Design Portfolio 2020 S A M U E L
G I L B E R T
B E A D L E
About Me
Hey, I’m Sam Beadle. I was born in Sydney, Australia, grew up in Auckland, New Zealand, went to High School in Los Angeles, and College at San Diego State University. I studied Art with an Emphasis in Graphic Design and graduated virtually in May 2020. I’m a passionate multi-disciplinary designer with unique perspective and contemporary aesthetic. I have experimented in various art forms ranging from AR to Sculpture but my main passions are Illustration, Typography, UI/UX, and Packaging.
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1. Freeze 2. Wide Eyes 3. Dropout 4. Art Now 5. Screenprinting 6. Opus 7. Photography
EXAMINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ART, PHOTOGRAPHY, MEMORY, AND DOCUMENTATION
PROJECT 1
Freeze
The task at hand was to create an elegant narrative book that conceptually bound two different stories. One story from history and one from the designer’s personal life. The book must use design as means of communicating the similarities in the stories.
PROJECT 1
Process I had to push myself to think creatively on this project since the photos would be at the forefront and the “graphic design� needed to come second and support with good clean typography and few graphic attractions. The sketching for this project was extremely helpful and I started thinking outside the box by incorporating and cutting up tracing paper to start thinking about the relationships between spread and break the typical structure of a book.
Assets
FREEZE
During critiques, various professors and classmates admired the work and photos and provided constructive criticisms regarding consistency between spreads and treatment of body text. Once body text had been fixed, and paragraph styles were consistent, the final step was to insert headers, subheaders, and footers, as well as finalizing graphic elements that brought the book together.
The book was based on the tragic historical events that took place in Northern California in 1942-1946, and the beautiful photos that came from photographer Dorothea Lange. The personal text addresses my own history and relationship with photography and memory, and the concept of photography as a therapeutic and archival tool as opposed to a visual
The History
art form. Having a strong interest in conceptual projects and layout/editorial design, I thoroughly enjoyed this project. The magazine like format was an area I was comfortable in, so I pushed myself to work with transparencies and vellum as well as positive and negative space to add visual interest and convey meaning from the text through design.
The final result was an elegant narrative book that I was extremely proud of. The photos by Dorothea Lange inspired the layout which was super minimal and relied on the effects of simple graphic elements that reflected the images on the given spread. Primarily black and white, red was
incorporated as an accent color, since it is the only color in the Japanese flag and is also in the American flag it is fitting. The magazine like book has the intended feel of a photo book and has the potential to be expanded into a “coffee table� book in the nature of a Taschen book.
Final Book
REDEFINING “COFFEE CULTURE” BY PROPOSING SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS TO SINGLE USE PLASTICS
PROJECT 2
Wide Eyes Coffee I was tasked with creating a package that incorporated a set of products all related to one another reduce waste in our daily lives. I like many others have developed a soft spot in my heart for my daily coffee. Well actually more like 2 or 3 coffees a day depending on the day. That’s a lot of waste. The kit includes Organic Whole Bean Coffee in a reusable glass tumbler with an
airtight lid, as well as glass jars of cacao and honey for spicing up your daily caffeine fix. The custom die cut I created required no glue or tape, which was a huge hurdle to overcome but with time, a design solution was found in hopes of being more sustainable. The image on the box as well as the box itself was done with a laser cutter and made of a recycled chipboard.
PROJECT 2
Sketches
Die line
WIDE EYES
DiďŹƒculties arrived when it came time to figure out the dieline for the product. While other students used online templates and resources, I had to create a custom die cut to support the heavy glass contents of my package, while utilizing eco friendly materials like chipboard. After many different variations and mockups, and days of trial and error, I arrived at my final die cut that was laser cut and the imagery that was finalized in the branding stage was etched into the material with the laser, a risky but worthwhile endeavor.
Image Selects
Branding
The branding was inspired by research of coffee advertising from the 1950’s meeting a new environmental standard that could be marketed towards the youth of today. The sans serif typeface in combination with vintage imagery and recycled materials created the organic yet minimal brand identity that I was aiming for.The project was a huge learning experience in sustainable materials and the design thinking that goes behind no glue no tape packaging.
