For this part of the module, we were
In addition to the above, my person-
asked to develop a personal brand
al brand is also influenced by retro
concept. This needed to be well re-
streetwear, nostalgia and eastern
searched and included areas such as
Asian cultures. It is predominantly
self reflection, influences and muses.
digital, which reflects my work style
I have developed my own personal
and the area in which I would like to
brand and this will show you how I
work.
came about my final outcome. Moving onto my Final Major Project The overall concept for my Brand Me
at University, I have decided that I
project is the realisation that I am in
would like to create an ‘Alice Through
fact, a Princess. However, I am cer-
the Looking Glass’ experience, be-
tainly not the typical Disney or Royal
cause streetwear is the market I would
Princess that you may initially think.
like to work in, the narrative will
The realisation of this for me came
be surrounded around streetwear. I
from my extremely blanketed child-
would like it to be very interactive, to
hood, which shaped who I am today. I
achieve this I will be using three forms
was very fortunate to have the most
of media; film, styling and gaming.
incredible upbringing and I can admit,
This will also ensure the experience
I was very privileged. Which has
covers a multiplicity of generations.
resulted in my Princess style attitude that I have adopted.
summer brief : part i
Over the summer, we were given two briefs, a sketchbook was created for each. Sketchbook one was to respond to all the questions and points given at our summer brief presentation, this included questions such as; am I a safe communicator? What colour am I? and what are my strengths and weaknesses? Initially, I really struggled to find my feet with this task as you’re very rarely asked to talk about who you are. My starting point was reflecting on my first and second year at University. It’s very clear that my Vetements work, particularly the 20 x 20 approach was my favourite and potentially my strongest piece of work I have created to date. I therefore felt it was fitting to complete a 20 x 20 on myself, this was still challenging yet forced me to learn a lot about myself and I actually developed a very strong self-reflection. All of the questions asked in the summer briefing were then answered within this. Some of the words that I associated with myself were; perfectionist, edgy, streetwear, retro and urban.
summer brief : part ii
The other task was a flipped classroom
For me, competitors Art School and
task, where our lecturer would ask us
Charles Jeffrey particularly stood out in
to reflect on different people such as
terms of what their brand stands for. The
photographers, designers and stylists,
two brands are redefining the limitations
different aspects of culture and poli-
of ready-to-wear fashion and specifically
tics. We had to reflect using our ‘brand
focus on blurring lines between mens-
me’ eyes and discuss how we perceived
wear and womenswear which appears
them. The three tasks that particularly
to be a huge hotspot in the industry
fit my aesthetic and I felt most suited my
today. Art School reflects almost a utopia
brand were Tim Walker, Art School and
or fantasy and when watching their
Charles. I also had a particular interest
catwalk shows I feel as though I immerse
in the Anti Fashion Movement.
myself into an alternate world – which is so clever. Another thing I particularly
Tim Walker’s work I found to be par-
love about Art School is their relation-
ticularly inspiring, I can admit that I
ship with the queer community, they
approach many aspects of my work very
have completely altered and challenged
safely, this is something I would like to
the way a fashion house runs, they
work on in my third year, to take more
create trends based on how the queer
risks and become a more adventurous
population wish to be captured. Charles
communicator. As one of the world’s
Jeffreys label Loverboy to me is a
leading fashion photographers, Tim is
bridge between avant-garde design and
known as a Storyteller. For me, there are
streetwear which is why it appeals to me
so many elements of childhood imagina-
so much. I have always had an interest
tion reflected in his work which is admir-
in streetwear by the visionary elements
ing because everyone can relate to this,
of Loverboy capture me and push me to
I feel this is the bridge between his work
explore this market. It inspires me and
and his audience. Another thing I like is
helps me to understand that there really
the way he changes the scale of things in
are no boundaries and as long as you can
his photographs, the placement of props
create it, there is and always will be an
and models in his unusual locations and
audience.
the makeup and garments which all compile in harmony to help tell the story.
I felt in order to get the best understanding of myself asking my immediate family and closest friends to answer 20 questions, anonymously online. I decided to do this so they could be as brutally honest as they wished, I didn’t want the responses to be sugar coated. The people I asked all know me extremely well, inside and out, and therefore I felt they would give me invaluable responses. From this I was then able to compare how I see myself and how others perceive me, there are many different sides to me and depending on how close you are to me depends on which side you receive which meant the responses I got were very diverse. For example, my family spoke about my more volatile side as they see me when I’m at my most vulnerable, whilst my friends approached the questions with a much more light-hearted approach (…I think – this is just a wild guess as they were obviously anonymous!)
