Personal & Professional Practice
Bjarke Kristensen
Final example is a Designer based in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Another fantastic example on concept. Playing on the fact their name has a silent 'B' at the beginning of it and using this to their benefit.
I love the animated gif at the start of the post, it gives the viewer an idea of the growth which is represented throughout his identity. The only downside I would have with this branding is, I don't think there is a reason as to why he displaced the 'creative' within his poster and portfolio. Being a modernist, I like to see things logically placed on a page by using grid or something similar.
I like his use of indigo on white, but it would have been nice to see some colour swatches and type decisions.
My intention is to use a similar colour of blue to represent my eye colour, which I will take a picture of and colour spot myself to give it meaning, not just random like this could possibly be.
Bruno Fernandes
This example is of a designer from Portugal.
Lacking in versatility, I think he hasn't done the final examples justice by not including enough examples of his work in a flat, digital format.
His colours are bright, vivid and fresh, but his logo style seems outdated and predictable. I think the best thing you can do in a self branding/identity project is find something out about yourself that is unique and sets you apart form the others. Where as his logo doesn't say much about him, I think employers will have trouble remembering him and what he looks like, meaning the next encounter could be a little uncomfortable, that's if there ever would be one. This once again shows how important it is to stand out from the crowd and separate yourself from the rest of the design community.
His choice of colour could be a bit of an issue when it comes to ease of printing. It is clearly a specialist colour that will have to be purchased specifically for his branding as CMYK is not capable of producing this colour, unless he went in the direction of screen printing and using a neon ink, with would seem a little unviable for something that might possibly just be thrown away. Something of which I am going to have to consider myself, as I intend to use something which bounces of the page and catches your eye more than other colours.
Kim Dekker
A designer based in Colchester, UK.
Kim has shown a good range of uses for her brand. But in spite of all this, I can't help but feel the blue/red gradient she included in some of the collateral is unneeded.
With a simple as can get logo and effective colour way, I like how the business cards are uncluttered and uncomplicated. Her use of white space really lets each letter breath on the page. This gives a very fresh and inviting feel to the brand. Something of which I wish to mimic myself.
When you put so much work into branding yourself and I know personally that it takes a long time to get something you are truly happy with. It seems a shame to include such little detail on your journey and how you got the the outcomes you did.
I will attempt to address this within my own work and include some sort of a direction and have more consistency that will represent how I got to where I was. This will hopefully make it clear like the previous example and how they shown where the pattern and shapes came from as they were not just plucked from thin air. There is always a route in which you followed and I feel it is important to represent this visually within the final presentation of examples.
Marta Llop
First example is a designer based in Spain.
I have chosen these examples as I think Marta has really hit the nail on the head with the colour swatch and typeface (Unusually the same type I used in my previous branding, which I will more than likely be using again. So bear in mind I might be slightly biased.)
The only downside to this identity is the language used, 'Design Some Shit' isn't quite what you want your future employers basing you on. I'd like to think I would be able to think of something a little more professional than this within my own solutions.
She has included plenty of collateral which I think is always a positive thing in my eyes. As it shows how versatile a design solution can be. When you can visualise something on pretty much anything and actually make it work proves you have succeeded in you endeavours.
The second image in this post which features the outcomes of her brand are fantastic. The fact she used her initials represented in an icon to create a unique pattern really shows she thought about the conceptual meaning behind this branding and I think this example would be an outcome to be proud of.
Stand Out
The creative industry demands you to be different to the rest. You must be rememberable, to essentially persuade the client that you are the one for the job.
In the past, I have branded myself in what I was told by others to be a successful way. This being well over a year ago now I feel it i time for a change as I consider myself a different person than when I created this .
Change plays a massive part in how you see and essentially give yourself an identity, one morning you could have a certain interest, and the next you find yourself wanting to focus on something else.
I will begin this project by looking at some current examples of branding, including my own. This should improve my design practice by representing my style within a brand that employers will see before anything else.
