Semester 1 Portfolio

NADIA MACHARIA

N0658128 FASH20031: Communication & Message

Self Promotion Identity Project Lord Whitney Workshop Summer Work Experience

SELF PROMOTION

I began building my self promotion with the coulour scheme. I simply started with my own colour preferences and went from there.

I then looked at coulour trends from experts like Pantone and Dulux. I found blues were really trending in 2016; there were a lot of refernces to juxtaposition of bright, almost luminous colours, such as coral and mint, with darker more muted colours such as navy and taupe.

I really identified with these palettes, as I felt they showed an air of sophistication, with a slight hint of fun and vibrancy, which is what I’m going for in terms of aesthetic.

In terms of packaging ideas, I got a lot of inspiration from wedding invitations. I love the personolised effect of the invites, which I thought be translated to my self promotion, especially because I want to go in to events; my first impression would be that of the anticipation of opening an invitation.

I was also intrigued by the paper stock of the invites. The heavier, textured paper seemed more professional and expensive looking, which would give insentive to keep the paper after its recieved. I thought that incentive would be useful in the job application process as, they would be less likely to throw away my CV if the paper was of good quality. I used the same design in the background of my online portfolio Embossed text was also a part of the intrigue. I thought it would add another air of expense to my self promotion. I also liked the simplicity of having embossed text, which would fit in my over all aesthetic of professional simplicity.

For my paper design, I was a little less in to the simple, profesional look and more in to showing off the fun and creative sides of myself, which I think play a part in the way I work.

When looking at paper design trends, especially in events, I saw a lot of slpattered paint designs. I liked how the design created a youthful, artistic feel, which I felt tied in with my colour scheme. I also felt as though the artistic feel was relevant to my brand and career ambitions, as I think the creativity would be something that clients and employers alike would look for.

The right is an example of my own experimentation with the paper design.

NADIA MACHARIA

NM NADIA MACHARIA

Phone: (+44) 7492 917517 Email: muthoninadia@gmail.com/nadia.macharia2015@my.ntu.ac.uk Address: 21, Goldsmith Court, Chaucer Street, NG1 5LG, Nottingham, United Kingdom Website: muthoninadia.wixsite.com/nadiamacharia

About Me

This is my final business card and CV design. I decided on using a logo as I thought it would be interesting to have something distinct that could be on all my self promotion.

I wanted a clean, simple look to my self promotion, that was proffesional without being boring. I decided aginst using the packaging designs of an invitation as it may be too bulky and employers may not want too much to keep.

I decided on putting the paint splatters on the hard copies manually (which is why it’s not seen here) as i thiought using other people’s designs wouldn’t be as original or personal. I combined all my ideas from the erly development, with some inspiration from other artists and professionals to come up with the final design.

Look to the last page to find original CV and cover letter.

Education

I’m a 20 year-old events organiNottingham Trent University: BA (Hons) Fashion Commusation manager, who is a strong nication & Promotion (September 2015 – Present) willed, hard working and fun loving person, who takes pride in whatev- Waterford Kamhlaba UWCSA: International Baccalaureate Higher level: Literature, History, Psychology. er she does and has a good eye for Standard level: Mathematics, French, Biology. detail. I do best with hands-on work (January 2013 – November 2014) and love working with people.

Hillcrest International Schools: IGCSE – Mathematics, History, English Language, English Literature, Spanish, Biology, Geography, Food & Nutrition and Physical Education.

(September 2010 – July 2012) • Nottingham Trent Intra-Mural Netball – 2015 - Present Work Experience • Middle School Model United Nations (MSMUN) – 2009/2010 True Love Magazine: Internship – (2010) • Member of the Youth Theatre of Kenya – • Styling Assistant 2015 - Present • Wrote an article that was featured in the magazine • Edited articles to be put in the up-coming issue

Extra-Curricular Activities

Skills and Achievements • Fluent in English and Swahili • Strong organizational skills • Excellent essay writing skills • Proficient in Adobe InDesign

Vivo: Internship – (April 2015 - May 2015)

• Assistant to the Marketing Manager • Worked backstage at fashion show that brand was featured in • Styled manikins in store • Worked on online presence and helped optimize online store.

Youth Theatre of Kenya – (July 2015- present)

Best Qualities • Works well under pressure • Passionate and Persistent • Well travelled and have lived abroad, giving me wide range of cultural perspectives

• Official stage manager • Costume styling and design • Assist with stage direction and vocal instruction

M + K Nairobi – (July 2016) • Assisted in organization of debut showcase • Assisted with model choreography • Worked front-of-house during showcase

When it came to my online platform layout, I started by looking at some bloggers I look up to as an example.

However, for the colour scheme and background design, I used the same moodboards as seen above, basically just using my CV and business cards as a point of reference so that there would be a flow to all my self promotion.

I wanted an easily accesible page, who’s design would not take away from the work that I showcased. I also wanted something simple that I could build on in the future. muthoninadia.wixsite.com/nadiamacharia

These are a couple of shots of my home page.

