32.2: Applying For Jobs

[Am I right in this being the last learning activity? If so I must admit that is both kind of strange and also feels really good. However to not get into problems with my current job, I just wish to specify that the covering email below is not one I’m planning to send to anyone anytime soon. I’m very happy with my current job as a graphic designer.]

Publish a résumé and covering email as if you were applying to work at a real company.

Ideally you would also provide a portfolio website, but this will be completed over the next couple of weeks, so don’t worry about that now.

Covering Email

Dear Sir or Madam,

I would like to express my interest for the graphic designer position at [company]. As a recent graduate with graphic design experience, I believe I am a strong candidate for the position.

Working at [company] seems exciting as I am very interested in the creative field and graphic design. I enjoy working with deadlines. As a graphic design student I have tested myself through establishing identities for both real and fictive clients. This includes logos, business cards, websites, branding, brochures, posters and more.

I have worked as a graphic designer at a local business since the beginning of my second year of graphic design studies. In my position there I have worked with over a hundred clients, building brand identities through logos, business cards, car decoration, building decoration and more. These projects have helped me gain experience in working with very short deadlines, a variety of different clients and design preferences, and seeing the process through from the brief stage to the finished design.

Being organised, reliable and creative has so far helped me in past design projects. I believe I am seen as a calm and easy going person with a good work structure, and a quick learner.

I have attached my CV with this letter and I hope you will look over my application and consider me for the position. I look forward to your response.

Best regards,
Monika Rostad Halsan

 

I’m now very excited to see how the project exam over the next 7 weeks will go, and the portfolio following. And after that I suppose it’s time to graduate!

Until next time, stay creative,
Monika

32.1: Building a Mobile-Friendly Website

• Write a detailed brief (You may use a real client or a fictional one)

• Use the information from the brief to build a wireframe for the website.

• Choose a WordPress theme for the website.

• Customise the WordPress theme to fullfil the specific needs of the client

• Make sure that the site works on both desktop and mobile devices. (It does not have to work perfectly, but I want to see that you have considered it.)

• Upload your brief, wireframe and website to your WordPress blog.

Since I was actually working on updating my own portfolio website this weekend, I’ll simply use this for this activity. This website uses a child theme anyway, and quite a lot of customising has been done – this also involves making it work on both desktop and mobile devices.

Brief

• What is your service/product?

I’m a graphic designer always looking for new design projects to take on. I can design logos, posters and flyers, brochures, business cards, profile manuals and other brand building, digital drawings, illustrations, invitations, photographs, websites..

• What are your requirements?

I want my site to come across as professional and simple. It is important for me that the site is visually appealing and designed well, to further convince potential clients that I have an eye for design. The same goes for the coding; since I mention web design as something I can do, the site also needs to be responsive etc. I want the focus to be on the portfolio and my work. I want the site to reflect me and my personal style as a graphic designer.

• What is the website’s goal?

The goal of the website is to get new clients, and convince them to work with me on their next project. It should show potential clients what I have already done, and give them an idea of what I could do for them in the future.

• How are you going to achieve this goal?

I will achieve this goal by making a portfolio that has great focus on my work. This includes choosing my best work, and showcasing these in the best possible manner. To achieve this it is also important that the site is user friendly and easy to navigate.

• Build the website architecture

• What is the design style that will be required?

Simple, clean, timeless. I want the design style to be in line with the logo I use, which includes the colours and fonts. I want the site to have some sort of a Nordic feel to it; kind of being a little cold. By using my two blue colours, mixed with white I think this can easily be achieved. The photographs used (not the work) should also follow the same style, and have that Nordic but also mysterious feel to them.

31.1: Building a Website From Start to Finish

• Write a detailed brief for your website.

• Create a wireframe according to the brief.
• Draw some sketches to plan your design.
• Build a working website according to these specs.

It’s important for me to see that you can follow through on the entire process – from the brief to the completed website. Please explain why you make certain decisions. How do these decisions fit in with the business strategy?

Upload your brief, wireframe, sketches and link to your website to your WordPress blog. There’s quite a lot to do for this assignment, so it’s advisable to keep your website simple.

Since the brief didn’t say anything about what “your website” should be about or anything, I chose to set up a simple site for myself.

Brief

• What is the service/product?

Show people photos from different European cities.

• What are the requirements?

A simple website. The focus should be on the photos, as these are what best promote the different destinations.

• What is the website’s goal?

