Joanna Louise BirdExternal Positioning

I AM THE

5,266,164,230thPERSON TO EXIST

60%

20%

10%

10%

I WAS BORN ON THE

23/JAN/1990AND SO WERE 370,368 OTHER CHILDREN

IT’S LIKELY THAT I WILL LIVE TO BE

81.7 YEARS OLD

PERSONALITY TRAITS

PERFECTIONISTOBSESSIVESTUBBORNOPINIONATED

LIKES

GEOMETRYTYPOGRAPHYSCRIPT LETTERINGFOUND OBJECTSEDITORIAL DESIGN

DISLIKES

RESTRICTIONSMESS

FACEBOOKTWITTER

SOCIAL NETWORKS

BEHANCETUMBLRTWITTER

WORDPRESS

1,788 TWEETS

WORK ETHIC

DIGITAL

HANDMADE

TYPOGRAPHYILLUSTRATION

EDITORIAL

Information Graphics

In order to illustrate where I envision my place in the industry, it was neccessary to interrogate my practice and form a plan of where to go in the future.

These information graphics show the different aspects of my work as it stands today, who I look to for inspiration, the methods I use to promote work and also the aims I have for employment after graduating.

MOST ADMIRED TYPOGRAPHERS

CRAIG WARD

STEVEN BONNER

JONATHAN BARNBROOK

RIAN HUGHES

SOCIAL NETWORKING PLATFORMS USED TO SUCCESSFULLY PROMOTE WORK

TWITTER

BEHANCE

TUMBLR

GDNM.ORG

40% 30% 25% 5%

IDEAL EMPLOYERS

SMALL(ORGANISATIONS AND DESIGNERS I WOULD

LOVE TO INTERN FOR OR ASSIST)

CRAIG WARDSTEVEN BONNERSARAH THORNE

MEDIUM(DESIGN STUDIOS I WOULD LIKE TO CONTACT FOR WORK)

PROUD CREATIVEBARNBROOKSAWDUSTHERE DESIGN

LARGE(RENOWNED DESIGN ORGANISATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS I WOULD CONTACT AFTER BUILDING A GOOD PORTFOLIO AND GAINING EXPERIENCE IN THE INDUSTY)

LANDORPENTRAGRAMCREATIVE REVIEWCOMPUTER ARTS

SELF INITIATED

COMPETITIONS

OTHER FREELANCE WORK

WORK IN PORTFOLIOSPECIALISMS

50% TYPOGRAPHY

20% PRINT DESIGN

20% EDITORIAL

10% ILLUSTRATION

Handmade & Bound

Handmade and bound was a great experience as this was the first time I had produced work to be sold in a show. At first I did not think that Handmade and Bound was the right show for me as most of my work is quite digitally based. I was surprised at how difficult it was to think of a product I could sell that required absolutely no help from the computer.

On the other hand it was nice to get back to basics and to produce some more tactile work on the letterpress. Overall, the process was a good experience and I even managed to sell a few packs of labels in the process.

In each pack of labels there was also a business card which included my e-mail address, and also links to twitter and my online portfolio, the show was a good opportunity for self promotion.

RSA StampsSocial Mail

This brief has been one of the most challenging of the year, as I found it difficult to create design that communicates a message and is still able to function on a small scale.

My idea for this brief was to source stamps from different parts of the world and combine them to create new designs that suggest the worldwide unity than can come from communicating via mail.

Although my designs are visually interesting and remain so at a small scale, I don’t think these communicate a clear enough message about the value of letter writing.

After feeling as if I had hit a wall with these designs, I decided to look at the competetion with fresh eyes and attempt the second brief.

RSA StampsWorld With A Future

As I had felt that I had come to a dead end with the Social Mail brief, I decided to give the World With A Future brief a try instead.

I wanted to create a group of stamps that communicated that it was important to conserve the earth and that we need to think more carefully about the damage that we are leaving behind.

