SARAH SWANTON SEMESTER
www.swansnestdesign.co.uk
TWO
OVERVIEW
VISUAL SUMMARY
1.) Type of brief This semester I have tried to prove myself to be as much of a proficient designer as I can, I have completed briefs that have very stringent guidelines and briefs that are entirely free reign. I feel that the briefs that have strict guidelines will give me good experience for working in the industry; where in which I won’t always have free reign. As a designer I prefer briefs that are completely free and open so I can do what I enjoy most and express myself ; typographically, contextually and when using composition. For this semester the briefs I feel have been the most successful are the briefs that have some set guidelines to them so although I can make decisions as to how the design will look, I always have the guidelines to keep me going in the right direction.
2.) Intergral elements Typography is always an important integral element in my work, I feel typography is always the central asthetic of my work and I build the design based on that asthetic. I have always preferred to create my own imagery; whether it be drwan by my own hand or in Illustrator, I feel that creating my own imagery is extremely important because it is a skill that is fundamental to any designer. Shape is another element that consistantly presents itself into my work, I feel that even a small use of shapes can bring an editorial spread to life or bring something extra to a logo design. In the future I would like to build upon my skills in all the Adobe packages but in particular Adobe Illustrator, I am extremely keen to start working as a designer so that I can improve my skillset for the future.
D&AD WHISKY BRIEF: TAIL FEATHER
ROSES: CAN YOU CREATE A NEW BRAND
YCN: M&S PICNIC
WEDDING STATIONARY
LINDT CHOCOLATE RE-DESIGN
IMAGINE THAT: FRONT COVER COMPETITION
DISSERTATION MANIFESTO
ART DIRECTION: ETHEREAL MAGAZINE
3.) Success I feel my strengths lie in composition of layouts and in the use of typography, after I earned my MISTD I realised that I am good at interpreting briefs through the use of typography and composition. Interpretation for me, is the most important aspect of a brief; If the brief is not interpreted well from the beginning then there is no point in completing it. I have always had a good sense of colour theory in my work but in the last semester it was starting to get a little repetitive so I decided that I would broaden my colour theory in this semester. Doing so well in my first semester has given me enormous confidence, as has achieving my ISTD and being chosen to exhibit at New Blood, all these events have made believe that I am a good designer and in the past I have thought the opposite.
4.) Problems This semester has been relatively problem free, however during completing the D&AD brief I ran into a few struggles with mocking up the packaging, but teaching myself some more techniques in Photoshop helped me overcome these issues. I have had some problems with confidence I my work, I almost pulled out of ISTD because I didn’t feel what I had produced was good enough, but my tutors helped me overcome these problems. I feel the best way to avoid issues is to always be extremely well organised and plan ahead which is what I always do in my work.
5.) Personality My biggest interest lies in growing as a designer, I never want to stop learning about my chosen career. I have a great interest in illustration I feel this comes across in my work particularly in projects such as my Lindt chocolate packaging and wedding stationary. This semester I have created a manifesto that ties in with an idea that is very important to me; equal opportunity for women. For my last brief I decided to do something that was completely new to me; Art direction. I feel completing this brief really paid off because even though I’ve never done it before I feel it is very important to take risks and try new avenues.
D&AD WHISKY: OVERVIEW Introduction A competition brief set for D&AD by the studio Design Bridge, the brief was to create a new contemporary Scotch Whisky that appealed to a female demographic. I decided that my target audience would be younger women of the ages 18-30, because they are the least likely consumers to buy Whisky. I thought about how I could make Scotch Whisky appeal to younger women like myself, that thought brought me to the idea of cocktails. Cocktails are extremely popular with women from the age group I chose to appeal to. By packaging the Whisky in a cocktail shaker it make the idea that it is meant to be used in cocktails far more obvious and my idea was that the shaker could be used after the Whisky was used. It also came with a small cocktail menu around the neck so that the consumer could make drinks easily with the Whisky. The packaging itself shows off the colour of the Whisky by the pattern that is on the shaker.
D&AD WHISKY: SOURCE
D&AD WHISKY: TRANSFORM
D&AD WHISKY: PRODUCTION
D&AD WHISKY: REALISE
ROSES: PRODUCTION
ROSES: OVERVIEW Introduction A competition brief set by The Chase design studio, the brief was to advertise a new brand, after creating the brand yourself. Since I was creating a new brand for the D&AD Whisky brief I thought I would advertise my new brand using this brief. The idea behind this advertising was to represent that Tail Feather Whisky is a fun drink to be enjoyed at the weekend, the bird of paradise represents letting loose and having a good time and the pigeon represents just any other day of the week, I chose Monday because it’s renowned as being everyone’s least favourite day of the week.
ROSES: SOURCE
Monday
saturday!
Monday Shake itit
S C O T C H
W H I S K Y
Shake itit
Shake it up!
saturday!
S C O T C H
W H I S K Y
Shake it up!
