Graphic Design Portfolio 2022 - Connor Bland

Connor Bland Design.

About me

Hi there,

My name is Connor.

I’m a disciplined design graduate who has experience across a variety of companies and clients. This has required adaptability, resilience, and willingness to learn quickly. I have successfully transitioned from freelance to working as an in-house junior graphic designer at Ignition, an electric heating solutions retailer and manufacturer.

Having played drums for almost 13 years now, it’s a key part in my life and keeps my mind on a constant creative buzz. I feel like this maintains my desire to design, always looking to create things which are out of the ordinar y but beautiful in their own way

Connor Bland Design Graduate

Ignition 2022

Ignition Group PLC has enabled me to grow my skills and confidence in graphic design. Working in-house means I am surrounded by a team of creatives - collaborating on projects together and learning directly from my seniors.

Freelancing 2020

Northumbria University 2016 - 2020 Design for Industr y BA(Hons) 2:1

Fulford Sixth Form 2014 - 2016 A-level Geography

A-level 3D Product Design Level 3 Btec Applied Science

Af ter graduating from Universit y, I star ted working as a freelance designer for

a number of local businesses This has involved ar t working and graphic designing , using the adobe package to create print ready standard work for clients. Working remotely is ideal in these current times, however, expanding my workload is my priorit y right now

Paragon Creative

During my third year placement, I worked at a local set design company. I was luck y enough so many amazing people here and learnt far more than any other experience, ranging from technical C AD skills to communications between workshop and design studio.

IPL-Plastics

For my second year internship I went to Quebec for 3 months to work at IPL Plastics, the largest plastics manufacturer in Nor th A merica During my time here I worked as a product designer. This involved: testing products, developing existing products, C AD work and amending the bill of materials

Fulford School 2009 - 2014 11 GCSE’s Level 3 Graphical and Algebraic Equations

Freelancing

After finishing university I have quickly established myself as a freelance designer, securing work including branding, logos and promotional materials to a print ready standard, for a number of local businesses.

A modern British fine dining establishment cooking seasonal ingredients and serving in a calm space, based in Birmingham. Using a collection of striking and bold imagar y inspired by Terr y Richardson to create the wine and food menu, and incorporating this theme into the products to maintain consistancy

Röski

MasterChef: The Professionals’ Winner Anton Piotrowski owns a restaurant in Liverpool. He boasts beautiful, creative cooking, exceptional drinks, and the best service - embodying a playful blend of tradition and innovation. I created a brand identity booklet for their post lockdown revamp. This is just 1 of 3 design directions.

SPARK* is an outdoor community space, home to some of York’s most exciting start-ups working in food, retail, arts and social enterprise.

I created these posters and graphics that are used in and around SPARK* to fit into their brand identity.

THE NORTHERN FOUNDRY

THE NORTHERN FOUNDRY

A website developer, who also manages social media accounts came to me and asked if I could freshen up their online presence. I created new social cards they can post on various platforms to identif y key services The Northern Foundr y provides.

MODERNISE

CREATIVE FREEDOM

CONTENT CREATION

Dig It Logo

The following slides are a series of the logos, branding and advertisement material I have made throughout my time designing as a freelancer. Ranging from the 'Dig it' logo used in children's play parks around the world, to 'Thinking Outside The Box' for the front cover of a music teaching book commissioned by the British Dyslexia Association.

BREWD.

A personal project sparked from my love of craft beers, and the branding behind them. I created a brand of beer that I intended to stand out against the crowd. I followed the concept through from packaging to marketing collateral.

ATO Tour Merc handise

I created the handwritten style graphic for the t-shirts and inside label. ATO and I worked closely to develop a font style he would be happy to use in his merchandise for an upcoming tour.

A merchandise line for Leeds based rapper ATO By using Illustrator

My time at Ignition so far has given me invaluable experience within the industry, working in-house with seniors, directly learning from them. My biggest achievement here has been leading photoshoots on set, taking the images, editing them on photoshop, and using them on the website to encourage sales, tra c on socials and using them in brochures.

Social.

Business Proposal

Accessible prosthetics provided on a subscription service, 3d printed prosthetics for kids and young adults looking for a cheap, functional and beautiful alternative to existing lines. My ideas were pitched in a dragons den style presentation to a panel of lecturers.

Prost hetic Arm

The far left is the anatomy of an arm which was a key starting point for this project. After this I then found that a backwards thumb was essential for a prosthetic arm, as we wanted the fingers to function on movement. The progression of this design is based on functionality and aesthetic values.

Grip

When will close the adjusted grip.

Wrist and Elbow

Wrist and Elbow

Both wrist and elbow are the most common products in the mar

Both wrist and elbow are the most common products in the

Tensioning

Mec hanism

ip Tensioning Mec hanism

hen the arm is pulled the user ' s the fingers close due to the cables running through arm. The tension of the fingers can be adjusted using the simple dial, for a tighter

Adjustable grip tensioner

Prost hetics

common form of amputees. With market.

the arm is pulled the user ' s the fingers close due to the cables running through arm. The tension of the fingers can be adjusted using the simple dial, for a tighter form of amputees. With et.

Silicone fingertips

Adjustable length

Custom cup

Prosthetic subscription ser vice.

The app screen shots below are the 5 steps required to purchase the subscription. The measurements for one s arm or leg can be adjusted and resubmitted whenever necessar y The product arrives in a sealed black box containing the prosthetic and the custom cup size. When you outgrow the cup, you can return it to be reused and we will send you back a new size. The prosthetic is universal to any cup size we provide. The current waiting list for prosthetics is around 6 months; these can be made and shipped within 2 weeks.

A personal project of mine

Fashion is a big part of who I am, I love filling sketchbooks with random doodles, this inspired me to create a street -wear/ skate-wear brand. Through the constant use of Photoshop and Illustrator during my studies, I have become confident and fluent in using the adobe package as a tool for mock-ups, as well as developing a style, keeping it consistent.

Look Book

From a photo shoot at a coastal fairground in Tyneside, I made some mock up t-shirt designs for a debut look book using Photoshop and Illustrator

Placement

Spring/summer design placement at Paragon Creative.

For the second half of third year I worked at Paragon Creative, leading experiential design, fit-out, interactive and scenic arts company, delivering projects in museums and heritage, science centres, leisure and attractions found all around the world. During my time at Paragon I was lucky enough to work throughout three departments; graphics, fit-out and interactives. This grew my confidence and skills in a variety of design disciplines.

Renders

While working at Paragon I had the opportunity to contribute to some concepts of a supermarket kids play area in Saudi Arabia. These designs are for a tender, showcasing the way Paragon would

Sketch up and rendered using V-ray.

Fun Theo

Fun Theo

Designed objects can radically are more actively using design in society through add

Designed objects can radically are more actively using design in society through addr

This first year university project style advert and resea

This first year university project style advert and research

Theor y

Theor y

alter our behaviours. Designers bring about positive change essing social behaviour consists of a short John Lewis video of our talking bin...

alter our behaviours. Designers to bring about positive change essing social behaviour oject consists of a short John Lewis video of our talking bin...