Final Product With designing, printing, cutting and then doing the entire process over and over, I was challenged with time management due to the severe need for product testing of various mockups. In conclusion I was very pleased with my final product and look forward to doing more sustainable packaging projects. As young designers, our generation has a responsibility to create with a conscious and find new solutions to old problems. Packaging is an area where there is a lot of room for improvement, so working this field is a privilege.
UNITING STUDENTS, ARTISTS, AND CREATORS BY CURATING AND PUBLISHING CUTTING EDGE CONTENT
PROJECT 3
Dropout Mag Dropout Mag is San Diego State University’s new Arts and Culture Magazine. For students by students. Completely student run and operated. Sam’s serves as the magazines Head of Design. The magazine is a small passion project by a group of about 10 students.
The Mission
The goal was to promote the amazing art coming from students at the school and display it in a “consumable” format for busy students. And with that, the digital art magazine: Dropout, was born. Dropout had many unspoken requirements that needed to be figured out. The layout needed to be fun
yet allow the art to speak for itself. It needed to be elegant but also retro to catch people’s eyes. It needed to feature and support artists and display each work in the right spread often meaning carefully curating the writing with the visual arts.
Final Product Dropout Magazine was well received by peers and ultimately a great passion project. A refreshing take on local art, Dropout Magazine was an eloquent expression of the passion of the students who participated. It can be viewed at issue.com/dropoutmag
PROMOTING LOCAL ART GALLERIES AND MUSEUMS THROUGH CLEAR TYPOGRAPHY AND INTERFACE
PROJECT 4
Art Now Art Now is a Map, Guide, and App that helps users navigate the Art Scene in San Diego. The goal was to promote the arts in a way that interested local people and used a branding system that was fun and inviting.
Sketches
PROJECT 4
Assets
ART NOW
The design process was lengthy and started with the brochure, map, and guide, and the UI for the app followed. The palette was simple black and white that emphasized imagery and accent colors of baby pink and baby blue which were used to create an inviting brand voice. Fine art whether ancient or contemporary was referenced in the brouchure and drew on popular art and art history.
The Mission
Art Now aimed to reinvent the way people viewed art museums. The general public can often view art as pretentious and daunting but Art Now broke down the art viewing experience by prioritizing convenience and establishing hierarchy of information. The app’s minimal interface aims to be as user friendly as possible for tourists and locals alike. The brochure has a moderate amount of information that is supplemented and saturated with well know art history references that anyone would recognize.
Final Product Ultimately, the project was a success and the use of color and imagery established branding that was well received and showed potential results for its intended impact of encouraging people to see and appreciate more fine art in and around San Diego.
FASHION AND CLOTHING THAT IS ECO-FRIENDLY, SUPPORTS LOCAL ARTISTS, AND PROMOTES DIY CULTURE
PROJECT 5
Screenprinting I had developed a great interest in screenprinting when I discovered the facilities that SDSU had to offer in my sophomore year. Although the studio class was offered it conflicted with my schedule and I made it a personal goal to learn how to screenprint and to do it in my own time.
The goal was to create my own clothing to reduce consumer waste and promote DIY culture and local artists through a series of collaborations. I worked with amazing friends and ended up with a variety of great designs. Avia Rose, Julia Altamirano, Kelly Finney,
The Goal
Frank Gomez, and others either designed shirts or took part in the process as we created a line of made to order clothing for friends, family, and fellow student. They were made to order to reduce waste. The shirts ranged from personal branding to greater merchanding.
Image Selects
Final Product Some of my fondest memories were created in the screenprinting studio at SDSU and I’m grateful for my collaborators who were willing to temporarily abandon their chosen mediums and create tactile goods that served a true purpose and were environmentally friendly.
REVISING MUSIC LISTENING HABITS THROUGH THOUROUGH UX RESEARCH AND HUMAN CENTERED DESIGN
PROJECT 6
Opus.
A Mission to Revise Music Listening Habits Through Good Design. App design is a complicated process that requires patience and a willingness to continually revise the product over and over again. UI/UX design are both processes that have many steps and are never truly finished or perfected, as digital products are always responsive, live, and changing. Both UI/UX should focus on Human Centered Design, a mentality that puts the user’s opinions, feelings, and experience first.