The main themes within my responses were that I have an extreme lack of self-confidence which I definitely agree with. I have the tendency to rely on others for reassurance and constantly doubt myself, which is something I really need to work on as it often holds me back. In addition to this, I asked the question ‘what is Courtney most afraid of?’ over half of the responses referred to failure, and that I need to work on my perception of failure and not setting myself ridiculously high expectations, I agree to this to a certain extent as I feel it is important to have high expectations but potentially I need to create more realistic ones and once these have been achieved I can raise the bar even more.
self reflection Moving on from the summer research
I’ve recently learnt that I’m a very inde-
and peer reflection, I felt I was ready to
pendent person, although I can work in a
reflect on who I am as a creative. This part
team, my preference will always be to work
of the module I really struggled with as
individually and I believe this is due to the
I’ve always been the type of person who
control freak inside of me! I always want
finds it hard to indicate the good in myself,
to ensure everything is going the right way
however, I knew this was vital in order
(and this is obviously my way…) I’ve had
to develop and grow. With the help of my
extremely challenging experiences with
summer research I came to the realisation
group work in the past, both in University
that my strengths actually outweighed my
and in the work place, however, these expe-
weaknesses which was a very uplifting
riences have definitely been invaluable and
realisation!
taught me many things, such as stepping up to get things done, adapting to difficult
I very quickly concluded that my main
people and chasing things when people
strengths lie within the digital realm.
weren’t presenting at deadlines. However,
Having learnt and developed my skills with
I do believe, when required, I am a good
software programmes Adobe Photoshop,
team player as I not only listen, but engage
InDesign and Premier Pro since starting
and share ideas at all given opportunities
my degree, my skills in graphic design and
and always play my part.
creative lay out have come on and I feel now shine across my work. In addition to
Even though I come across as a very con-
this, I am also a very strong photographer
trolled person in certain situations, I am
and have a good eye for good lighting and
also someone who doesn’t take themselves
angles. Having identified my strongest
very seriously and is the first to mock
skills, I then felt I needed to have a think
myself. I really want to explore this more
about where best I would sit in the job mar-
and reflect this through my branding as I
ket. I believe upon graduating I would like
feel as though the market in which I want
to start working towards a creative direc-
to enter, luxury streetwear, is an industry
tion job, as I have developed a strong eye
that plays on irony and humour hugely.
for styling and directing as well as creating concept and narrative.
The next step in identifying my personal brand was to research and explore what influences myself and my work. There were multiple themes that came to mind initially, streetwear, feminism, nostalgia, technology and eastern world cultures in major cities such as Tokyo, Japan and Seoul, South Korea. Brands that particularly influence my work and
personal influences
aesthetic are Palm Angels and Palace, I will discuss the reasons behind this and what the brands mean to me. When I think about brands I would aspire to work for, Palace is certainly up there. The brand is a British based skate brand founded by Lev Tanju. The brand itself doesn’t take itself seriously, using every new drop as an opportunity to take the piss out of themselves, fighting back on any negativity on their Instagram and using their online store’s product descriptions less as a space to sell product, as it never actually relates, and more as a space to drop incoherent comments and insult their competitors, such as Bape and Gosha Rubchinsky. Sometimes the captions are throwing digs at your mum and dad, sometimes they’re alcohol focused and other times they’re completely random thoughts. For example, the Spring 2019 P Sport Jogger had the caption ‘Imagine having to go on a double date with Ellie Goulding and Skrillex.’ I feel as though its vital for me to incorporate irony and approach my branding with a very light-hearted approach, therefore appealing to brands such as Palace. In addition to this, the Palace collections often reflect the nineties which greatly inspires me, with many film references and culture references also. Palm Angels is another brand that has influenced my aesthetic, an LA skate culture brand inspired by LA’s ultra-chill attitude and Milan’s sophisticated sensibilities, this has made it quite the conundrum in the fashion industry. What consumers receive are high-quality garments, produced with precision in the form of extremely casual offerings. The brands graphics are extremely strong yet incorporate a playful approach. There’s much to be said about the rebellious clientele it caters to. The brand’s collections consist of tracksuits in lurid hues such as
orange and purple, logo-printed hoodies, and cannabis iconography are the brand’s key signatures, appealing to a young audience of aficionados who
@AZEEMAMAG
don’t see much of a difference between luxury and streetwear. Fun is definitely a key element of Palm Angels, whether it’s the carefree Californian attitude that’s always present in the brand’s collections, or the cannabis symbolism, which has become a de facto logo, along with those Cali-vibe palm trees printed on T-shirts and sweatshirts. This is why I feel Palm Angels influences my creative design, in particular their use of typography. Azeema Magazine is an annual print magazine which I seek a great deal of inspiration from. Based in the UK, explores women within the Middle East, North Arica and South Asia. Even though my particular interests lie within Eastern Asia, Azeema represents empowerment, resistance, strength and culture which in my opinion all factor into my branding in some form. The magazine challenges and confronts issues surrounding representation and diversity of people which also goes hand in hand with my interests within the theme androgyny. I think it’s also important to identify the way Azeema communicates their write-ups. The magazine is extremely layered, they use many fonts and they are often laid on top of each other which I really like and correlates with how I lay out a lot of my previous university work. Their styling and the way they photograph the looks is extremely edgy and resonates with my taste, they often produce extremely bold and striking images which portray a strong message, which I massively appreciate. I really love film photography, this is definitely something I want to include more within my creative work, my friends know that I very rarely go anywhere without my disposable camera. For someone who focus on perfectionism so much, a disposable camera is like a breath of fresh air for me. Nostalgia is reflected within my work particularly the 70’s and 90’s.
meet
princess courts ‘I’m amazing but I’m not for everybody’ is a personal tag line I have used at the forefront of my personal branding because it represents me and where I come from, a small island in the middle of the Irish sea. Imagine a place rich in tradition and history, with a population of circa 90,000 who believe in fairies and have cats with no tails! The Isle of Man is the most beautiful place with a stunning countryside, glens and coastal scenes, it truly is an amazing place but not for everybody. I had a happy childhood, enriched with economical and emotional support. Being an only child and the centre of attention until the age of 10 most definitely worked in my favour! My parents are working class and together with my grandparents I never wanted for anything. I know that sounds spoilt and I was, because I don’t recall being told ‘no’ very often and this is how princess Courtney was born. Through my childhood and teenage years I was always neat in appearance and like most girls I loved clothes, makeup, glitter and playing with dolls transitioning from Barbies to Bratz which now seems ironic as mirroring the personality of a Bratz doll I also liked getting my own way! Those closest to me would often receive my honest opinion and witness what my Mum would describe as ‘diva tendencies’ as I would not always react well if something wasn’t going my way! Outside of close family and my small circle of friends I was stereotypical and shy in expressing my own style and opinions.
Living in a small community and with a lack of social diversity in particular through my High School years I played safe with how I wanted to be perceived style wise and it was only when I left my beautiful little island that I found the confidence to become my authentic self. Having visited Dubai multiple times a year for over ten years with my dad who lived there and seeing the luxury fashion industry, I have very much been surrounded by this more luxury lifestyle, which is a huge contrast to life on the Isle of Man. I would definitely say that this has influenced me, and for a long time I have said I potentially see myself living in Dubai at some point in my life, solely down to the lifestyle. However, having recently visited New York with University, I feel that I have finally found a city which fully represents me, a city with countless neighbourhoods full of the weird and unexpected and are edgy and grimy. The lights and skyscrapers are incomparable to what you see in films and magazines, I felt completely immersed during my time there and can honestly say nothing even comes close to my love for New York! Considering all of this, I came to the realisation that perhaps basing my personal brand around me being a princess would be a strategic move, not only because it’s the truth, but also in terms of the market I want to head into. The luxury streetwear market, who massively play on humour and irony. For this reason, my branding needs to be light hearted and not too serious, which I think perfectly matches my aesthetic. I also decided to put a spin on the ‘stereotypical’ princess that is usually associated with the word, a tiara and dress. Instead replacing this with bucket hats and oversized clothing, which reflects me.
