a simple notebook. If I had more time I would have liked to have been more expressive with the pages inside the notebook by adding images, textures and grids as this will stimulate creativity for the user and is unique. 

I decided to create a series of symbols inside a box using a transferrable technique that weren’t consistent because I haven’t settled on a specific style or direction. These publications will be appropriate to send to a diverse range of design studios.

I would like to collaborate with other designers that use different media to me such as photography and illustration as that will open more opportunities and allow me to gain experience working with other creatives. 

Overall I am pleased with how my concept developed from a digital grid system into an analogue promotion notebook that I feel confident to send to studios and designers such as Gloria Glitzer Heretic and People of Print to show my appreciation of their practice to hopefully build a design relationship. PPP has made me focus and think about my future in graphic design which I am grateful for because I can now begin to make connections and relationships with other designers and studios which could lead to more opportunities in the future.