I didn’t want to stamps to be nagging, or for them to induce guilt, I wanted to combine positive messages that would encourage people to think more carefully while integrating beautiful imagery.

The photography is from a trip to the mountains in Austria which featured some of the most beautiful scenery I had ever witnessed. My aim was to use this imagery as a means to show people what they should be protecting.

I feel that these stamps are more successful and that this brief is something that I will be developing next semester.

ISTD Tales To Change The World

This brief was of particular interest to me because of the editorial aspect it had to it.

I decided to reinterpret the text as a newsprint publication. The idea of printing on newsprint struck me while reading the accompanying text, I thought about the kind of things that people could be found to be reading in cafes and restaurants. The idea of a newspaper seemed like an appropriate medium for the story.

I enjoyed the challenge of designing layouts for each page and of designing a particular grid system to use for the publication.

The cover was also a challenge, I liked the aspect of haberdashery that there was in the story but I did not want this to come across too obviously. I settled on abstract photography of cotton reels to represent the sewing and making in the story. However, when this imagery is combined with the title “The Waitress”, I found that this was an interesting contrast and would make a reader want to find out what the connection was between the two.

ISTD Tales To Change The World

Illustrating The Text

At first, I was reluctant to use illustrations in my publication as I did not want to detract from the typography. However, the more I read through the text, the chair itself became more and more of a pivotal character and I thought that it would be an interesting idea to use simple pen and ink illustrations of different chairs to illustrate and break up the text.

ISTD Tales To Change The World

Working with an Independent Printer

This brief was one of my first experiences with working with an independent printer and I considered this to be valuable knowledge to gain for when I am a professional designer.

The process of designing for print highlighted gaps in my knowledge that I hadn’t taken too much notice of beforehand. These gaps included knowledge of proper margins and bleeds, CMYK and smaller details such as the difference between rich black and process black. I found that all of these factors would have an effect on the overall aesthetic of a printed piece.

This project has by far been my favourite of the year and is definitely something I will be developing, altering and improving before the competetion deadline next semester.

Self Promotion Booklet

I wanted to design a booklet for self promotion that I could send to prospective clients as a taster of my work and to give an idea of the kind of things that I can produce.

The cover image was one of the first problems I came across. At first I decided on a close up image of a feather, however, the more I looked at it the more it seemed too obvious. In combination with my surname it seemed like too much of a cliche.

The idea of an antler came from my love and fascination of found objects which I find often influences my work. I was more satisfied with this as a cover image as it was more surprising.

This was also an opportunity to showcase one of my typefaces that I have developed this semester called ‘Umbra’ and to see how this would work in print.

Although I am happy with this outcome, I feel that there is room for development and that I should look at different imagery and paper stocks.

Communicating With Potential Cli-ents

Whilst designing self promotional materials, I began to think about other ways that I would find myself communicating with clients in the future.

For most jobs, you are expected to write a cover letter to accompany your CV, I wanted to think about how I could design and package this letter to gain a client’s attention and make myself memorable.

I used a simple design using two colours that could be adapted for the envelope, business card and letterhead to create coherance between the different componets of the letter.

TYPO London 2011

I was lucky enough to be able to attend TYPO London earlier in the semester. This event was by far one of the most useful I have attended to date.

Listening to such established and successful designers talk about their work, influences and studio spaces was not only hugely inspiring but also fuelled my own ambition.

My personal highlights include the highly entertaining talk by Chip Kidd which not only had the audience in pieces but also provided informative anecdotes about the sometimes volatile design industry. Listening to Jonathan Barnbrook speak was also a huge privelege as he is one of my top influences. It was great to hear more about the context of his typographic work.

TYPO London inspired me to create some print design work about my highlights and experiences and also about the many inspiring quotations that I left the conference with.

TYPO London 2011

Typo Quotes Booklet

After coming away from the conference, I had the idea to create a small booklet of some of my favourite quotations from some of the speakers.

The booklet included a simple colour scheme of cranberry and cream to keep the look clean and modern and simple illustrations of the designers alongside their quotations.

