Yorkshire Made Women
Yorkshire Made Women was a self-initiated brief that grew out of the research that I undertook for my dissertation looking at how women have been portrayed in British posters in the last hundred years. I became interested in the work of Jane Bowyer and Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya using art to publicise women’s often neglected contribution to society.
The focus of my project was the book “Yorkshire Made Women”, a pictorial record of inspirational women from a range of fields of achievement all united by being born in Yorkshire. Each woman has a double-page spread with an illustration and a brief description of her achievements. Some are well known, and some deserve to be better known: Betty Boothroyd, Beryl Burton, Judi Dench, Brenda Hale, Barbara Harrison, Barbara Jane Hepworth, Hannah Hauxwell, Anne Lister, Adeeba Malik, Helen Sherman, Stevie Smith, Jane Tomlinson, Sally Wainwright, Jodie Whittaker.
The front cover contains a hand-stamped design for the title mixing lacquer and lipstick to form the bright pink ink. This was to introduce some minor variability into the books’ appearance to make each copy more individual. I also used smaller versions of the individual portraits to create pattern designs featured on the end pages of the book and looked to use individual colours for each woman’s pages as well as using a stylised Yorkshire rose motif and extensive white background (like white in the Yorkshire rose) to reflect the Yorkshire element of the project. I also used the image of the title stamp and the patterns developed for the end-papers as the basis for designs for mugs, tote bags and T-shirts.
Pani Cosmetics
Pani Cosmetics was a self-initiated brief that grew out of the some research I looked at in my second year of University on packaging and plastics. The makeup industry uses a lot of plastic in packaging and also focuses on sex to see products. These where two things I wanted to change in the brand and products I created.
The brand Pani Cosmetics developed from the Maori word for paint which is Pani pani. The logo was created to look like the centers of the typography where make up pans. The type face was designed by me, to be used by the brand.
The pallet was designed to be wooden using a magnet plate to attach the pans into the case. It also uses magnets to keep the lid shut. The lipstick also used the magnet clip in feature to secure the product into the casing. This meant when used the consumer would just buy a new refill and keep the casing. This would reduce waste as the products would be wrapped in wax paper for hygiene reasons.
The marketing campaign focused on the idea that the pallets where changeable and customization that would suit everyone’s needs. The idea of being flexible and open to all genders and ages as well as abilities was something the brand focused on.
YCN Competition 2020
Fedrigoni x Oliver Bonas
The brief was to create the packaging for a new range of candles for the Spring/Summer 2020 collection.
I choose to interpenetrate the brief to a mother earth based project from the mood boards the company attached to the brief. I also looked at the idea of sustainability. This meant I designed a range that had zero plastic usage and could be 100% recycled in general paper recycling. Each candle was themed round a element: Earth, Water, Air and Fire. These then had floral and fauna elements and scents that matched the elements. These elements where also reflected in the candle toppers which where created to form 3D flowers. I also looked at merging the idea of environmental impact into the packaging, Including litter merged into the designs to highlight the way the packaging protected the beautiful candles from the harsh outside world, This idea worked as a thought provoking product but I felt like it didn’t reflect the target audience or the brief correctly, and over crowded the products insides and paper flowers so reverted back to the first idea. The final design was mocked up on a display stand which would be solid wooden blocks with laser cut lettering for the Oliver Bonas logo and collection name.
Penguin Books Competition 2019 –
Naughts and Crosses
Penguins student design awards in 2010 for the Children’s Fiction category was Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman. The brief asked for a image-based cover. I choose to use a dark blue background with bright pink writing. Using a naughts and crosses pattern over the front cover and the back cover had the final news article in the book. This article contains all the information on what happened to the characters, which played on the fact that maybe you should judge this book by its cover. I also choose to illustrate the main character’s hands with the tattoos of their sides on their fingers joining together to create a heart, reflecting the storyline subtly as the cover.
Penguin Books Competition 2020 –
A Short History of Nearly Everything
Penguins student design awards in 2020 for the Non-fiction category was A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. The brief asked for a smart but accessible cover that didn’t look like a textbook. The cover needed to feel timeless, confident and appeal to a whole new generation of readers. I choose after reading the book to focus on static as a cover design basis. This is because it was a visual representation of particles and molecules that build up “Nearly everything” the wave like design also allowed for a key catching image and could be copied across into the typography design, which I kept simple with a sans-serif typeface. The spine also had the cover copy i short chunks much like the cover to emphases the fact that it was a short concise informative book.
