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Purpose Statement:
Using Illustration and design I would like to work with smaller, more creative companies to generate successful branding and advertising. Through market research and development of ideas I would like to help these businesses understand and communicate with their audiences in more creative and ground-breaking ways.

Design Definition:
Design is everything. Everything around us starts with design. It is bringing a thought to life by putting ideas down and, through a process, constructing them into their final form.

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This video shows 1 second everyday over a 4 week period, in this time I was in lockdown and then travelled down to Melbourne to visit family. I noticed a pattern of my love for coffee, travelling (planes), and being with friends. This project gave an interesting insight into what I focus on on a daily basis.

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I often find it hard to find inspiration in my physical setting and due to the fact I was in lockdown for most of the "one second a day" project I collected an image I found online every day that inspired me design-wise. These included branding, posters, and illustrations. In this collage of images, it is clear my inspirations are bold, illustrative, and creative.

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This word cloud represents the words that resonate with me. The larger words have more of an impact on the way I see myself as a designer and the kind of work I would like to create.

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This mind map shows a collective vision of who I am as a person. My family is from England and I lived in London for the last 3 years and so this is a majorly important part of who I am and how I see myself. I enjoy branding and advertising design and hope to work in an agency to work with clients on interesting and creative briefs. A lot of my inspiration comes from both traditional styles of art and modern.

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Through looking at my mind map and word cloud, these were the words that stood out the most to me. These words are what I would like to be described as, as a designer.

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These designers and artists are some of my biggest inspirations when it comes to how I design.

Keith Haring is famous for his movements within the HIV and LGBT awareness movements, he uses bold colours and cartoonish figures to stand out and create meaning. Even to this day he is a respected and well-known artist and designer because his designs stand the test of time.

Joel Pringle (@joelPringle on Instagram) is a logo designer known for his rubber-hose style illustrations and vintage logos. I enjoy his work because of his clever artworks and retro style.

Jerry-Lee Bosmans (@jer.bosmans on Instagram) is a graphic designer that focuses on interesting graphics and bright colours and shapes. He uses different photoshop techniques to create wild designs that capture the viewers attention. I love his use of colour, shape and layout.

Jack Frost (@cheersjack) on Instagram) is an Australian designer who creates a poster almost daily. His work consists of vector illustration and interesting typography. I like his simplistic yet clever style and how he never seems to run out of ideas.

Lauren Martin (@laurenmartin_studio on Instagram) creates anthropomorphic characters out of inanimate objects. She mostly draws food as characters and creates stories through her designs. I enjoy her design style as it is bright and clever.

I draw a lot of inspiration from designers that use illustration and bold colours to convey their message. I think this style of design can grab the viewers attention quickly and is interesting to look at.

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This mood board shows the fun and creative energy I wish to convey through my designs. I chose these colours as my inspirations used similar colour palettes themselves.

Mood-board links

https://twitter.com/bao_london/status/943427111150325760

https://www.illustrationx.com/artists/KelliLaderer/122100

https://typomania.ru/2019/exhibitions-2019/44/

https://www.behance.net/gallery/82572679/SPK

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This experiment involved looking at images of birds and creating a character using shapes. I chose to experiment with the small round bird as it's shape was very distinct and thought it could be interesting to give it a big attitude. The process to turn the character into a logo involved taking the final illustration and simplifying its shapes. I really like how the logo came out and think it could make a good clothing or skate brand.

Bird Images from
bystandr on Flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/bystandr/

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These experiments involved using line to create an image. I like how the "take a line for a walk" experiment turned out because it takes up the whole page and your eyes follow the line around. The inanimate objects were single line drawings of things found around my house. I really like how this turned out and would be interested in creating more of these single line drawings.

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This experiment is one I have wanted to try for a long time, it involves painting shapes of different colours on a page and then creating characters out of those shapes. This exercise forces you to think out-side the box and use your imagination of what a shape could be. The first experiments were made using acrylic paints and posca markers and the final experiment was made digitally.

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This treated image is a vector illustration of the final design for the bird experiment. It was created in illustrator using shapes and line to create a little bird character.

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My logo is a bendy pencil in the shape of my initials. I wanted to find a way to create a logo that represents my illustration design while also having my name involved. I really like how this logo turned out and think it shows my style of design really well.

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This is a photograph of me with my colour palette in the form of the "take a line for a walk" experiment. I think this accurately shows how I see the world around me and how I see myself as a designer.

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As seen in my mind map, London has had a huge impact on me as a person and as a designer. I came back from overseas in early 2020 and this self-map shows that my head is always somewhere else. I have recently come to really enjoy Brisbane although I see being here as temporary (like a changeable shirt) and I'm excited to see where I go next when travel opens again. London is where I spent many of my teen-early twenties and was a major contributor to the person I have grown into. After visiting the Design Museum in Kensington I decided that Design was what I wanted to pursue career-wise. The shirt I am wearing in the illustration has the Brisbane river on it and a dot that says "I am here" which is pointing to (approximately) Fortitude Valley where I currently live. My body being the map of Brisbane symbolises where I am physically and the map of London around my head shows where I am mentally.

My influences include Lauren Martin’s use of bright coloured characters and unnatural skin tones, Keith Haring’s style of thick, black lines and the London Underground tube map.

The target audience for this design is me, as it is a reminder to not be stuck in my own head and appreciate where I am now. My eyes are closed in this illustration to represent myself daydreaming and thinking towards the future. This self-map should be used as a perspective for all the things I am capable of and how far I am able to push myself as well as the realisation that just because I am back in my home town (Brisbane) I am still moving forwards and not backwards.

Map of London Reference

Transport For London. (ca. 1933). London Tube Map [Transport Map]

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I chose to use Squarespace for my portfolio as I have used this platform before and it is extremely customizable and user-friendly. I originally experimented with some of the free website creators such as adobe portfolio although I found they did not create the quality I was looking for. Overall I think Squarespace does the best job in showing my work and who I am as a designer.

The intended audience for this website is potential employers and clients for freelance work. This is a space I can showcase my previous work and my capabilities as a designer. In the future I plan on adding more work to this portfolio and building on my experience to show my growth.

I started this project with a vague idea of how and why I design the way I do. I have always been illustration-based and have been aiming to work in either branding or advertising to be able to showcase my creativity. These projects and experiments have helped solidify who I am and my personal brand guidelines to ensure my work is complementary.

Experiments with line, shape, and characters have supported my journey in that I noticed a consistent style in which I followed. My design style is quirky and bold, using black lines and often primary colours to convey a message and draw attention. My logo and photograph successfully portray me as a designer as they show this bold and creative design style I have curated for myself.

Although I already had some understanding of my aesthetic, I have been able to create a brand for myself through a logo, photograph, and design experiments that I will be able to use in my professional career.