Make people want to go explore Europe – and the rest of the world, for that matter. Show people how different all cities/countries can be, how cultures vary across borders, and generally giving people a taste of the “travel bug”. This will be done mainly through photos, while simple general information about the places will be provided below.

• How are you going to achieve this goal?

By setting up a simple, user friendly site. Photos I have taken while travelling will be the main focus. Some information about me and my travels will be provided, as well as a contact form if people wish to get in touch and hear more about my experiences.

• Build the website architecture (so we can see what sections will be needed)

A simple site, I will only use a Home page (index.html) and an About page (about.html).

• What is the design style that will be required?

Simple, clean, a little dark to create interest. Photos in focus. Simple fonts, contrasts. A responsive site, as some visitors may be travelling and not have access to computers while visiting.

• What are your suggestions for marketing the site?

Using social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram – all platforms where I have my own page/profile to promote on. In addition to this I could make stickers, flyers etc. with the website url, to leave around while I’m out travelling.

Sketches

Wireframe

Below is the wireframe for the two pages I wanted to have.

Visit website here.

Until next time, stay creative,
Monika

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30: Coming Up With a Strategy

• Set up a meeting with a business owner and ask him/her what he/she would want from a website. Also ask him/her what the business strategy is and how the website would fit into it.

• Then write a detailed document about this.

For this activity I kept talking to Kristjan, the personal trainer I made a brief with last week. As explained then, he helps his clients by setting up personalised programs to achieve their goals, and also helping them find healthy eating habits, etc. As a personal trainer he’ll be his clients’ “guide” at the gym when they want, and thus make sure that for example their techniques are right. A website would help him show potential clients what he does, what he can help them with, and how they can get in touch with him.

He wants a professional and simple website. This means to put focus on the content, and only use relevant information, photos, and so on. He wants the site to be modern, and have a look and feel that screams healthy, but is still relaxed. It is important not to go overboard with the healthy look, as that may even scare some clients, but also show that eating healthy and exercising can be both fun and beneficial.

His business strategy is to use the website as a communication platform for his clients. All relevant information will be easily accessed, and inspirational stories from earlier/current clients will help new clients see that what he does can actually help them reach their goals. The website’s role will be to reach out to a wide market, make his services seem for professional, and will be an easy way for his clients to learn about him. Because of this, it is obviously important to develop a website that is user friendly and which reflects his values.

• I would like you to use the information from this document and create a website architecture

I set this up last week, but will go more in depth now. The navigation menu will have all the pages (About, What I Do, Pricing, Testimonials, and Contact) for easy navigation. Below is the branding banner, which will be on all pages, however with different photos on each page. Each banner will have his logo though, somehow implemented in the photo. The photos will help visualise what he does, and should all have the same mood and tone of voice.

The Main Content section will obviously vary on each page, with the relevant information for each of the pages. To the right will be the Facebook Feed (About, Pricing, and Home pages), or relevant photographs on the remaining pages (What I do, Testimonials, and Contact). On the bottom, the footer will have contact information, so clients can find that easily even without going to the Contact page.

• Now let’s focus on the web design strategy. Your document should justify all the major decisions you make – from the domain registration, hosting, design and target audience through to what you decide in terms of programming

Working as a personal trainer can be hard because there are quite a few who do, and finding enough clients to be able to do it as a living can often be a struggle. It’s a competitive market based on self promoting and being accessible. A website will definitely help Kristjan with this. My job will be to design a website that makes him come across as professional and more desirable than other personal trainers out there.

For his domain, he’ll use “ptkristjan” since this is short and quite easy to remember. This is also what he uses on other platforms, and is thus what people know him by. We have talked about using One.com as the hosting service, as this is a simple service to use, and they have a fairly decent price. They also have great backups.

One.com makes it easy to connect with WordPress, which is also one of the reasons we wish to use this hosting service: Since he may be updating the site on a bit of a regular basis, we have discussed using WordPress, as this is very user friendly. This will allow him to quickly change text, and add/remove photographs, etc. With WordPress we will also know the website will work well on different screen sizes, which was very important for him.

We spoke last week about updating his business card with the website url, and leaving posters and flyers at the gym he works at, with the website clearly visible. He understands that promoting the site is important to actually get viewers and visitors, and will include the address in everything he does, and everywhere. This means updating his bio on his social media accounts, his e-mail signature, and all printed materials.

The site will be simple, clean, modern, and seem healthy. Colours he is interested in using are blue, perhaps some green, and mixed with black. The fonts will be simple, and the photographs in good quality.