IDENTITY PROJECT

The Body When researching the body, we see that the body is turningfrom being the means of production to the production itself (Orbach, 2009). We have stopped being facinated by the inner workings of our bodies and are more focused on our appearance. Our bodies now communicate not just our health status and ethnicity, but also our soicial, economic and cultural statuses as well. The body has become the work of art and takes work to keep up and create art with our bodies.

Abstract Movement

I looked at how abstract movement can be seen in a series of different meduims such as art and photography. It could be a flick of paint or a lucky shot caught in motion, and yet still be poingant. I also looked at abstract movement in everyday mundane actions, and how that too can be beautiful and can be captured or used as works of art.

Abstract movement in dance was what I found most intriguing. When seen in dance, it shows a different side of the body. It shows its relationship to others beyond societal divides; how we all fit together.

Dance & Fashion

Different types of dance have different relationships with fashion. Ballet and contemporary dance’s relationship with fashion is more theatrical, goes back centuaries, and has influences from Roman, French and Russian fashion and culture.

Hip Hop on the other hand, has had more of a sports luxe vibe in recent years, however it gets most of its fashion influence from the late 80’s and 90’s African American community, like the genre itself.

Dance & Music

The relationship between dance and music has changed over time, as the culture changes as well. We see dance evolving in a responce to the music evolving. It is also appreciated in a different way, espacilly with the rise of the internaet and music streaming, dance is a lot less of a social aciivity where anyone is welcome to join. It is now more to do with expertise and only those who are proficient feel inclined to participate. My research shows a nostalgia to the time when anyone and everyone was part of the dance troupe and dance was the pinacle of high society events.

Above is my original mind- map where my group and I decided on the subject matter (eating disorders) that we were going to build our exhibition abround.

Right are some examples of our experimentation with using the body as a canvas. We experimented usiing lighting and projection, as well as using water colour and facepaints to create the illusion of the brain scans being part of the identity of the model.

Final Photographs

We called the collection Choreography of the Brain.

It is an embodiment of the neurological side of eating disorders, as seen through brain imagery

This zine is an amalgamation of the entire Identity project. It is what I took from the project and the final photographs. Arriving at this final zine was quite difficult as I really didn’t know what voice I wanted to project that would be individual enough to be my own personal take, but cohesive enough to be seen as part of the exhibition.

I first wanted to see if and how it had been done before. I looked at other zines that were about information rather than just entertainment, such as the Doll Hospital zine by #MENTALMOVENT. I loved how they combined art, science and psychology to create their zines, which is basically what Choreography of the Brain is about. I thought it was an interesting point to take, having a zine about mental illness, because it is an almost taboo topic and therefore creating platform for it is extremely important.

I then looked at different zine designs on and offline, including the ones that we made in the zine workshop we had towards the beginning of the semester. I wanted the feel of one of the zines that I made using very thin magazine paper. I felt as though the delicacy of the paper would reflect the delicacy of the subject matter being discussed in the zine and exhibition as a whole. I also decided on using the ‘trouser’ style in the way I cut my zine. I liked how the zine could open up from one small page, to a larger picture, almost like looking at a whole story instead of just the cover. I decided to make one side of the zine one large picture that would only be seen in full when the page was completely opened up. I felt as though this would tie in to the narrative of my zine and the exhibition, as a lot of what is shown in the final photographs is about truth being hidden, and only being seen by delving further in to the person; looking at brain imagery.

Through the making of this zine if feel as though the importance of image placement has become evident. The zine would look completely different, and even have a completely different narrative if even one of the images was placed differently or on a different page. This is something that will inform all of my future projects as I will put a lot more thought in to the placement of each piece if imagery.

It also made clear the difficulty of telling a story through imagery. I had always thought it wold be simpler than written text however it proved to be slightly more difficult in a different way. One of which I mentioned earlier with image placement, but there is also the relative strength of one image versus another. Hindsight being 20/20, I think in the future I will take more time with choosing imagery.

The entire process in the end was very enjoyable and I hope to improve in the future.

Individual Zine

LORD WHITNEY WORKSHOP

In this workshop, we were divided in to groups that had to create photographs and a video that could potentially be used by the Nottingham based clothing brand COW. We were given a theme and had to build a set, style the costumes and build a narrative around that theme. For my group, the theme was ‘paint brush’. After a lengthy deliberation, we decided not to take a literal approach, but rather a more contexual one. We used the phrase ‘Paint the Town Red’ and created a scene of a night out in Nottingham. We thought the use of the colour red was also relevant as the brand was planning on using the concept in Febuary, which would coincide with Valentine’s Day. With the help of the representatives from Lord Whitney, we realised that anything and everything can be used as a prop or the materials to make one, and therfore had a back drop made from foil and manila paper, cut out pieces of red paper to create paint splatter, and a paint can as a handbag.

For the video, we decided on stop motion capture as our medium as it looked more playful and almost whimsical, which was part of our aesthetic. We then threw in the ‘Pink Panther’ theme song and it was all done.

