David Howe
2009/10 Portfolio
CONTENTS Print
6 - 13
Corporate Identity
16 - 23
Motion Graphics
26 - 29
Project Management
32 - 33
3D Phone Album Cover Children’s Book Illustrations Fanta Advert Energy Efficiency Awareness Poster Campaign Market Nurturing Limited Wild London Nastro - Font Creation
Howe Graphics Video Snake Milker TV Trailer Market Nurturing Animated Logo Qantm Brand
My fascination and subsequent development of the ability to use computers began at the age of three and so came as naturally to me as walking and talking. At nine, I began to use programmes such as Photoshop and Freehand, which particularly inspired my passion for the field of graphic design. This fascination has continued to grow throughout my development in the use of a wide variety of design programmes. I have experience in working with an array of companies in differing roles within graphic design. However, I felt I could further develop my potential and therefore, chose to study for a diploma in graphic design at a prominent London college. This experience has greatly improved my existing skills and developed new ones, including 3D design and motion graphics. Although my primary skills lie with the area of graphic design, I also have a large range of skills and interests within other areas of design, computing, information architecture and business. I am now based around London and Reading and when I’m not working I continue to enjoy all things digital. When I can drag myself away from these, however, I enjoy a range of sporting activities such as cycling and tennis, as well as exploring and spending time with family and friends. I also have a passion for drumming which allows me to express my creativity through other mediums and for personal enjoyment. For more information please also visit my website at: howegraphics.co.uk
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Photography
Print Design
Posters Magazines
Illustration
Packaging Corporate Identity Font Creation
Typography
Interactive Website
User Experience
Static Website
Web Design
3D
Logo Design Title Sequences Animations Product Design
Motion Graphics
Product Modeling Tv Trailer
Video Editing
Game Design 3
3D Phone Album Cover This album cover was designed for a local band named Petrelli, an alternative rock band who are fairly new on the scene. This design is for their first album ‘A Phone Call In The Night’ which takes the name from it’s title track.
I met with Petrelli on a number of occasions throughout the design process to discuss what was wanted and to show them the progress. They wanted something simple that captured the essence of the title song on the album. We chose this particular design using the image of a 3D telephone as we felt the semi-realistic effect would offer an eye catching element to the design. As well as this, the old-fashioned style telephone was thought to be more interesting and to give it a slightly dated feel which was more in line with their style of music. So I set about modelling, texturing and lighting the phone in Maya. Once this was done, it then had to be rendered out of Maya. I did this in a few different passes so that I would then be able to composite them together in Photoshop, giving me more control over the appearance of the final image.
Once these were composited together, the type could be added. We experimented with a variety of different fonts, along with variations of its layout. This lead to the decision of a serif font to match with the dated feel of the phone which created the final version. 1 - This is a screenshot of the phone within Maya. It shows the wireframe of the phone as it was being modelled. 2 - This is an export of the phone once it had been modelled without any texturing. 3 - This is an export of the phone once it had been textured but before it had been lit. In order to texture it, it had to be mapped, so that the textures could be applied evenly. 4 - This is a screenshot of the set that was created within Maya in order to render out the different passes. It has a backdrop, camera’s, lights and environment sphere to give reflections.
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2
3
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Print / 3D Phone Album Cover
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Fanta Advert This was a poster designed as part of a marketing project in my Business Studies A-Level. This exercise involved the process of considering the poster’s target audience, how it could achieve it’s aim, and the overall development behind the poster, rather than being a design exercise.
I began by thinking about Fanta as a drink, it’s appearance, texture, type of consumer that the product is most likely to be marketed at etc... My first thoughts were that the colour of Fanta is quite vibrant and generally consumed by youth and active people who enjoy life. I thought it would be best marketed as a refreshing drink, with the fruity flavours as it quenches immediate thirst. I felt it was more closely associated with the summer, and so I decided to try and market it within this area. Using the information that I brainstormed about the drink I came up with the idea of playing on the vibrant colour that the product has, with the fact that it can help refresh you so that you can then enjoy the summer as it’s meant to be enjoyed, by relaxing. I chose the slogan, ‘Brighten up your summer, and relax’ as I felt it reflected its target audience and portrays the drink how it should be portrayed and in a way that would encourage people to buy it.
I then decided to implement this planning and design the poster. I began by considering how I could get the idea of brightening somebody’s summer across to the audience instantly through one simple image. After a few thoughts I came up with the idea of just a grey, dull silhouette of somebody drinking, but then as the drink goes through them, it begins to ‘brighten’ them up. I wanted to keep the whole thing fairly simple so as to not distract from the main imagery. After several versions I came up with the following poster.