Batsford Prize 2020 – “Our Planet”
The 2020 Batsford Prize theme was “Our Planet” this illustration was created. I looked at environmental impact as well as politics. The image was built up with hidden meaning. The idea formed from the fact that Paddington bear was a refugee and the bear population is currently in danger. I also thought it was a striking image for the current refugee crisis and how once welcomed into new countries refugees form new lives. Much like Paddington.
D&AD Competition – Durex
For D&AD’s 2019 design challenge I chose the Durex brief. Durex are one of the best known condom brands in the UK. They are very centered about sex education but believe in making it fun. People are feeling more pressured and anxious than ever before when it comes to sex, especially young people. Durex aim to be the liberator of good sex. They believe good sex is a human right and they’re on a mission to break the conventions, providing the products to liberate everyone to have the sex they want on their own terms. The highest rate of STD diagnoses is in 16 to 24 year olds. They asked for a way to galvanize 16 to 24 year olds to stand up for the right to protect themselves and make carrying protection a normal thing. “Just like making a cup of tea or brushing your teeth.” Durex wanted the campaign to steer away from stereotyped imagery and puns and rely on strong imagery. Durex position themselves as a liberator and ally to the sex that people want. Therefore, the idea shouldn’t frighten, bull or scaremonger people into using them.
Within this brief I choose to re-design the packaging to allow them to be personalized and quirky. By having a item that could be personalised and patterns added allowing them to be used to start a conversation in sex education classes. The packaging could therefor be placed on a shelf or bedside table and be hidden in plan sight or more likely stand out. The individual wrappers would also look less like boring condoms by using bold patterns and designs which wouldn’t be as recognizable but would also start a conversation if seen or used. This was also accompanied by a social media campaign calling into question what everyday objects don’t receive comments for being used or carried compared to condoms.
YCN Competition –
Artfund_
One of YCN’s 2019 briefs was Artfund_. The brief was given to encourage students on all courses to begin visiting museums and gallery spaces. As a method of stepping out of their lives that are consumed with exams and essays and getting a new perspective on the world and their lives. The idea that for many of them it may act as inspiration where as for others its the idea of a change to relax and rest. It may even be a way to socialise in different groups to there usual ones. The campaign should challenge people yo discover a variety of experiences and values and education that museums and galleries offer.
I wanted to target two main areas young people at Universities would be seeing regularly, Social Media and their hall of residence themselves. So 3 sets of 4 social media posts where made when pieced together had similar images to the door stickers. The door stickers where made to give the idea that stepping out of your room door and going to one of these places to escape from the stresses of university life. The typography was also designed to have the look of it floating and interacting with the “World”. The option to also add wall stickers to allow for the door to look like it’s struggling to hold the world with cracks and crumbling plaster. University rooms are normally very boring and bland and there are lots of rules about what you can put up on the walls where so this would really enhance a lot of rooms.
Group project – Ryanair
One group project I undertook in my second year was to tackle Ryanair’s branding (Was a in-house project not affiliated with Ryanair) As a Group we choose to re-brand the company for 3 main reasons:
- Firstly their manifesto didn’t match their actual attitudes and company values. They were contradictory and condescending. The idea of them being a friendly, simple, low price point option needed to be central to the brand.
- Secondly the logo and colour scheme needed changing. The logo itself was very hard to make out and undesirable. The colour scheme also made the brand look very cheap, almost bargain basement.
- Thirdly they claim to be simple, yet they employ lots of hidden costs. So the brand needed to become more transparent and honest with their customers.
I took on the physical object design work: I had 4 colours to work with and used these to create 4 different colour ways and designs for the main pattern design. I felt that using the logo was important, as it needed to be clear that all the products and items were Ryanair’s. I wanted to make it a repeated pattern to allow it to be used on seats and the neck-wear of the uniforms. The plane design was also carried out to look more sophisticated and yet still simple. The Cutlery design was also something I felt was important as they are widely used. The design I decided to produce was a rounded, simplified design. The spoon and the fork were the same size and shape with the prongs cut into the fork and the spoon hollowed deeper. The idea of making them out of either bamboo or wood meant they could be recycled, yet still light enough to not cost extra to transport them, making a big difference on the environmental impact.
A-Level Work- Woodend Creative
During my A-Level Graphic Design course I choose to work on a brief for Woodend Creative. I created a number of things for the project including a business card, poster, and article. The idea was to advertise what Woodend was and how it was a hub of activity that many people didn’t know existed. From this project I then began Volunteering there and eventually worked there for over a year and a half.