Above are the final photos that were used in our presentation and on the opposite page re the photos showing the making of the set, photos and video.

SUMMER

This summer was a lot about travel, being a tourist in my own country, and re-discovering the place I call home. Living abroad makes you miss the simple things that you take for granted at home, such as the fact that I live in a popular tourist destination and it’s all right there for me to experience. So this time, I thought I would give Kenya some love, after all, charity begins at home.

Photography played a big part in my adventures this year. I wanted to work on my photography and editing skills. These are a few examples.

WORK EXPERIENCE

Fashion my be my first love but theatre is definately a close second.

A couple of years ago, I joined the National Youth Theatre of Kenya as one of it’s founding members. I am now the official stage manager of the organisation. Our production this year was called Albatross: Wings of Freedom.

As the stage manager, I was in charge of costume design and styling, prop management, set design, and stage direction during the show. on top of that I also assisted in vocal direction and choreography. The show ran for two nights and a matinee, with the entire cast and crew being between the ages of 11 and 21.

I feel as though doing this sort of work was beneficial, as it is what led me to want to do events management. Being a stage manager was not only and extremely enjoyable experince, it also helped me hone skills in being a manager and point of reference, working with people, and generally being in charge of an event’s progress and all the logistics.

I also worked on the launch of the clothing line M+K Nairobi this summer. It was created by my brother, Keith Macharia, and his partner Muqaddam Latif. It is a contemporary luxe brand that tries to capture ease, adaptability and modern femininity.

I assisted with the choreography of the models and worked front of house during the show. I found this experience beneficial as I felt I learnt about a different side of events, customer service, which I had never been involved with before. I realised th importance of being able to interact with people, as it forms part of their experience, which is what events mangement is all about, creating an unforgettable experience for the client and guests alike.

M + K Nairobi – (2016) • Assisted in organization of debut showcase • Assisted with model choreography • Worked front­of­house during showcase

Nadia Macharia Events Management & PR

Extra­Curricular Activities • Nottingham Trent Intra­Mural Netball – 2015 ­ Present • Middle School Model United Nations (MSMUN) – 2009/2010 • Member of the Youth Theatre of Kenya – 2015 ­ Present

Phone: (+44) 7492 917517 Email: muthoninadia@gmail.com/nadia.macharia2015@my.ntu.ac.uk Address : 21, Goldsmith Court, Chaucer Street, NG1 5LG, Nottingham, United Kingdom Website: muthoninadia.wixsite.com/nadiamacharia About Me I’m a 20 year­old events organization manager, who is a strong willed, hard­working and fun loving person, who takes pride in whatever she does and has a good eye for detail. I do best with hands­on work and love working with people Education Nottingham Trent University: BA (Hons) Fashion Communication & Promotion (September 2015 – Current) Waterford Kamhlaba UWCSA: International Baccalaureate ­ Higher level: Literature, History, Psychology. Standard level: Mathematics, French, Biology. (January 2013 – November 2014) Hillcrest International Schools: IGCSE – Mathematics, History, English Language, English Literature, Spanish, Biology, Geography, Food & Nutrition and Physical Education.

(September 2010 – July 2012)

Skills and Achievements • Fluent in English and Swahili • Strong organizational skills • Excellent essay writing skills • Proficient in Adobe InDesign Best Qualities • Works well under pressure • Well­travelled and have lived abroad giving me wide range of cultural perspectives • Passionate and Persistent

Black PR 19 Springfield House Lofts 5 Tyssen Street London E8 2LY Dear Black PR,

Work Experience True Love Magazine: Internship – (2010) • Styling Assistant • Wrote an article that was featured in the magazine • Edited articles to be put in the up­coming issue

I am writing to express my interest in the advertised work placement position to work with you in the London showroom during London Fashion Week. The attached resume explains in detail my qualifications for this type of position.

Vivo: Internship – (2015) • Assistant to the Marketing Manager • Worked backstage at fashion show that brand was featured in • Styled manikins in store • Worked on online presence and helped optimize online store.

I am currently a student at Nottingham Trent University studying Fashion Communication & Promotion. I feel that I would be highly qualified and a great fit for this position due to my previous experience having worked backstage on fashion shows and in theatre, and done administrative work for a publication. I have been commended for my work ethic and ability to work with people in all the above mentioned placements. I have highly proficient written and InDesign skills, and a basic understanding of Photoshop and Illustrator.

Youth Theatre of Kenya – (2015­ present) • Official stage manager • Costume styling and design • Assist with stage direction and vocal instruction

I am a fast learner and will be able to pick up the routine of the environment I am in and adapt to it. I am well organised, detail oriented, and able to prioritize effectively to keep up with the demands of a fast paced environment. I am passionate, persistent and have a high degree of commitment to my work. I also feel that this opportunity to work with you will be extremely beneficial for me as my career goals are within events management and PR. Thank you for taking the time to review my resume. I am available at your earliest convenience for an interview.

Sincerely, Nadia Macharia