CONCEPT Kim Stuart is a photographer on Level 6 who requires branding and a set of promotional materials. In her work Kim incorporates mixed media, in particular stitching and embroidery, which she combines with photography to create final pieces. Due to this vital aspect of her work process, she wanted to represent this within her overall branding too. The brief therefore is to create branding for Kim which conveys her professionalism and love for incorporating the handmade. Created for this project was a logo along with a creative CV, business card and promotional pack to enclose all items.
OUGD503
Kim Stuart branding
Charlotte Price
RESEARCH As specified in the brief, Kim wanted to incorporate her use of mixed media within her branding. Initial research into using paint, stitching and other media led to some interesting ideas that informed the final design. As well as the content, the presentation of the content had to be considered too. Presenting the work woild be important to make a good impression on prospective companies.
OUGD503
Kim Stuart branding
Charlotte Price
IDEAS Given Kim’s love of the handmade and arts and craft style of her work, the logo had to represent this, alongside her profession as a photographer. Initial variations and experiments of the logo is based on the concept of texture, in particular fabric. The warp and weft of fabric (how it is woven) was inspiration for some variations of the icons. Kim came up with a basic template for her CV, from research into creative CV’s she had realised the style she preferred and wanted her CV to be based upon.
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Initial mock ups and designs for the promotional pack was influenced by research into creative and unorthodox ways of presenting content.
OUGD503
Kim Stuart branding
Charlotte Price
D E V E LO P M E N T After Kim had given her approval to the direction in which the logo was beginning to take, the ideas began to be finalised into a few solid concepts. Using the minimalist style prevalent throughout development, 3 final logos were formed that represented Kim’s interests and aspects of her work. Kim’s creative CV was a challenge due to the vast amount of text, but overcoming the size restrictions and adjusting the size and format of the CV to fit all text on made for a clean and successful final CV. The layout of the text was altered to break up the sameness and unstructured initial appearance, in order to make the CV more appealing to look at.
OUGD503
Kim Stuart branding
Charlotte Price
PRODUCTION Production of the promotional pack and business card encompassed a mix of processes. The CV was printed on matt 165gsm paper, to make the finish professional. Kim’s postcard prints were printed on photo paper, whereas the back of the promotional pack was printed on mountboard. This makes the pack sturdy and rigid, able to withstand postage. Sewing into the mountboard to attach the fabric for the envelope required tests to establish type of stitching and placement of pocket. The fabric chosen for the pocket frays a lttle at the edges but this adds to Kim’s handmade aesthetic. Printing 2 versions of the business cards on thick fibre based card gave Kim options to use within her branding whilst keeping a theme consistent. One option is a digital print and the other keeps a consistent handmade theme and matches the promotional pack by having the icon embroidered.
OUGD503
Kim Stuart branding
Charlotte Price
E VA L UAT I O N Kim’s branding as a project was interesting to work with as needs for professionalism met with personal taste, in particular, Kim’s preference for handmade aesthetics. The final pack as a whole was executed in a manner that would appeal to companies and give an insight into Kim’s personality. One aspect that works successfully is the logo. Based on the idea of texture in fabrics and subtly hinting towards Kim’s profession as a photographer, the icon works as a distinctive logo and accompanied by the text, it has a clean, minimalistic aesthetic. The creative CV began as a challenge due to the copious amount of text, but the end result is a well structured and inviting CV which varies from others due to its book format and unusual fold.
OUGD503
Kim Stuart branding
Charlotte Price