In the increasingly digital world in which we live, up and coming creative talent, such as Fashion and Commercial Photographer Jessie Leong are looking to exploit new mediums online to share and promote their identity and their creative practice.
BRIEF 7: JESSIE LEONG
DISCOVER
DEFINE
DESIGN
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Brief [Client]
Market
Visual
Jessie Leong approached me and asked to me to design and develop a website which can act as a tool for promotion of her work as well to be used as an online portfolio. As part of this I suggested that her brand also needed refreshing to reflect her more focused practice as well creating a brand that works in both the digital and the print space. The creative challenge is to develop a brand for Jessie Leong that can work seemlessly accross print and digital applications. A website also needs to be designed and developed which works across the desktop, tablet and mobile devices. Jessie Leong is a fashion and commerical photographer with a focus on culture and orientalism within her work, this should be taken into consideration when developing the brand identity.
I felt it was necessary to explore how other photographers in the Jessie will be competing in are branding themselves and how they promote themselves online. As Jessie Leong will need a disruptive brand that is breaking away from the norm of what everyone else is doing, so as a new gradate she can break onto the photography and get her name and work out there.
Visually I started to explore what fashion and commerical brands were currently doing in the space. From the offset I wanted to look into how serif typefaces were being used in the modern way. I think a serif typefaces relates to Jessie’s interests in culture and orientalism, but it needs to be a approached in a modern and fresh way, as ultimately her work is for commercial use. Within the work I looked at it, it was simplicity that made it effective and being antiornemental with the rest of the design. additionally a limited colour palette often complimented the typeface and kept the essence of minimalism.
User The primary user for the website will be potential clients wanting hire Jessie as a photographer. Secondary to this will be people look to curate images for a gallery space or exhibiton. Jessie herself will be using the website as a portfolio during interview the webiste therefore needs to be ipad friendly. Futhermore as Jessie is using the website as a promotional tool the site will also need to work on mobile as often discovery of link happens on mobile devices through social networks like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Deliverables -
James Braund Photographer Much of the work of others that I explored has used SansSerif typefaces with there branding, I can see why, as it provides a clean asethetic and relevance to any brief or client however I don’t think will be as effective for Jessie Leong, doing something bold and different will set her apart. Furthermore most of the website use full screen imagery which I think is essential, as the photography is the most important aspect and it provides an emersive experience for the user.
On going documentation on Blog A minimum of 5 submission boards Brand and Brand Guidelines Business Cards Live Website
Many of the websites I explored provided seemless ways to move between projects, it was an effortless and easy experience, this will be essential for Jessie’s website as, if people are confused by the navigation they won’t stay on the site to explore her work.
BRIEF 7: JESSIE LEONG
DISCOVER
DEFINE
DESIGN
2
Existing Brand Analysis
Strategy
Brand Development
Interface Development
Identified problems with existing brand
I have conducted some research into Jessie Leong, through talking to her and discussing her work, her process, how she gets inspired, what she tries to achieve with her work, what is she communicating etcetera. I have also taken inspiration and looked at the works she has produce all of this has helped me become more informed about her practice and has solidified in my mind what thought process need to be behind the design thinking of her brand and logo mark.
When developing the brand identity for Jessie Leong, I experiemented with a range of serif typefaces, some in a more vogue style to reflect the fashion aspect of her work and other which were more orential and created a hertiage vibe and aesethetic. When exploring colour palettes I wanted to continue with the ideals of luxury and heritage and experimented with royal, rich and deep colours for the palette.
For the interface of the website I initally explored a layout which mimiced a contact sheet of images, in which on the homepage projects merged together and it created a large baord of all Jessie’s work. I kept the navigation simple and large as the premise of the site is that it will be used on mobile devices. Although this layout work I don’t think it does the images justice, in the ipad era experiences need to be immersive this layout doesn’t feel like it’s taking advantager of large retina ipad screen. However I do think that the large control work well as they are easy to press on touch devices. The thin line of the navigation elements also keeps them from being obstrusive from the content, these elements I developed into the final verison of the website.
The logo mark’s surface area is very large and consumes a lot of space which I don’t think it’s need to The kerning is off on all of the typography, which doesn’t reflect Jessie’s professional attitude to her work Furthermore the logo in general does not reflect her creative ambition and nor does it set her apart from other photographers - as the current aesthetic of the logo of very generic and lacks character, as well using a common design that most photographers use I feel that the logo could do more in reflecting the type of work Jessie Leong creates or is involved in I would also argue the need for the word ‘Photography’ within the logo, her name is her brand, her work is her work, it’s clear she’s a photography, it’s seems unnecessary and over complicates the mark As mentioned before, this logo may work effectively in print but digital it takes up too much visual on a page or device
The main aspect that Jessie Leong spoke about within her work is her passion and appreciation for cultures from all over the world, particularly oriental cultures. This is a focus of her’s for her third year of study as well as passion she wants to follow within her career, I believe this is a strong aspect and sense of direction that should be explored within the logomark and brand.
