When researching potential layouts for my online portfolio these were the three that stood out the most for me and it’s clear to see that there is a patterned in what I am looking to do for my own. I really like the idea of having an image fill the screen on the homepage to make an impact. As I have made a video as a part of my final major project I feel a video that plays automatically that fills the screen would be very good opening to my online portfolio.
From production to disposal clothing are significantly harmful to our environment and over 1 million tones of clothing is sent to landfill. Clothing being left in landfill causes dangerous carbon emissions and waste therefore, recycling and reusing textiles is extremely beneficial to the environment. Denim is one of the most polluting materials in the industry and the most common piece in everyone’s wardrobe therefore I used denim to promote recycling and reusing. https://traid.org.uk/clothes-reuse-and-recycling/
The circular economy is when recycled material such as post-consumer recycled denim is manufactured into new clothing ensuring no waste. The industry needs to guarantee a circular economy, “one that moves beyond fashion’s linear model of take, make and waste, to close the loop.” – Isabella Salini “can denim be sustainable?” 2019.
I feel there is a possibility for a sustainable future for the textile industry if we continue to improve current innovative methods of production and follow the principles of the circular economy. It will also be very beneficial if more consumers were to make a conscious effort to query the source of their clothing and dispose of their garments sustainably or give them a new life
Firstly I wanted to ensure I knew what colour palette I wanted to represent myself and to carry out throughout all my promotional material as my own branding. I have decided that light pink will be the main colour of my branding as its feature throughout my final major project which will be a large part of my portfolio. I have created a mood board of various existing business cards that I inspire mine to be like. I want my overall branding to be clean and clear with a slight character to it, so that it stands out.
Researching simple but innovative ways to create an interesting business card such as laser cutting, embossing and the use of different materials. I particularly love the example where the outline of the card is coloured therefore, when multiply cards are all held together it creates a beautiful iridescent effect.
I also began thinking of various ways I would like present my portfolio. There are now so many different ways that people are presenting their portfolios such as using boxes, as a zine or just clipped together. I wanted to ensure the way I present mine is the best way to reflect my work, I will also ensure that the pages are interchangeable. Therefore, I can move things around dependent on the company that I am applying for and what work they do or are interested in. I have created a mood board with examples I have found of ways to present your portfolio from existing professionals that I will consider for my own portfolio.
My portfolio will include various specialisms as I have specialised in visual promotion during my last year of university. It will feature case studies that include styling, photographs, video, websites and socials media platforms created by myself. After researching over methods of presenting a portfolio I feel the ring binder portfolio will best represent my work. It is easily interchangeable and clearly presented.
The research has been ongoing with the promotional video throughout, continually looking for new locations to film which has resulted in many clips to chose from. By creating story boards, it has helped me narrow down the clips and decided what worked best together. I have travelled to a number of locations in Wales and East Sussex, which I’ve visited many times to ensure the weather and lighting is just what I had imagined for the video. The aim of this video was to promote the beauty of nature and the respect for animals and humans. Editing the video, for me was a challenge to begin with as I have never used the software before but after watching many tutorials online I feel I have finally go the hang of it. I have enjoyed this experience as I feel I self taught a good skill that I can carry with me for future jobs if need be.
I sure I wanted to incorporate the sea side in my promotional video and came across a great location by Rottingdean where I thought it would be perfect to bring the model to take images and film for the video. I choose to film in the late afternoon so that the sun was slowly setting and I could use the low light to create shadows. I also took these images with a film camera which I feel worked very well with the aesthetic of my video.
During this shoot it was important for me to ensure I was using the camera properly therefore, I didn’t waste any time and effort taking photographs that were under exposed or over exposed. I wanted until around 4pm so that the sun wasn’t at its brightest but we still had that strong sun colour, creating a shadow around the model. I loved this location and was lucky to find this amazing piece of wood to feature in the photographs.
I wanted the model to feature in the sustainability short film to bring in the aspect of human life. Therefore, I’d like to style the model in clothing that I found in charity shops. The reason for this is that I wanted to show that it is possible to create a stylish, on trend outfit using second hand clothing. This Cindy Crawford editorial by Jeremy Choh that featured in Elle magazine, August 2018 will be the inspiration my styling and photography for this film. I love how the outfits are equally as bold as their surroundings in these images, not only do you appreciate the clothing but you also appreciate the beauty of nature around the model. I also like the structure of the clothing, a sharp blazer and structured trench coat with the colours complementing the colours of its surrounding.
When trying to display the ‘wash less’ and ‘air dry’ strategy in this film I decided that I would film a pair of jeans, which can be clearly seen through the sea water, being washed away by the sea. Whilst doing so, I got the idea to place the jeans on the rocks to dry, filming close up shots of the water dripping from the bottom of the trousers. This represents the sun drying the clothing, a sustainable and eco friendly way of drying. I’m very happy with the outcome of these visuals, combining nature with fashion, using ethical sources to do such energy wasting tasks, such as the use of a tumble dryer.
I visited various locations in Wales near my home town and also here in Brighton to film short clips for my conceptual, sustainability film. One of the locations was high up on a hill where I knew wild horses are usually spotted, I wanted to film here to bring in the aspect of animal welfare within the film. I also went to a location which has beautiful streams and a large body of water surrounded by high grass which I thought would work well moving in the wind. I also wanted to incorporate the crashing of waves along with the slow moving of clouds, which portrays peace.
Throughout my research into the fast fashion I have come across many issues within out day to day routines that are causing a large effect on our planet. I have chosen three common problems that are easily resolved through small but very beneficial changes such as washing less and on a cooler setting, sourcing clothing sustainably and learning how to reuse and recycle clothes. I wanted to create exciting, eye catching photography to feature in the editorials aimed to attract the target demographic. I decided to source locations that would reflect and promote these issues and that is where I got the idea of shooting the wash less editorial in a Laundromat. I created my own backdrop for the reuse and recycle shoot with multiple pairs of denim jeans, I chose denim as the denim industry has been proven to be one of the main causes of environmental issues life-threatening concerns in the world. As for the sourcing sustainably shoot, with inspiration from photographer Laura Allard Fleischl, I will be looking to photograph in second hand stores, flea markets and charity shops. Throughout my experimentation I discovered a new appreciation for film photography so, I have decided that this would be the perfect shoot to photograph in film. Having taken many photos in film I thought they would be perfect to use on the social media platforms also.