ROSES: REALISE
YCN: OVERVIEW Introduction A competition brief set by YCN the brief was to create a new range of packaged picnic’s, They asked us to design the picnic itself including all the packaging inside it once I had chosen what food should go inside it. They also asked for the picnic to be designed around a certain event or special day of the year. I decided to base mine around a festival theme, I chose all the food inside to coincide with this theme and the picnic box itself in the same way. The picnic was aimed at anyone who goes to a festival, which can be people of all ages. I decided to make my packaging fun and engaging do that it appealed to all ages and types of people.
YCN: SOURCE
YCN: TRANSFORM
YCN: PRODUCTION
YCN: REALISE
WEDDING STATIONARY: OVERVIEW Introduction For this brief I was asked to create a stationary range for a young couple getting married this year. They required a ‘Save the date card’, ‘Day invite’, ‘Evening invite’, ‘RSVP card’, menu and table plan. All the illustrations and layouts for this stationary were designed by myself, but the theme and the copy were provided by the client. I liased with the couple for months any they were extremely happy with what I produced. The stationary was featured on the illustration website ‘Fuel your illustration.
WEDDING STATIONARY: SOURCE
WEDDING STATIONARY: TRANSFORM
WEDDING STATIONARY: PRODUCTION
WEDDING STATIONARY: REALISE
LINDT CHOCOLATE: OVERVIEW Introduction This brief was a self directed brief that I decided to complete on my own, Lindt has always been one of my favourite brands and I decided that their packaging needed updating. I tried to keep in mind the current trends of retro illustration coupled with contemporary typography, I created four variants of packaging for four different flavours; Dark, White, Mint and Milk. The packaging has been featured on The Dieline, Trendhunter and will be featured in the packaging book Pack-age by Chois gallery.
LINDT CHOCOLATE: SOURCE
LINDT CHOCOLATE: TRANSFORM
LINDT CHOCOLATE: PRODUCTION
LINDT CHOCOLATE: REALISE
IMAGINE THAT: OVERVIEW This brief was a competition brief set by design and illustration magazine Imagine_That, Their brief was to create a magazine cover based on the word ‘big’. My first thoughts were not to just create big typography, it was to create more of a ‘show’ piece of work so I thought about neon signs and circus’ etc. The finished cover was chosen as a finalist and featured in the magazine and on the website.
{
Introduction
IMAGINE THAT: TRANSFORM IMAGINE
THAT
WOW THIS IS
V
WE’RE SO EXCITED
{
IMAGINE THAT: SOURCE
V
IMAGINE THAT: PRODUCTION
IMAGINE THAT: REALISE
DISSERTATION MANIFESTO: OVERVIEW This brief was set for the year 2 Graphic Design students but I decided that it would fit very well with my dissertation, so I created a poster campaign, a manifesto, dissertation booklet and badges advertising the message of the manifesto. The manifesto was to promote the interests of women in advertising which was what my dissertation was based upon, the entire manifesto had two tag lines throughout; one being: Ideas are not gender specific and the other being: Creativity is not gender specific.
Creativity
Introduction
DISSERTATION MANIFESTO: TRANSFORM ILLUSTRATION
FOCUS
INTUITION
DISSERTATION MANIFESTO: SOURCE
DESIGN
IDEAS
DISSERTATION MANIFESTO: PRODUCTION
DISSERTATION MANIFESTO: REALISE
CREATIVITY IS NOT GENDER SPECIFIC
IDEAS ARE NOT GENDER SPECIFIC
IDEAS ARE NOT GENDER SPECIFIC
Creativity
WALKERS
AUDI
CREATIVITY IS NOT GENDER SPECIFIC
NIKE
BRITISH AIRWAYS
FOCUS
INTUITION
IDEAS
DESIGN
COCA COLA
DOVE
ILLUSTRATION
MAN-MANIFES-IFESTO TO Advertising has been a largely male dominated industry since it began, as advertising evolves through the 21st century; the industry must take a long look at it’s ideas towards women. Advertising needs women and women must to feel they can compete in the industry.
Advertising has been a largely male dominated industry since it began, as advertising evolves through the 21st century; the industry must take a long look at it’s ideas towards women. Advertising needs women and women must to feel they can compete in the industry.
IDEAS ARE NOT GENDER SPECIFIC
CREATIVITY IS NOT GENDER SPECIFIC
WALKERS
Creativity
ILLUSTRATION
FOCUS
INTUITION
DOVE
Advertising has been a largely male dominated industry since it began, as advertising evolves through the 21st century; the industry must take a long look at it’s ideas towards women. Advertising needs women and women must to feel they can compete in the industry.
NIKE
BRITISH AIRWAYS COCA COLA
DESIGN
IDEAS
AUDI
Advertising has been a largely male dominated industry since it began, as advertising evolves through the 21st century; the industry must take a long look at it’s ideas towards women. Advertising needs women and women must to feel they can compete in the industry.
1.) WORK HARD!
8.) HELP EACH OTHER
1.) WORK HARD!
8.) HELP EACH OTHER
Hard work always had been the key to success for women in the advertising, you can’t make it to the top on good fortune alone.
Women have come a long way to gain some good standing in the advertising industry, don’t see each other as competition; help each other.
Hard work always had been the key to success for women in the advertising, you can’t make it to the top on good fortune alone.