Until next time, stay creative,
Monika

29: Creating a Brief

I want you to take on a client. I then need you to have a meeting with your client and create a very detailed brief. This brief should contain all the information that will be needed to achieve the client’s requirements.

• What is the client’s service/product?

My client is a personal trainer. He helps his clients by setting up personalised programs to achieve their goals, and also helping them find healthy eating habits, etc. As a personal trainer he’ll be his clients’ “guide” at the gym when they want, and thus make sure that for example their techniques are right.

• What are their requirements?

He wants a professional and simple website. This means to put focus on the content, and only use relevant information, photos, and so on. He wants the site to be modern, and have a look and feel that screams healthy, but is still relaxed. It is important not to go overboard with the healthy look, as that may even scare some clients, but also show that eating healthy and exercising can be both fun and beneficial.

• What is the website’s goal?

Show potential clients what he does, what he can help them with, and how they can get in touch with him.

• How are you going to achieve this goal?

By setting up a user friendly, positive website. Lots of photos would be good (of course with his clients’ approval), and price lists, contact info etc. have to be easy to find.

• Build the website architecture (so we can see what sections will be needed)

• What is the design style that will be required?

Simple, clean, modern, healthy. He’d like some blue integrated, perhaps some green. Simple fonts, and good, large photographs. A responsive site is important since many of his clients are often on the run (no pun intended), and will check in from their phones.

• What are your suggestions for marketing the site?

Using social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. He has his own Facebook page where he could promote it, and since he also works at a gym, the gym’s page will reach even more potential clients. The gym would also be a good idea to leave posters, flyers etc. at. In addition to this, he’ll update his business card and add the website url on that.

Providing Your Own Hosting Service

This was a second task this week, but since it said it was “Mandatory, unless you have one” I didn’t do this. I’m already using one.com as my hosting service, and my site can be found here.

Until next time, stay creative,
Monika

28.4: Applying Philoshophy to Design 2

Design a book cover for a thriller book called “The Fall of Imagination” by Sam Wan. This book does not exist and is open to your interpretation as to the subject matter.

• It must be designed by clearly drawing inspiration from a previous design style.

• The size of the cover must be A5 and it should include a front, spine and back.

• The cover must contain a simple vector illustration that forms the basis of the design.

• The cover must contain the title and the name of the author.

Publish your design as a PDF document.

I took inspiration from Swiss Design for this book cover.
Book Cover PDF version

Until next time, stay creative,
Monika

28.3: Analysing the Use of Design Fundamentals

Choose any one of the illustrations from the lesson “Design Drawing” and answer the following questions (when submitting your feedback – also provide the illustration you chose):

What fundamentals are used successfully? Describe in detail what you think is the most successful aspect of the illustration (remember to focus on the fundamentals)

This illustration is based on the very famous portrait of Che Guevara, which is specifically famous because of the Jim Fitzpatrick poster of him. The portrait fills more or less the entire frame, and this puts great focus on the face. However, the illustration is also made up of dots/small circles, which gives the image a more or less pixelated feel. The colours used on the different dots help shape the portrait and separate it from the background.

What style from the past is being used in a new way in this illustration? If no previous style is clearly apparent, does it use some form of pastiche? Why do you think this specific style or pastiche was used? Describe in detail whether you think it was used successfully or not.

I would say this illustration is inspired by pop art. This is seen through the colours, and the dots, as those were very often used in pop art. I’m getting an Andy Warhol feeling when looking at it.

28.2: Applying Philosophy to Design 1

• Design an A4 poster for a humanitarian cause you feel passionate about. For example, creating awareness and a call for action against human trafficking. You must apply pastiche to your design. Use a style of propaganda used during the Modernism era and create your own, unique design in a contemporary context.
• Start by creating at least 5 thumbnails for your design. These thumbnails should be handed in with your assignment.
• Write a rationale or explanation for your poster of at least 350 words. Why is it necessary to create awareness of the humanitarian cause?
• Give an explanation for your creative execution, mention the use of colour and graphics as well as typography.
• Give examples of the designs you used as inspiration and why it is applicable to your design.
• Hand in your design as PDF mediums. You may use any medium for this. Hand in PDFs of your rationale and thumbnails as well.

Until next time, stay creative,
Monika

28.1: Focusing on Design With a Conscience

Shepard Fairey

“Frank Shepard Fairey is an American contemporary graphic design and illustrator who emerged from the skateboarding scene. He first became known for his ‘Andre the Giant Has a Posse’” (…OBEY…) (www.obeygiant.com) sticker campaign, in which he appropriated images from the comedic supermarket tabloid Weekly World News.