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Print / Fanta Advert
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Children’s Book Illustrations These are 2 double page spreads from a children’s book illustrated using digital collage. It is a fable, which tells the story of a mouse who wants to explore the world and so, despite her mothers warnings, sets out and has many adventures along the way.
The book is aimed at 2-5 year old’s as it can first be read to the child and later used to aid the child’s reading skills. The illustrations can therefore be used to help the child’s understanding of the concept of words like ‘mouse’ and ‘fish’. As their reading skills progress, the book can also be used to help the child learn to read. I began by taking the outline of the story and separating it into small sections for each page. From this I then came up with the illustrations. The author and I wanted the mouse to be a simple image used throughout the book, with just the scene changing around her, as if she had simply been placed in each scene. It was decided to use a photographic image of a mouse rather than an illustration as it established the mouse as a ‘real’ character with the scenery contrasting against this. The scenery changes around the mouse, making her the central focus of the illustration.
First of all it was going to be exactly the same mouse with just the tail at a different angle each time to portray her mood, however we then decided that when needed, other parts of her could be moved also, just by a simple cut and changing of the angle or position slightly.
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Print / Children’s Book Illustrations
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Energy Efficiency Awareness Poster Campaign This was a poster designed during a college project as part of an energy efficiency awareness campaign. The aim was to inform people that leaving chargers plugged in, even if they are not currently in use, still use a large amount of energy.
I was given the following problem in which I had the task of creating a poster campaign the would help address one area of this problem. “The question of environmental degradation and shrinking energy resources constitute one of the major challenges which modern societies will have to face in the coming years. The transformation of the economy which is needed to face this situation will not only require the intervention of governments and business. The role played by citizens and consumers will be fundamental, since the question of sustainability is one that is deeply related with patterns of behaviour in everyday life. Nowadays, after years of raising awareness through the media and civil society campaigns, many people are concerned about this issue and would like to adapt their lives accordingly. Nonetheless often the goodwill of these people faces a situation in which it is hard to make sense of behaviour changes in terms of environmental sustainability.”
I subsequently set about researching ways of presenting my campaign that would help address this problem by creating awareness and encouraging people to tackle the problem. The focus was to be aimed at one specific part of the wider issue of ‘energy efficiency’ which encompassed many different areas. To further my understanding of these issues, I did some research which allowed me to decide on which idea I wanted to address, and my target audience. I was also provided with the following: - The energy demanded is more than we can produce. - The global population will be 9.1 bl in the 2050 - 20% of the world’s population use 80% of the energy I carried out extensive research into energy efficiency as a whole, and then having decided on the area which I was going to address, focused my research on a more specific area. I then produced the keywords below and this abstract: “This poster campaign is going to inform people of the energy that is wasted by leaving chargers such as phone chargers and computer chargers plugged in when they are not being used. 5% of the UK’s electricity is wasted because of chargers being left plugged in when not in use. Therefore if everyone unplugged their phone chargers, computer chargers and battery chargers when they are not in use, a large amount of energy could be saved. It is only a simple step, but one which could make a big difference.” Originally my poster was quite different, however I soon realised that my text and imagery did not match up. Therefore I changed the imagery so that the whole poster put across the same message. This then led to the final version of the poster which can be seen on the opposite page.
Conscious
Household Reminders
Efficiency Save Consumption Simple
Energy Environment Future Waste
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Effective
Electricity
Print / Energy Efficiency Awareness Poster Campaign
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Corporate Identity
Market Nurturing Limited Market Nurturing are a lead nurturing company who assist businesses maintain their potential clients until they are ready to buy. I created their whole corporate identity from their logo and brand guidelines, to stationary and website.
First of all I had to make sure I fully understood the companies aims and what services they offer. I produced the following 3 points which summarised this. - Helping businesses to be more efficient in their sales and marketing by finding business opportunities, arranging meetings and keeping contact with prospects. - Gaining trust of prospects and become a ‘resource’ to them nurturing until they are ready to buy. - Keeping up consistent and meaningful communication with them and aiming to build up good relationships.