Women have come a long way to gain some good standing in the advertising industry, don’t see each other as competition; help each other.
2.) BE CURIOUS ABOUT ADVERTISING
9.) MAINTAIN A GOOD SENSE OF HUMOUR
2.) BE CURIOUS ABOUT ADVERTISING
9.) MAINTAIN A GOOD SENSE OF HUMOUR
As Graphic Design students you should be actively seeking out advertising as inspiration, it’s communication design at it’s best and a highly rewarding vocation for women.
No one likes to be too serious, another major reason women don’t succeed in advertising is their inability to laugh at themselves. A good sense of humour will get you further than you think.
As Graphic Design students you should be actively seeking out advertising as inspiration, it’s communication design at it’s best and a highly rewarding vocation for women.
No one likes to be too serious, another major reason women don’t succeed in advertising is their inability to laugh at themselves. A good sense of humour will get you further than you think.
3.) COMPLETE ADVERTISING BRIEFS WHILE STUDYING 10.) MAKE YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS KNOWN No one likes to be too serious, another major reason women don’t succeed in advertising is their inability to laugh at themselves. A good sense of humour will get you further than you think.
3.) COMPLETE ADVERTISING BRIEFS WHILE STUDYING 10.) MAKE YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS KNOWN
If you find that while studying Graphic Design, advertising briefs are sometimes not readily available, question the reasons why and seek out advertising briefs for yourself.
If you find that while studying Graphic Design, advertising briefs are sometimes not readily available, question the reasons why and seek out advertising briefs for yourself.
No one likes to be too serious, another major reason women don’t succeed in advertising is their inability to laugh at themselves. A good sense of humour will get you further than you think.
4.) ACCEPT CRITICISM & LEARN FROM IT!
11.) DON’T FALL INTO THE ‘BOYS CLUB’
4.) ACCEPT CRITICISM & LEARN FROM IT!
11.) DON’T FALL INTO THE ‘BOYS CLUB’
One of the main pitfalls that hinders women’s elevation in advertising is not being able to take being criticised, many take it too seriously and therefore are considered weak.
It seems logical to believe that thinking and behaving like a man will get you far, it may for a while but it’s hardly worth losing the respect of your female peers.
One of the main pitfalls that hinders women’s elevation in advertising is not being able to take being criticised, many take it too seriously and therefore are considered weak.
It seems logical to believe that thinking and behaving like a man will get you far, it may for a while but it’s hardly worth losing the respect of your female peers.
5.) WOMEN MUST BE SEEN AS EQUAL
12.) ALWAYS STRIVE FOR MORE
5.) WOMEN MUST BE SEEN AS EQUAL
12.) ALWAYS STRIVE FOR MORE
Above all the other points in this manifesto, this is the most important; whether it be a woman applying for a job or pitching an idea, women must be seen in equal standing to men.
Never believe enough is enough, always be hungry for more; the women at the top of their game are pit bulls and damn proud of it!
Above all the other points in this manifesto, this is the most important; whether it be a woman applying for a job or pitching an idea, women must be seen in equal standing to men.
Never believe enough is enough, always be hungry for more; the women at the top of their game are pit bulls and damn proud of it!
6.) DON’T BE INTIMIDATED BY THE INDUSTRY
13.) ENCOURAGE THE YOUNGER GENERATION
6.) DON’T BE INTIMIDATED BY THE INDUSTRY
13.) ENCOURAGE THE YOUNGER GENERATION
For too long women have shyed away from advertising because of it’s male dominance. It’s time for women to be able to apply for jobs in advertising and think nothing of it.
You’re doing well in your career so why not shout about it! There are millions of young women just waiting to graduate and break into the industry, tell them your story.
For too long women have shyed away from advertising because of it’s male dominance. It’s time for women to be able to apply for jobs in advertising and think nothing of it.
7.) BE YOUR OWN PERSON
7.) BE YOUR OWN PERSON
Throughout a women’s career, the most important point to remember is to always be your own person and not imitate others.
Throughout a women’s career, the most important point to remember is to always be your own person and not imitate others.
You’re doing well in your career so why not shout about it! There are millions of young women just waiting to graduate and break into the industry, tell them your story.
ART DIRECTION: OVERVIEW Introduction This brief was a brief that was given to past students a few years ago in their second year but it wasn’t given to us when we reached second year and I had always had a great desire to do some art direction. The brief was to take a word and interpret it through art direction, then taking that art direction and turning it into an editorial. My chosen word was Ethereal, I interpreted this word through art direction and developed it into a fashion editorial.
ART DIRECTION: SOURCE
ART DIRECTION: TRANSFORM
ART DIRECTION: PRODUCTION
ART DIRECTION: REALISE
Work Experience - Freelance The Melting Pot nightclub Fantasweets Cupcakes Tik Box Records Alex and Jade’s Wedding Stanwix Arts Theatre
Featured The Dieline Imagine_That Magazine Imagine_That Blog Designspiration Trendhunter Chois Pack Age (in book: TBA) Fuel your illustration D&AD New Blood (June)
Competitions ISTD UCSU - Runner up Imagine_That - Runner up