I also think the key principles of her work, commerical and fashion photography should visually be portrayed within the logo, this is to ensure that the brand sits well with clients and the people who are looking to potentially employee her.
Consideration for new brand A smaller more compact logo, with only ‘Jessie Leong’ as the typography, loosing the word ‘Photography’ furthermore this compact mark should be able to work across, desktop, mobile and in print
Furthermore narratives are a key part of how Jessie works, she doesn’t just take photos, she takes photos to create stories or narratives, I think this is principle can be carried across the brand, logo mark and website design.
A logo mark that better reflects Jessie’s style of work and way of working A mark that also represents the ideals of Jessie Leong being a fashion and commerical photographer.
BRIEF 7: JESSIE LEONG
DISCOVER
DEFINE
DESIGN
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Brand [Above] After exploring a range of oriental based typefaces, I chosen Lydian BT for the typefaces of the logo mark. I customised the typeface by making the arms and stems thinner, so give the typeface a vogue like feel which links to the commerical and fashion element within Jessie’s work. I’ve constrated this typeface with a simple, web-safe font, Proxima nova, it’s sans-serif characteristics compliment the detailed and more ornamental logo mark. For the colour scheme I’ve chosen a rich, deep, purple, blue colour complimented by a light pistachio colour. This limited colour palette that it widely different tone gives creates a flexible identity which can be used across a range of media for different purposes. For example the Pistaschio green work well for background when printed, where as the rich purple work well as a complimentary colour to be sparingly as a highlight.
Business Cards [Right] Making use of the colour palette I’ve developed a range of two business cards, which create a nice visual variation of the product. Again the logo face contrasted with the use of the Proxima Nova on the reverse of the card for details. The colour palette is matched with ColorPlan paper by GF Smith, the cards a duplexed on 540gsm Pistachio and Amethyst papers.
BRIEF 7: JESSIE LEONG
DESIGN
DEFINE
DESIGN
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Projects and Navigation [Left] Within the final verison of the portfolio I wanted to make the photos the centre of the experience and be as reductive as possible with the elements of the interface. I have therefore allowed the images to be fully width and fully responsive so that they fill the screen regardless of the device. To move through different projects users click the arrows to ‘slide’ between projects. Overlayed and static is the logo mark and menu icon, top left and the view all projects icon top right, these icons are always present and can be clicked on whenever at anytime. The interface has reduced by moving all the links and information needed on the website hidden within the menu icon, so it is only there when it’s needed. This approach creates a truly immersive experience for the users and allows Jessie’s to tell there narrative without distraction.
Project Info [Above] At the end of the each project, when a user as scolled through each of the images in the project a full screen page is revealed which detailed the project title, a brief bio about the project and provides information of those involded. Additionally it includes links to share the project socially. Asethetically the background colour is colour picked from the images to enhance and create this immersive experience.
BRIEF 7: JESSIE LEONG
DESIGN
DEFINE
DESIGN
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All Projects [Above] Using the always present icon in the top right of the screen users can access an overview of all of the projects within the projects. This adds much needs user experience to the interface as it does take time to slide through each project, especially if users know they want to review a specific project. This view allows them to easily see each projects as well as all the images in that project at once and then jump into that project to again be returned to the full screen experince. Aesthetically this is designed as an overlay so the users doesn’t feel detached from the experince when using this view.
About [Right] The menu icon which is positioned at the top left of the screen gives the user access to Jessie’s information. I chose to hide this away but yet be easily accesible as it’s secondary in heirarchy to the photos on the website. Maintaining the reductive approach large typography has been used for readability regardless of device. It also makes use of the deep purple within the brand guideless, it dark tones really seperates it from the rest of the website. Visualluy this works as a drawer and slides in and out from the left of the screen. This view also contains Jessie Leong’s contact information. bring all the information into one view, so users don’t hunt.
BRIEF 7: JESSIE LEONG
DESIGN
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View the live site at jessieleong.com
iPad [Above] Cruical to the design of the portfolio was that it worked across every devices. As in the world of the internet of things we rarely use our computers to discover content, this normally happens on mobile devices. Therefore the whole experience has been designed so that the experience is the same no matter what device it’s being viewed on. A testament to design and structure can be seen here in that it looks the same as it does on desktop. The interactions and layout remain the same. This has only been possible because of the reductive approach taken to the design of the site. Additionaly on iPad the site makes use of gestures and users can swipe through images rather than having to use arrows, this creates a much more natural experience on thie device.
iPhone [Left] With the iPhone/mobile verison of the site because of the change is device proportion slight modification have had to be made to the design. What has occured here is that instead of sliding through projects and then scrolling this has been subverted and user scroll through different projects and then swipe through the images in an individual project. All other interaction on the website have remained the same as they appear on desktop or tablet.
BRIEF 7: JESSIE LEONG
DESIGN
DEFINE
DESIGN
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