artefact I have always wanted to have a strong digital platform, so I feel that a website would be the most beneficial. This enables me to incorporate an assortment of digital features which will show my wide skill set within digital media. I have looked into brands and creative individuals who I follow on social media and looked at their websites to try and source some inspiration for my digital platform. The websites that particular stood out to me, all for different reasons were; Bella Howards personal portfolio, bellahoward.co.uk; Off The Rails Magazine, offtherailsmag.com; Fat Boy Zine, fatboyzine. com; and the Palm Angels website, palmangels.com. The aspects I have taken away from these websites are that I would like to incorporate movement within my website, but not necessarily moving image, for example having images flash up every 1 or 2 seconds with different fonts, which Off The Rails demonstrated. The other website I took a lot of inspiration from was Bella Howards, I really like the way the website is laid out with the initial landing page having moving animation; a spaceship flies across the viewers page before Bella’s logo emerges onto the screen which looks really effective. I also like that a preview of her work is demonstrated in a light opacity with a menu
over the top in which the viewer can then look for what they want. I have decided to showcase my strongest work across my three years on the website, this including my Vetements work I completed in first year, my Culture and Context essay from second year, my Fashion Futures essay, and then my Brand Me and 360 Campaign work that I’ve worked on the past couple of months. Even though I have other strong work, I feel it is important to only include the work that is relevant and fits with my current aesthetic, as my style has changed gradually over the three years.
gaming brief The gaming element of this module excites
on the floor to demonstrate a ‘diva’ style aes-
me a lot, having based my fashion futures
thetic which reflects my personal branding.
module on gaming I believe I have a very in-depth knowledge of the capabilities of this
I have created some croquis’ of myself which
and therefore feel it is vital to creatively input
you can see on the left hand side, these are the
this into my personal branding and 360 cam-
how I would like my avatar to look but obvi-
paign. I have decided I would like gaming to be
ously this will look more digitalised and more
incorporated within my website, particularly
like a cartoon, I would like different body parts
the opening to it whereby it would entice and
to be exagerrated like they are in the croquis’,
engage viewers instantly.
for example, bigger feet and a ‘bobblehead’ style head (no neck). I think this adds to the
I am wanting to create an animated avatar
lighthearted-ness.
of myself to use on the landing page of my website along with my animated logo. I want
I have also created some quotes, as seen on the
to ensure it fits with my branding and perfect-
left as well on the sweatshirts, its important
ly reflects who I am as a creative, engaging a
that these are included in the design of the
viewers interest upon entering my website.
avatars clothing.
My personal branding refelcts nostalgia and irony, hence why I am calling myself a princess. However, I am creating a new twist around what a princess is and how they are seen. I want to create a more edgier, contrarian princess. In order to achieve a lighthearted effect the animation I would like to achieve is, the avatar will throw the ‘princess’ bucket hat
I am wanting to create a short, snappy game which will be incorporated into my website, which will be used as my digital portfolio. I want to ensure it fits with my branding and perfectly reflects who I am as a creative, engaging a viewers interest upon entering my website. I am an extremely nostalgic person, often influenced by era’s such as the 70s, 80s and 90s. For this reason I would like to incorporate a retro gaming theme. I have decided to create a Pac-Man style game that will last no longer than 30 seconds as I am aware people may have short attention spans and that gaming isn’t for everyone, I may potentially feature a ‘skip’ option for this reason also. However, I would like to reimagine the Pac-Man game, and have a small emoji style icon of myself for the ‘Pac-Man’ and then in order to tie my personal branding in to it I would like the ghosts normally used to be replaced with the princess bucket hats, in different colours. Whether this be a very short animation (no more than 10 seconds) or a very short game of no longer than 30 seconds, I would like it to be punchy and eye catching, with the use of bright colours. I would replace the use of blue with neon pink which is one of the key colours within my personal branding. Upon finishing the game, I would like my animated caricature, croquis style avatar of myself to pop up to introduce the viewer to my website. I have mood boards of how this caricature may look, I would like the caricature to have an item (tiara/crown) that they throw on the floor to give a ‘diva’ style aesthetic, which reflects my personal branding.
moving forward Moving on from this, I now need to start developing my 360 campaign, researching and planning my Final Major Project (FMP). I want to continue looking into my personal influences, particularly streetwear. I feel in order to ensure my FMP is future proof, I need to look at forecasting and identifying issues within the market, to bring something new and different. Therefore, I will start to look at a variety of elements within this market in order to identify the brand narrative. However, I know this will be presented as an interactive publication.