PROJECT 6
We started with research, competitive analysis, interviews, and personas (which all fall under UX). It became apparent that I couldn’t just copy Spotify and make it “prettier”. The UX had to be different, not just the UI. So quickly, I developed a critical eye towards UX. Where was Spotify falling short, and where could my app make up for these shortcomings? What is Spotify missing and what does it need to get rid of? These were questions I had to ask myself in order to create a product of value. I arrived at the realization that Spotify needed to be more social, more simple, and more statistical. So these were the leading values of what was “Opus.”. The official value proposition was this: “Opus is a personalized music streaming experience, designed to provide the user with live data on listening history, as well as
Wireframes
High Fidelity
OPUS
connect people through music with auto-generated playlists that finds similarities in music between users�.The process of developing the app went through the basic steps of Research, Journey Mapping, Sketching, Wireframing, Prototyping, User Testing, Interface Design, Design System, Prototyping, User Testing, and Presenting. Between each step there was always revisions made after critiques and testing. The UI was inspired by old Apple advertising, elegant, concise, minimal, and personable. Colors were utilized for aesthetic and organizational purposes, which users responded well to during testing. The Serif, Poynter Display Narrow was used to differentiate Opus. from the most apps today, which was a risk I was willing take (especially considering
The Mission
legibility). The app is “Humble” as it does not have endless features and options, it just aims to do the basic features (with exception from those that set it apart from its competitors). The app is “Social” as it is organized in “Me, Us, and All” tabs which are found in the bottom nav. Users can follow their friends and find auto-generated playlists that highlight similarities in music taste between them. The app is “Introspective” as it records listening histories and data and allows access to live information to the user at all times, so that the user can reflect on their favorites from the present and past. These features were prioritized from the beginning and improved upon
Final Interface Designing Opus. has been a priceless learning experience. The process was so much more demanding than I had anticipated, but I’ve developed a great understanding and appreciation for Digital Product Design/UI/UX and all its subfields. Looking back there is so much I wish I had known earlier or had the time to change, but overall I’m more than proud of the work put in and end result achieved. In my opinion, Opus. has made leaps in areas where other streaming apps have major shortcomings, and with more work, could be a strong and unique competitor in the industry.
PROJECT 7
Photography
A collection of photography. Including both film and digital. From 2017-2020.
THank You I owe a tremendous amount of thanks to a number of friends, family, classmates, professors, mentors, and so on. I cannot list every person in my life but these are the family who pushed me the hardest, the friends who supported me endlessly, the professors who gave the hard to hear criticisms, the coworkers who helped me jump into the professional world, and the people at Creative State who never failed to inspire and uplift me. Without these people I would not be the designer, artist, or person I am today. Family: Stuart Beadle, Karyn Beadle, Ashley Beadle. Friends: Alia Nizam, Kaye Nizam, Summar Zhili, Sandra Zhili, Michelle Pisnoy, Sofia Adell, Patty Tobing, Avia Rose, and Jordan Foster. Professors: Min Choi, Scott Wyss, Beth Weeks, Katie Stapko, Gary Benzel, Arzu Ozkal, Ann Woods, Otto Lai, Richard Keely, David Fobes, Anna Pidcoe, and Sondra Sherman. Power Digital Marketing Staff: Daniel Cartier, Mackenzie Hansen, Joe Hollerup, Paulina Crisostomo, Mackenzie Maher, and Jenelle Mina. And my friends over at Creative State who cannot all be named but in particular: Julia Altamirano, Shaoyan Pang, Nick Mora, Kianna Kaprowski, Emma Teasdale, Ean Sierra, Khayri Carter, Roy Freiha, Aiden White, Frank Gomez, Annie Chu, and others.
This book is set in: Adobe Garamond, Regular & Semibold 12pt & 48pt Additional fonts in projects include but are not limited to: Gastromond, Futura, Poynter Display, Avenir, Century Gothic, and more. Programs used range from: Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, Lightroom, XD, Premiere Pro, After Effects, Sketch, InVision, Invision Studio, Spark AR.
Colophon
Design Portfolio 2020 S A M U E L
G I L B E R T
B E A D L E