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CAREER PLAN WHERE I AM AT NOW: My strongest skills currently involve digital illustration, graphics and motion graphics. Being very confident in the Adobe Creative suite, especially in Illustrator and Photoshop, I have created work that would support an application for a graphic or creative design role. Because of this I aim to be able to work in both illustration and graphic design throughout my career, similar to, ‘visual artist’ Merijn Hos, and Jee-Ook Choi. While their styles are mostly illustrative, they have often applied their artwork through designing the layouts of posters, promotional material, and packaging, which is what I would also like to do in the future.
Festival Poster by: Merijn Hos
Festival Poster by: Jee-Ook Choi
Considering the artwork I have made for Spitfire Audio, and the work I am making for London East Asia Film Festival, I have a strong sense for tailoring my illustrations and designs for promotional and commercial use. These skills
2 would be very suited towards a job in a visual media, or in a marketing agency. With my digital animation skills, I would be able to create adverts and social media content for these companies. During my final major project, I will be developing my design skills as I create a more thorough promotional campaign concept, by building a strong visual identity for the LEAFF 2020 festival. Before graduating, I want my portfolio to demonstrate a wider range of graphic design and branding skills, such as making 3-D mock-ups of packaging or collateral. With the branding commissions I have worked on for Manah Farm and Tiger Maduro, I have begun to develop these skills with designing mock-ups of chocolate packaging and business cards. I will also need to practice the proofing and preparation of collateral before the printing process, to prepare me for design roles in which I am required to not only develop visual concepts, but assist these concepts to the public distribution.
OLGA PYLAIEVA For: Tempera Cosmetics I am particularly inspired by Pylaieva’s packaging work, and aim to also be able to showcase my illustrations through high quality packaging design.
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CAREER DIRECTIONS AND INTERESTS: While I am interested in a career in visual marketing and branding, which can encompass a range of different types of companies, I have a particular interest in travel and food, aswell as news/social content. My work throughout university definitely supports a job illustrating for the food and drink industry, with projects such as documenting a Giggling Squid in Farnham, and my FMP work exploring Asian and Western food cultures. My first goal would be to work directly as an inhouse designer or creative in companies or agencies that offer commissions in these sorts of areas, such as Immediate Media Co and Agenda NYC, which are fairly small agencies that I could make a start in. A professional who went this route is Jess Ebsworth, represented by Roar Art & Illustration company, who designs for Supa Ya Ramen. As my previous projects have involved Asian themes, one of my career goals will be to eventually design or illustrate for an Asian company, such as a restaurant or event organisation, similar to Ebsworth, and the work I am creating for my final major project. INSPIRATION JESS EBSWORTH: Promotional Illustrations
APRIL 22: [PROFFESSIONAL PRACTICE DEADLINE] By this time, I want to have a professionally presented portfolio (PDF and physical), and a CV base, ready for me to send out in job applications. As certain job applications require website links along with portfolios, I also want to develop my own website and branding before I apply to these roles.
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MAY: During this month I want to apply for as many creative design roles as possible. While my long-term goals will be to earn a stable role within a design agency, in order to get these roles, I will need to apply for smaller roles or internships within the creative teams of other companies. Companies I would be applying for include: COMPANY ILLUSTRATION
CONTACT
APPROACH
Roar
Founder: Skye KellyBarrett
For Roar: Application in 2021 Email with: name, website,bio, cover letter, maximum 5 low-res images of work.
[Illustration Agency] Clients: The Guardian, OneZero, giffgaff
info@roarartists.com skye@roarartists.com p: +44 (0)7891863776 Postal Address: Roar Illustration Agency Unit 6, De Beauvoir Block 92-96 De Beauvoir Road N1 4EN.
Bernstein & Andriulli
Illustration Director: Sam Summerskill
[Illustration Agency] Clients: The New York Times, Nobrow, The Wall Street Journal etc.
p: +44 (0) 207 645 3337 sam@ba-reps.com
Breed
Founder: Olivia Triggs
[Illustration Agency] Clients: Sony music, Selfridges etc.
info@breedlondon.com p: +44 (0)20 7269 0196
Airbnb Design
Head of Illustration: Jennifer Hom
[Creative team behind accommodation/travel Instagram: @jhomdraws company Airbnb] Email: proposals@google.com.
Culture Trip [Travel blog]
Mashable
editorial@culturetrip.com design@culturetrip.com
(Other agencies: Send out portfolio to said contacts.)
For Airbnb Design: Email portfolio to Jennifer Hom, tailored to travel theme.
[Media and entertainment company]
us/?europe=true
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GRAPHIC DESIGN Studio Frith
Founder: Frith Kerr
[Graphic Design studio] Clients: Alexa Chung, Valentino and John Lewis
info@studiofrith.com Applications to: work@studiofrith.com
Agenda NYC [Marketing & Advertizing company] Clients: Guardian Life, Heineken etx.
Without [Design Studio] Clients: Wahaca, Fluidly, Wedgewood, Kelly Loves
APPLYING TO INTERNSHIPS: For these companies I will tailor my portfolio to showcase my best graphic design work, rather than illustrative.
212-582-6200 hello@agendanyc.com careers@agendanyc.com
To apply for internship: careers.intern@without.studio Postal address: 5-9 Hatton Wall London EC1N 8HX P: +44 (0) 20 7099 9080 hello@without.studio
Without: DESIGN INTERNSHIP By May 31st I will apply for Without’s internship programme.
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JUNE: If no companies get back to me, I will be sending out my portfolio to more art directors of different publishing agencies in the hope of getting an editorial commission. Directors I could contact include Nicholas Blechman, of The New Yorker, Chris Clarke at The Guardian, and Giles Dill at Culture Trip. I will also start to build some more tailored work for specific companies that I could build connections with, such as Pinatex, a sustainable fabric company. This would involve designing work around their brand identity and goals that I could sell to them or use to ask to collaborate with them. As I’m more inclined towards promotional work, I will also be sending out my portfolio to other smaller, more local, companies to build up my portfolio and CV with real life client and branding experience. Local companies I would like to reach out to include Mamasons and Bintang (Filipino restaurants in London), as I could demonstrate my suitability through the Asian food related projects I have done through university . MAMASONS POSTER
EXAMPLE OF MY WORK
MAMASONS MENU ILLUSTRATIONS
Here I have created a small character illustration in the style of Mamasons’ pastel pinks and purples, which I could use to show them my suitability for collaboration with the brand.
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POST GRADUATION: If I have not heard back from any of my applications by graduation, I will continue to keep my eye out for whatever other roles open up, but I will also keep building up my portfolio by reaching out to smaller companies, such as Bulb, W12, and TVC, until I am able to land creative role for a paying company.
LONG-TERM GOALS: 2 years after graduation I would like to be working within a design or illustration agency, such as Without, Agenda NYC, or Oliver, to work on exciting briefs for larger companies. In 5 years’ time, I will like to have worked creatively, in some form, with a large company, such as Nike, Dr.Marten or a popular artist. I aspire to work in a similar way to Jee Ook Choi who has illustrated for a wide range of subjects, from a film festival, to being the ongoing illustrator for popular DJ Peggy Gou. In a similar way to Choi, I would like to illustrate for a musician in the future because there is a lot of creative freedom when it comes to presenting concepts in your style. By this time, I would also like to have achieved a much stronger and more recognisable branding for myself, through my illustration style. Jee-Ook Choi for Peggy Gou