I produced keywords and collected a large catalogue of images that could be used to represent Market Nurturing in different ways. I had many meetings with MN’s director to ensure that what I was doing was in line with what was wanted. The logo needed to represent all of the main keywords and so I explored different styles of imagery which could achieve this through one single, final image that presented the company in a simplistic and understandable way. Using the images and keywords, I began by sketching a few ideas, and roughly created them to aid my client and my own understanding of which ideas held any potential. I chose the 3 best ideas and presented a few rough variations to MN. The favourite idea was then picked and I subsequently developed the idea, coming up with many variations and attempting to discover the best way in which it could be produced so that it achieved its potential. The logo illustrates people being nurtured by Market Nurturing. The Red person represents somebody who MN’s client does not know, the amber person someone who MN now have a relationship which they are able to develop, and the green person somebody who MN’s client is now able to meet as they are a genuine prospect ready to buy. Two logo’s were developed for different uses as the 3D one would not work in every situation. However they are still similar enough to be clear that it is the same company and still portray the correct brand as long as they are used according to the guidelines.
Educate
Opportunities
Contacts
Resource
Communication Foster
Networking Relationships 16
Link
Nurture
Support
Efficiency Trust
Development
Once I had designed the logo I created the corporate identity so that market Nurturing had a recognisable image and so all of their material would have the same look and style about it.
Corporate Identity / Market Nurturing Limited
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Wild London Wild London is an initiative that will encourage Londoners to explore the green areas of London which many of them don’t know are there. It seeks to change people’s perceptions of London as being an industrial city, only consisting of buildings.
Contrary to public opinion, London actually has more green space than the majority of cities in the world. Over 2 thirds of the capital is either green space or water. This leads to there being a huge variety of animals and plant life using this space as their habitat. People don’t realise how much greenery there is right on their doorsteps. This project therefore aims to increase the awareness of these areas and encourage people to go out and make the most of them and to enjoy the beauty that it holds. It attempts to take people away from the typical stereotype of London where they think of the skyline, lots of big buildings, the amount of people and the rush of the city, but instead when they think of London, to think of the gorgeous green areas where they can relax in and forget about the stress of city life.
In order to help encourage local people to go and explore the areas near them, Wild London is an initiative in which people are able to share their experiences and sightings with the rest of the public in the hope that they too will want to experience these areas once they realise just how close to their homes they are. This initiative will show people that within London there are still such wonderful natural places and once there, you completely forget that you are in the middle of one of the biggest cities in the world. With a lot of research and planning, I created the corporate identity for this project. I came up with many logo ideas, picking the best three and coming up with variations of these. I then had to choose the best logo, not on design, but on which one best represented the project and gave the right idea across to the viewer.
Outside
Beauty
Exercise
Family Forest
Sunshine
Greenery
Animals
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Fun
Scenery
Nature
Days out
Variety
Name Surname
Position
Mobile: 07764321456 email: employee@wildlondon.com
THINK YOU KNOW LONDON? Name Surname
Position
Mobile: 07764321456 email: employee@wildlondon.com
Name Surname
Position
Mobile: 07764321456 email: employee@wildlondon.com
Wild London 16 The Strand London WC2 8FF tel: 0208 145 7635
THINK
YOU
KNOW
LONDON
?
Corporate Identity / Wild London
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Nastro Nastro is a typeface to be used for the signage system in Eyebeam, a museum in Chelsea, NY. The font is modelled on the design of the building which is based on the shape of a ribbon rising up from the street. It weaves to form the floor, walls and ceilings.
This was a college project to create the font for the signage system in a museum. I was given a brief, and I then had to carry out research before developing the font which would be clear and legible from a distance, whilst being somehow unique for that musem. The brief stated that it needed to provide a ‘clear and efficient internal communication’ and that it would be used for areas such as the lounge, conference room, cloakroom, library, shop and cafe. I started off by visiting lots of museums to look at their signs. I took pictures of these so that I could think about what type of fonts they used. I discovered that they were all san-serif, very simple and plain. The only real differences between them was the signs themselves, rather than the fonts.
The museum that I was designing for was called Eyebeam. It has not yet been built, but had been proposed. It was to be an all round media centre. The building has a very unusual design but it was this design that I felt could be used to create a unique and creative font. Below are a selection of pictures that represent the design of the building. These were some of the computer generated pictures which were created to show the building. I came up with keywords based on the the style and architecture of the building. This then assisted me in creating a font that also portrayed these aspects. I therefore attempted to develop a font which used the design of the building as an influence, but was still legible and clear, especially from a distance. I then wrote the following abstract: “I am going to create a typeface that will be used for the sign system in Eyebeam. The font is going to be based on the design of the building. I will use the design concept of having a ribbon rising to form the letters. The font however will also need to be simple and readable. It cannot be too fancy, so I will have to be careful to do that. The building has very straight edges with the ribbon then curling around at the ends, so the font will be like this.”
After I had developed the font, I then also designed the signs in the same style.
Shape Art
Media Architecture Modern Flow Eyebeam Weaving
Construct Distinct Ribbon Form 20
Corporate Identity / Nastro - Font Creation
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Nastro Signage System
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Corporate Identity / Nastro - Font Creation
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Motion Graphics
Howe Graphics Video This is a motion graphics video representing Howe Graphics and the services that are offered in a dynamic, fun, and memorable way. It is an example of the type of motion graphics video that can be created and its purpose.
For the full video, go to www.howeraphics.co.uk/motion/graphics.html
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Motion Graphics / Howe Graphics Video
Snake Milker Tv Trailer This was created for a fictional channel five tv program as a trailer for a new series entitled the snake milker. Its aim was to be a fun and enjoyable sixteen second advert which would grab the viewers attention, making them intrigued as to what it was advertising.
For the full video, go to www.howeraphics.co.uk/motion/milker.html
Motion Graphics / Snake Milker TV Trailer
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Market Nurturing Logo This logo was designed for Market Nurturing as seen in the Corporate Identity section. They also wanted the logo to be animated to enhance the home page of their website and create more interest.
I began by modelling the logo in 3D. First of all I used Cinema 4D to create each object, and then I imported them into Maya to put each part together to make the logo. Next I textured it. I had to decide on the type of material I thought each part should be, and then try to create that. It also had to be lit, bearing in mind that it would be animated and so moving around the set. I was then able to animate it. I tried a number of animations before coming up with what I thought was the best way to bring the logo on, and off screen in an interesting and eye catching way, making use of the shape that it had. I then made sure the animation was working correctly, whilst looking natural.
Once it was all done, and both my client and I were happy with it, I was then able to render it out of Maya. I did this in 6 different render passes, and composited them together in After Effects. This gave me great control over the final look and I was able to manipulate it to create the final piece. For the full video, go to www.howeraphics.co.uk/motion/logo.html
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Motion Graphics / Market Nurturing Animated Logo
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Project Management
Qantm Brand Qantm college London is part of a worldwide chain of multimedia colleges. As part of an assignment, I project managed the following job in order to try and attract more students to the college by improving the working environment.
The college had previously been located in an office building on Pentonville Road, Angel, Islington. It occupied the third floor and although this made a cosy, friendly working environment, it was difficult to find and did not create a college-like atmosphere for its students. The management at Qantm felt that this was a problem, not only for it’s current students, but also when attracting new students to the college. In a meeting with the management they told us that they hoped we would be able to help create a better working environment for it’s students, encouraging creative thinking, and to increase awareness of the college to the surrounding area. I worked in a team with 2 others, and was given two aims. We began by carrying out a large amount of research so that we could put together a proposal as to the best plan of action in how to achieve the aims.
Having identified two types of people who were directly affected by the problem, we wrote a persona for each type of person, to better understand the target audience of our project. We then carried out some research by handing questionnaires to students at the college to better understand whether they felt there was a problem or what they believed would be most effective in solving the issue. From these questionnaire’s we were able to gather information which we could use to come up with a solution. In a meeting with the management of the college, we presented our findings and our proposed solution. Once we had decided on our solution, we wrote up a SWOT analysis, listed out stakeholders, produced a risk assessment with contingency planning and researched the estimated cost of the whole project. We produced a work breakdown of the project and then, using this, we produced a gantt chart, to give the exact timescale of the project and each task within it. We also came up with measurable objectives that the project would achieve and subsequently meet the main aims of the project which we were given to begin with. We produced a project proposal which we presented to our client so that they could decide on whether they thought it was feasible and would help achieve their aims. Qantm management accepted our proposal and so we then implemented it. I was the project manager through the whole project, organising and chairing meetings, and delegating each task to the rest of the team.
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Work Breakdown Project Feasibility Research Practicalities Printers
Other Examples
Contract
Requirement Gathering Requirement Specification
Interviews
Questionnaires
Qantm Management
Students
Personas
Technical
Measurements
Storyboard
Sketches
Getting necessary files
Project Management / Qantm Brand
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E: david@howegraphics.co.uk W: www.howegraphics.co.uk Š 2010 David Howe - All work designed and produced by David Howe