Business Cards
I designed some business cards to give out for networking and in preparation for graduation and finding a job at the end. I experimented with a few of my ideas with different logos to represent myself and mostly using one bold colour to be striking and impactful. I tried different layouts and then decided upon a centralised layout with one side red and the other white which can be found photographed at the bottom of my business card section of this blog post.
Final Business Card
Printed Portfolio
As I have a keen interest in editorial design and layout, I wanted to try and design a book to collate and display my portfolio work in to be related to a field of Graphic Design that I can see myself going into in my future career.
I thought about how I could make use of my bold red as part of my colour scheme and looked at my experimentations that I had completed for my branding experiments and started to create variations for cover designs. I focused on using a bold red rectangle to create visual impact and draw the eye to the book. I liked the idea of having a separate piece of card on the cover to create distinction within the content and create a different experience and interaction with the book. I thought about how I could layer designs. I created a design using my shapes underneath with the text already underneath where it is shown on the overlapping red card. I also created some versions which were more minimal and used more whitespace.
In this design, I thought about how I could use my “framing” icon to link with its use throughout the inside pages of the book for the headings.
I saw how I could create links between the cover design and chapter pages by using the rectangle of red. This would help the section to be clearly marked so the reader knows when a new project has started. I would create consistency and by using the same layout and typefaces for each chapter and the same structure as the cover. I also decided to add a small image in the top left corner to create some visual difference to the chapter pages to make it easier to distinguish and to relate to the particular project.
For each of my headings, I decided to add my frame symbol which helps to draw the readers eye to this point on the page. It also helps to relate to my frame concept which spans throughout my other branded content.
I organised my images in a similar style throughout the book by using white bordering which is able to draw the readers eye inwards. However, this bordering is not always on all the edges. I wanted to create the impression of breaking out of the grid and also create more dynamic to encourage page turning.
Frame Final Projects
Concept
Frame:
- a rigid structure that surrounds something such as a picture, door, or windowpane.
- a person’s body with reference to its size or build.
- place (a picture or photograph) in a frame.
- formulate (a concept, plan, or system).
My overriding concept which spans across my branded material is “framing”. I wanted to portray the idea of structure and order. A frame is something where the content and context can be replaced but the surrounding remains the same. When I design, I use my design process for each project which often uses many of the same steps but the outcome and context in which I am working in is different. I felt that using a frame is a good way of portraying this as …
Cards
Therefore, I have designed some A5 cards which feature an almost full page image of the final piece of my project which uses a white bordering to create “the frame”. On the other side of the card, it uses the frame symbols to surround and create the framing dimensions of emptier space. The back is where the user will find the description of the project. These cards will be able to be slid into a container which has a plastic window in the front and a stand to allow the user to keep the work and display it.
Printed Portfolio sheets
I have also designed by portfolio in the form of A3 sheets which bring each of the components of my main projects together into separate pages. These sheets are shown below:
