Nascent
A Portfolio By: James D. Elliott
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nascent / ’ nas(ə)nt,’ neis(ə)nt/
adjective just coming into existence and beginning to display signs of future potential. “the nascent space industry”
Contents
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Introduction
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Resume
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Publication
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Branding
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Packaging
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Photography
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Contact
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James’ Manifesto James Elliott is an Australian Communication Designer. Moving around for most of his childhood and having studied in the US has allowed James to develop strong communication skills and an ability to quickly adapt to new environments. Passionate about mastering the current climate of design while also experimentally exploring its future, what originated as a curiosity towards image aesthetics quickly turned into an obsession. James started his creative path in photography at an early age. His desire to fully understand design language and principles naturally advanced him towards digital media, and then onto RMIT. Drawing inspiration from various styles of architecture photographed during his overseas experiences, as well as his strong passion for modern art, sculpture and music, James’ way of working is grounded in an understanding that design thinking and collaboration is just as important as designing. For James, experimental
design explores how deliberate design can shine a light on the details we don’t necessarily notice or focus on, in order to deliver new messages and meanings not typically experienced. With a proficient ability to 3D model, James combines his skills across varied mediums with a focus towards clean, precise composition, bold modern colours and a consistent emphasis on striking, photographic inspired contrast. James creates beautifully original and unique Designs. James’ process always begins with conceptual development, focusing on mood boards and collaborative conversation rather than typical sketching. James thrives in situations that call for responsibility and decision making and his career aspiration is to continue his professional development in a design firm, ultimately striving to perfect his artistic vision and become a Creative Director.
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James D. Elliott Energetic and detail oriented Graphic Designer, with a strong passion for leadership and a focus on mastering the current climate of Design whilst experimentally exploring its future.
Education
Experience
2018 to 2020 Bachelor of Communication Design RMIT — Melbourne City, VIC, Australia • Graduated with Distinction • Shortlisted in the top 10 students to watch out for by teachers and industry professionals for the work they have produced 2017 High School Diploma Leonardtown High School — Leonardtown, Maryland (USA) • 4.0 GPA — Honor Roll Student (2015-2017)
2018 to Present Freelance Design • Building clientele and experience • Refined multitasking skills by managing multiple deadlines. • Improved initiative skills by designing solo throughout the majority of the process • Gained experience in all fields: E.g. Product Design and Packaging, Advertisement design and strategy, Publication design, Branding and Identity design and strategy for small to large companies, Social Media Management and Location Photography shoots.
2017 Graphic Communication (TAFE) Dr. James A. Forrest Career and Technology Centre — Leonardtown, Maryland • 4.0 GPA Honour Roll Student (2017) • Graduated within the top 5% of all students to complete the course
02/2018 to Present IGA — North Melbourne, VIC • Assistant Manager • Social Media Manager • Leading and directing a full staffed team • Able to quickly resolve issues or problems • Training new staff
Skills
06/2018 to 07/2018 Digital Creator — Prime 8 Consulting, WA (USA) • Lead Videographer and editor for onboarding video: Included stage/lighting set up, creative direction, script writing • Assisting in companies re Branding • Worked closely with CEO and COO in a professional environment to ensure they were included in all processes.
• Natural Leader • Multi Tasker • Quick Learner • Team Player • Strong Work Ethic • Natural Collaborator
• Adobe InDesign • Adobe Illustrator • Adobe Photoshop • Adobe Lightroom • Blender 3D • Adobe Premier Pro
References on request
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Professional Skills pg 10 - 19
Publication Design From small zines to novels and magazines, publication is a focus for James. Studying under Stuart Geddes at RMIT, James employs the mindset that the content of a publication and the design techniques involved to display it should be created in harmony. James has developed a deep fascination with fine art publication design, and enjoys exploring the limit for conventional techniques and layouts to ensure whatever the content of the publication; it is presented in a unique and fresh, yet fitting way.
