Portfolio

Here's the front cover and first page of my portfolio. I made sure the style was in keeping with my business card, cv, and this blog.

Final CV and Business Card Designs

After having real trouble deciding on a colour scheme that best suits my personality, I've decided to simply use black, charcoal grey and white. This instantly made the information on my CV easier to read, and I really enjoy working with the limited colour pallet. Here's the final version of my CV:

And my business card:

I've now also changed the background and header of my blog. As you can see. 

Second CV Design

Here's another idea for my CV. I prefer this to the last design, as it looks more like the CV of a graphic designer. However, I have realised that I need to think more about the way in which the information is presented, as I do not feel it is clear enough in this design.

Having conducted some research, I think the key to a successful CV is getting the correct balance between the clarity (and quantity) of the information, and how visually interesting the CV is. I feel I could add more visual elements to mine, and also cut down the amount of information, and present it in a way that is easier to read. 

Business Card Designs

I am now less convinced by my red and white colour scheme. Whilst it is powerful and distinct, I do not feel it accurately reflects my personality. I've also decided on a different font, and have now decided to use a font named Code Bold, as it has a more modern look to it. I think the second of these business cards is the strongest, and have decided it will be the basis for the rest of my personal branding. 

Initial CV Design

This is my first attempt at creating a (new) CV. Whilst I like the fact that it is clear and attractive, I think it might be a little dull.

Poster Designs

I created these poster designs, but soon realised that they were not in keeping with the style used for the website, logo etc. However, they did give me ideas about my own personal branding.

Personal Branding

Colour is an important factor to consider when creating my own personal branding. In an online article called 'Color Matters'*, they state that "extreme unity leads to under-stimulation, extreme complexity leads to over-stimulation." I aim to achieve a balance between these two extremes, creating a balance in the visual experience. Whist I want my CV and business card to be eye-catching, I do not want it to be overwhelming or gaudy. I've always liked the idea of simplicity in graphic design, and feel this should be reflected in my personal branding. 


I'm sure that I want some white space on both my CV and business card, and, in terms of colour, my first thought was to use a light blue, almost cyan. Pale blue seems a very neutral colour, and strongly associated with calmness and tranquillity. A friend of mine, using text he had created and a similar blue to the one I had in mind, created this logo for himself...

  
...which I liked a lot. However, in the end I decided against pale blue for purely practical reasons, as I felt that it would not stand out enough, and smaller text would perhaps be a little hard to read on a bright white background. 


I decided, instead, on red. Red is a powerful colour, and is associated with danger, passion, and fire. If overused, I imagine a strong red would be completely overpowering. However I intend to use it very sparingly, hopefully creating an effective contrast. 


Typography also needed to be considered. Whether we realise it or not, handwriting or fonts say a lot to us about the information we're being given. The text I use in my CV and business cards must be stylish, and in keeping with my theme, whilst still being legible and easy to read. I have always prefered sans-serif fonts, i.e. fonts without any details at the end of the characters.  Below is an example of serif and sans-serif characters.

I started to experiment with different sans-serif fonts. Below is a poster I designed using a font called Tw Cent MT. 

I liked this font a lot, and tried designing a logo and business card for myself using Tw Cent MT. 

Whilst I liked these two designs, they felt too dated, too Art Deco. 

Theme Idea: "Best of Britain"

Our group came up with the theme 'Best of Britain' for the exhibition. We thought this would be good as it was a theme that would be easy to implement, and would give the exhibition a clear 'look'. Props would play an important part in the exhibition- for example, British flags, pictures of British icons, and postcards. I am slightly worried that this may be slightly too kitsch.

London Visit

To get more ideas about the exhibition, we went to London to look at different galleries. We started at the Tate Modern.

As the Tate Modern has no real 'theme' to its exhibitions, the source of our inspiration was the work itself, and how it was presented and displayed.

The main hall. Floor covered in what looked like sunflower seeds. Apparently each one eas hand crafted. 

An interpretation of a Japanese fairytale, featuring sculpture, paintings and video. This made me consider the possibility of a Japanese theme to our exhibition. 

Hanging aluminium sculpture.

We then travelled to a second exhibtion, called 'The Shape We're In', in Camden.

This neon sign, which reads 'I Kissed You', was done by Tracy Emin. However, the door was locked, so we travelled to the second location the exhibition was being shown at.

There were two more neon pieces in the window here. Again, we couldn't get in, and realised that these window displays WERE the exhibition, which was a precursor to a larger exhibition taking place on the Prince of Wales road in March.


 Finally, we visited the National Portrait Gallery.

Whilst there were many amazing paintings on display, there was little that would influence our exhibition.

Initial Thoughts

After having considered the brief, we got into groups and started to think about a theme for the exhibition. The theme did not necessarily have to reflect the work being shown. I came up with the idea of basing the look of the exhibition on a certain artistic style or movement, for example the German Bauhaus movement. Bauhaus literally means "house of construction", and was primarily linked to architecture...

...but also produced many famous and influential works of art.

Others in the group thought of the theme of technology. We liked the idea of having broken computer parts, such as monitors, keyboards and mouses being used as props.