His work became more widely known in the 2008 U.S. presidential election, specifically his Barack Obama “Hope” poster.

The Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston calls him one of today’s best known and most influential street artists. His work is included in the collections at The Smithsonian, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego, the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Analyse his poster for the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election and give your opinion on the use of style and its efficacy. Also critique the use of pastiche and typography. Write one page (about 350 words) on your opinion of this design and substantiate your answers with examples.

Shepard Fairey’s poster for the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election captured a period of hope in America. To portrait now former President Barack Obama, Fairey used a portrait found online, which he then made into a stylized stencil. The colours used are red, blue (light and dark) and beige (light and dark). In addition to this is the word “HOPE” – although there have been several variations of this poster, using other words as well. The poster has a bit of a typical propaganda poster style to it; it is simple in the composition, the typography is bold, and has strong colours.

The image used portraits a man (Obama) with a quite “dreamy” look, as though he is looking into the future with a very focused mind. This reminds me of Jim Fitzpatrick’s poster of Che Guevara, where Guevara has a similar look in his eyes. The stencil portrait communicates a freedom fighter, a fighter for hope, and by using his face, Fairey created a more personal expression.

The design and composition is simple, and it works because of this. Fairey proves that “less is more” and that a portrait and a simple word could make up for a very effective poster.

Pastiche, which Google Dictionary describes as, “an artistic work in a style that imitates that of another work, artist, or period” is in my opinion somewhat used in this poster. There is a clear similarity between Fairey’s poster and many propaganda posters. In addition to this, design writer Steven Heller has said the poster was inspired by Social Realism, where designers draw attention to the everyday conditions of the working class and the poor, and are critical of the social structures which maintain these conditions. Fairey himself has stated his “historical inspiration was the well-known JFK portrait where he is posed in a three-quarters view looking slightly upward and out into the distance. The image of Lincoln on the five-dollar bill has a similar feel.”

The word “HOPE” is written in uppercase letters, and the typeface used is a bold, sans serif font which quickly communicates the message. This is seen in many propaganda posters, and the boldness of the font draws attention.

Until next time, stay creative,
Monika

27.2: Focusing on Pioneering Designers

Within the broader milieu of Neo-modernism, we focus on Marian Bantjes, who set design trends with her unique application of typography, loose illustration and well-balanced compositions. Watch the interview with Marian Bantjes on Lynda and answer the following questions:

Objective observation

During the interview, Marian mentions,

“When I worked at Digitopolis, I was working almost entirely on the computer, basically the computer and with photography. And now I am using a wider variety of materials, sometimes still involved with a computer and sometimes just with the materials themselves. But having a space like this allows me to obviously store them all, and to work on these various surfaces in different media.”

What is your opinion on the use of the computer combined with different media? Write one page (350 words) on your opinion of the importance of media and design and what your take is on the use of computer technology.

I believe the use of computer combined with different media has opened up a whole new world within design. As seen in the interview with Bantjes, amazing art pieces can start out off screen, and finish off digitised. This is also how we are encouraged to work as students; beginning our ideas with our hands only. I see computers as helpful aid, most of the time. It makes it easy to try out many different ideas without too much work.

At the same time, I totally agree with what Bantjes mentions when she says it “controls [her] brain.” There is a reason I find it easier to start my sketches by hand; pencil on paper. And that comes back to just that; when working digitally I feel like the computer ends up sort of doing some of the work. It gets a lot of control, even though you are the one drawing the lines and creating the design. You don’t get to add just as much of that personal touch to your designs as you may when working with your bare hands.

Bantjes does a great job, though, when combining computer work with different media. I loved the heart ornaments, which started out as drawings on paper, then were scanned and re-worked on a computer. They looked amazing, and really show how amazing results can be made using computer technology.

To me, using a computer seems less personal at times. Thinking of mass production, for example. It is easy to create a bunch of different cards or whatever on a computer, where the only thing you change is the name – the rest of the work stays untouched. When not doing it on a computer, all that work is done on each card instead. Sure, it takes more time, and a company could probably never do that today, but every card will be unique, even if the design is more or less the same.

Bantjes has found the perfect line in her design and work process. Most of the work is done prior to scanning it or somehow moving over to a computer, which allows her to truly use her own imagination and shape both ideas and design not only visually, but also physically. In doing this, the computer becomes a tool, an aid, a helping hand to finish off.