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Branding Focused on designing fresh, successful and eye-catching packaging to best suit both product and client, James thrives in designing effective product packaging, often employing his proficient ability in 3D design software to remove the limitations of traditional programs. James aims to create completely unique and eye catching packaging solutions for any product.
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Packaging Focused on designing fresh, successful and eye catching results to best suit both product and client. James thrives in designing effective product packaging, often employing his proficient ability in 3D design software, to decrease the limitations from traditional programs. James aims to create completely unique and eye catching packaging solutions for any product. Photography With over seven years of photography experience, James finds passion in leading Studio and Location photography shoots, most recently for fashion company catalogs. James utilizes photography to further explore and experiment with the fundamentals of art and design through landscape and portrait photography. Originally starting his creative journey through image creation and photography, its influence is seen in the rest of his work, often conceptually employing the principles of photography throughout traditional graphic design work.
Publication
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Overview
From small zines to novels and magazines, publication is a focus for James. Studying under Stuart Geddes at RMIT, James employs the mindset that the content of a publication and the design techniques involved to display it should be created in harmony. James has developed a deep fascination with fine art publication design, and enjoys exploring the limit for conventional techniques and layouts to ensure whatever the content of the publication; it is presented in a unique and fresh, yet fitting way.
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Publication
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Modern Renaissance Overview
Modern Renaissance is a publication exhibiting a set of images exploring the combination of Renaissance Art and Hellenistic Sculpture in a modern and minimalistic setting. These images have been designed deliberately to transform the aesthetic intention of the beautiful originals, in an attempt to communicate an entirely new feeling and allow viewers to partake in a new experience. With no client and no brief, this project at its core, is a personal and visual explanation of my current design journey. I have chosen to explore this use of content contrast by designing modern environments in 3D, focusing on clean, simplistic architecture, intriguing lighting, purposeful texturing and unconventional subject placement. This publication marks the end of a chapter in my creative career – finishing my degree and venturing off into the professional word of Communication Design. This set of images, in a way, conceptually demonstrates my current style of design which is implemented throughout my
Type
Publication - Coffee Table Book
Focus
Creative Direction
Details
12x12in Layflat Hard Cover
work; simplicity, deliberate contrast, bold colour, and photographic inspired composition. The publication is designed as a coffee table book, created on a 12in x 12in square layout, designed with the intention for leaving open on one of the large image spreads. I have utilized the skills I obtained during my time studying publication design with Stuart Geddes, focusing on a clear marriage of content and design. I concentrated on showcasing these images in an appropriate and truthful way, letting the images dominate the space and unobtrusively designing the excess information about the images if the reader so wishes to dive deeper.
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Publication Modern Renaissance - Cover (Above) Orange Series ii (Below)
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Modern Renaissance - Orange Series i Breakdown (Above) White Series ii (Below)
Publication
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Books on Books Overview
Books on Books was created as an ‘Opinionated Encyclopaedia’ project. James curated multiple texts that discuss what a book is from different countries around the world. With multiple outlooks from different authors about what a book is from so many different countries, after completion it leaves the reader to make up their own mind about what a book is to them. To pair with the magnificent writing of multiple authors, James photographed pages from some of the rarest books in the National Gallery of Victoria’s book collection and paired them with their corresponding countries to each section of text. The end result is a beautiful and elegant modern novel, filled with great content and amazing photographs of some of the best and rarest books.
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Publication - Opinionated Encyclopaedia
Focus
Utilizing appropriate design techniques to complement content
Details
A4 267pg softcover with unique paper chapter breaks.
Publication Books on Books - Contents (Above) Chapter Four Introduction (Below)
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Books on Books - Page 23-24 (Above) Introduction (Below)
Branding and Identity
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Overview
From small company branding and identity to advertisement campaigns, James thrives in employing relevant research and experimentation to achieve effective and iconic branding no matter the size or scope of the client. From small kick starter companies to established businesses, James takes the same level of detail and perfectionism, understanding the importance of fresh, clear and affective branding in today’s digital media dominated climate.
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Branding
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MoMA: Party in the Garden Overview
For this branding concept the goal was to create an experimental branding strategy to entice donors to attend MoMA’s annual fundraising party. Due to COVID-19, this donor event is more important than ever, requiring more exclusive and important donors to attend and invest in order to ensure MoMA solidifies their future as one of the most influential Modern Art Museums in the world. This poster design is the focal point of the branding for the entire event. Inspired by the exhibition photography by Pier 24, this image places the viewer inside the MoMA exhibition space, isolating the viewer as well as making them feel as though they are the only one there. This further hints towards the exclusive demographic and target audience.
In the middle of the image is a crumbling stone sculpture influenced by Daniel Arsham’s work. This experimental stone sculpture is the center piece for the party, depicting MoMA in a more fragile state; crumpling around the edges yet still standing and still beautiful. This was designed to show MoMA’s current economic state – in need of assistance from donors. This sculpture hints to this but still shines light on the beauty of the company and shows that they will still stand strong regardless of obstacles they face, which is important information for the donors when deciding to invest large sums of money into the company.
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Branding and Identity- Advertisment/Poster + Deliverable package
Focus
Experimental Branding Strategy aimed at an exclusive audience
Details
A3 Poster, A4 Invitation, Vip Ticket, Save the Date
Publication MoMA - Signage Branding (Above) Invitational Package (Below)
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Branding
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Brand I.D Design Lab Overview
This Branding redesign was for an experimental branding studio which focuses on pushing the boundaries and incorporating a studio-wide collaborative system. The key theme surrounding this brand redesign was to incorporate the experimental nature of the studio’s process. The elemental symbol signifies that any experiment, science or not, incorporates different elements. Branding this studio as an element symbolizes that the studio, as a group, are experimental and willing to push boundaries.
shows that they are a package; they work together and help each other in order to achieve the best result – nothing is held back. Lastly, this studio is run as a semi-professional business, hence the logo is packaged in a clean and professional manner, implementing Helvetica Nue as the font of choice. This was deliberately chosen to tie in with the minimalist nature of the logo as a whole.
The second key theme that needed to be incorporated was a component to visualise collaboration. Incorporating the number of attendees in the lab as the element number Type
Branding - Logo and style guide
Focus
Accurately and visually representing the manifesto of the studio
Details
Complete Logo Design presented in a publication style guide
Publication Brand I.D Design Lab - Style Guide Contents (Above) Style Guide (Below)
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Brand I.D Design Lab - Brand Strategy (Above) Logo Breakdown (Below)
Packaging
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Overview
Focused on designing fresh, successful and eye-catching packaging to best suit both product and client, James thrives in designing effective product packaging, often employing his proficient ability in 3D design software to remove the limitations of traditional programs. James aims to create completely unique and eye catching packaging solutions for any product.
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Packaging
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Cerculum Overview
This project was a complete product, branding and packaging design for a super exclusive, high end wearable technology brand concept. Cerculum was created by merging a few already existing brands and products together. Cerculum is an ultra-expensive, invite only scan ring and ‘club’ that is only whispered about through the general public. It was evident from the beginning of the project that there would be no use for traditional mock-ups or already existing packaging blueprints for this product as it has such an extreme price tag and exclusive clientele. The decision to 3D Model, texture, light and render the packaging in a program called Blender was chosen as it allowed the ultimate freedom to push the experimental envelope.
The Cerculum ring is located in a clean, detailoriented packaging box, utilizing super rare and expensive materials, taking inspiration from the likes of Rolex and Rolls Royce. For the branding, two separate devices were chosen and each have their own unique role. The first is a hero illustration called the Cerculum Rings. This logo would be the face of the company, elusive and indecisive to the general public, only those that have actually brought the product will see this paired with the second logo/ device, which is the completed branding with the inclusion of the Cerculum typography.