Gaining Exposure Online

The creation of an online portfolio has been one of the most important factors in promoting my work. Before I created this, I felt that not enough people we’re seeing my work, I wasn’t gaining enough feedback and opinions from likeminded designers.

Using social networking platforms such as Behance and Twitter has been invaluable in allowing me to get my work seen by industry professionals. I was ecstatic to find that Craig Ward had viewed my portfolio and appreciated my work and also that Rian Hughes had viewed some typographic pieces I had posted to Twitter.

Evaluation

This last semester has been successful for me in the sense that I now have a much clearer idea of where I want to position myself in the industry. I have begun to gain much more confidence in my work and I am feeling that I am coming into my own as a designer. I feel that I now have more of a ‘style’ when it comes to my design work and that my work is more coherent when it is seen together. It no longer looks so much like a random, eclectic collection.

My enthisiasm for typography has grown considerably throughout the semester and can be seen through the briefs. This unit and research into prospective design studios and designers has seemed to have cemented typography in its place as what I would like to do.

The ISTD Tales To Change The World brief has been by far my most enjoyed project this semester. I have felt that it has been something I have really been able to get my teeth into and it is something that I dedicated a lot of time to. This has also highlighted the importance of editorial and print design and the important connection that it has with typography. Through this project I have been able to fill in some gaps in my knowledge and have discovered more areas that I am very interested in persuing when I become a professional.

‘The Waitress’ newsprint publication was one of my first experiences with an independent printer and brought a lot of loopholes in my existing knowledge to light. I learnt a lot about the correct formats, leaving room for margins and bleeds and smaller details such as the differences between ‘Rich Black’ and ‘Process Black’. All of these factors have more importance in the print industry than I had previously given them credit for.

In terms of expanding my knowledge of the design industy, I felt that TYPO London was one of the best events I could have attended. As well as the event sparking off more projects to put in my portfolio, I felt that the whole experience left me full of ideas and ethusiasm. Seeing some of the designers I respect most such as Jonathan Barnbrook was a huge privilege and I felt that I learnt so much more by hearing them speak and listening to their anecdotes. This event was also a valuable lesson about what it would be like to work as a professional typographer. Many of the speakers had their own stories about working with clients and how they made their way in the sometimes volatile professional world.

This semester has also been valuable to me in the way that I have been able to gain much more exposure for my work. The development of an online portfolio was a valuable decision and it has led to my work being seen by a wider scope of people. Websites such as Behance and Twitter have also led to me being able to connect with some of my most admired typographers and to them viewing some of my pieces.

I feel that this unit has been a success, I have enjoyed being able to choose competition briefs and I have found myself able to become ethusiastic about them. They feel as if I am working towards a goal that will help me put together my professional portfolio. I feel that I am more confident in myself as a designer and I have a clear plan of what I will do when I graduate.

Bibliography

‘Typography Sketchbooks’ - Steven Heller & Lita Talarico‘Scripts: Elegant Lettering From Design’s Golden Age’ - Steven Heller & Louise Fili‘Type and Typography’ - Phil Baines & Andrew Haslam‘Information Is Beautiful’ - David McCandless‘Data Flow: Visualising Information in Graphic Design’ - R. Klanten, N. Borquin, S. Ehmann‘Barnbrook Bible: The Graphic Design of Jonathan Barnbrook’ - Jonathan Barnbrook & Kalle Lasn‘Symbol’ - Angus Hyland‘The Art Of Looking Sideways’ - Alan Fletcher‘Just My Type: A Book About Fonts’ - Simon Garfield‘Graphic: Inside the Sketchbooks of the World’s Great Graphic Designers’ - Steven Heller and Lita Talarico

www.wordsarepictures.comwww.dtail.comwww.itsnicethat.comwww.ffffound.comwww.sarahthorne.co.ukwww.mariondeuchars.comwww,proudcreative.comwww.madebysawdust.co.ukwww.pentagram.com