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Packaging - Ultra exclusive technology brand concept
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Creating a super luxury packaging design that displays quality and exclusiveness
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Master Box (50cm x 30cm x 15cm), Carry Box, Instruction Pamphlet, Warranty Booklet
Publication Cerculum - Packaging Spread (Above + Below)
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Cerculum - Packaging Spread (Above + Below)
Packaging
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BANG Surf Wax Overview
Bang Surf Wax Branding and packaging design was created for an Australian company in Noosa Heads Queensland. With the client wanting the branding to be heavily inspired by the 80’s typical geometric and neon aesthetic, the design process began with the primary logo. Large bold typography was chosen to demand attention from the shelf, and a neon colour pallet was chosen in order for the branding to stick out where ever applied. A secondary logo was designed for advertisements which featured a more dialled back version of the hero logo. For the packaging component the client specifically wanted ecofriendly materials. To highlight this, the white in both the logo and typography was removed to allow for more of the ecofriendly card to be shown.
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Branding and Packaging + Strategy
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Encapsulating the 80’s style aesthetic, focusing on ecofriendly packaging
Details
Hero Logo, Secondary Logo, Full Packaging spread, Advertisement Strategy
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BANG Surf Wax - Applied Logo (Above) Applied Secondary Logo (Below) Packaging (Right)
Photography
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Overview
With over seven years of photography experience, James finds passion in leading Studio and Location photography shoots, most recently for fashion company catalogs. James utilizes photography to further explore and experiment with the fundamentals of art and design through landscape and portrait photography. Originally starting his creative journey through image creation and photography, you can see its influence on the rest of his work, often conceptually employing the principles of photography throughout traditional graphic design work.
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Publication M-Lee Jean: Metamorphosis Catalogue
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Publication
M-Lee Jean: Metamorphosis Catalogue 23
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M-Lee Jean: Metamorphosis Catalogue
Landscape Photography for Large Print
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Portrait Photography for Large Print
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Landscape Photography for Large Print
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From Me For the better part of the last seven years, my life has revolved around anything and everything creative. Outside of design I enjoy visiting fine art galleries, modern art museums, shooting street photography or mixing in clubs around Melbourne. A lot of my inspiration comes from music, sculpture, architecture and photography; anything that stimulates a certain sense, or persuades you to feel a certain emotion, I relish in. Wanting to understand why certain things induce certain emotions is what led me down the creative path from an early age. High school was always an interesting experience for me, I found it challenging to enjoy subjects where I was unable to think for myself or create something new, however because of my sometimes unhealthy obsession for self-perfection, I always figured it was better to knuckle down and do the work as it was always a means to an end for me. The creative arts is where I felt comfortable and awake, it is where I could see endless opportunities and experiences to make an impact on the world laid before me. After graduating with distinction from RMIT and being recognized by teachers and industry professionals as part of the top ten students in the cohort for the work I have completed, I feel as though I have never been more ready to finally begin my journey as a designer in a professional environment. Filled with eagerness, some naivety and a whole lot of passion for designing, I believe I am ready to begin my journey because I have reached a stage of no longer designing to display proficiency or pure aesthetics. I believe I have reached a turning point where I now understand what elements or design principles to use, and only using them if there is a reason to use them. Design and content should be a marriage. In saying all of this however, I understand that I have so much to learn, which is great because I have been a student for the last 16 years of my life, and I believe it is more crucial now than ever before to maintain that student mindset, to learn as much as I can in order to sculpt myself as a professional designer in a professional studio setting. There is nothing I love more than collaboration – being amongst likeminded creatives that understand the language you speak, I believe, creates more powerful and effective design outcomes then could ever be achieved alone. I will be seeing you soon, Cheers, James D. Elliott
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Contact Website
jameselliottdesign.myportfolio.com
Jameselliottdesign.aus@gmail.com
Phone
(AUS) 0422535432
James.Elliott.Design
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