[:en]My portfolio is a representation of myself. I have utilised Instagram, business cards, postcards, a website and both a physical and an online portfolio to create a strong individual presence. As I am interested in working for companies that strive to empower, inspire and help others I wanted to show this within all aspects of my visual representation. Ideally I would love to work for a company that uses the benefits of craft to conquer sustainability, however, I am also interested in working for a brand/organisation that supports a good cause i.e. anti bullying, providing creatives a ‘leg up’ and empowerment of the who need it. Due to my love of my grandmothers hand-me down craft skills and the idea of creating something beautiful from something old is a factor that really interests me currently and I want to spend my working life linking together the use of craft to conquer a number of issues, however, predominately sustainability. Below are both my final designs and inspirations to help me achieve my aesthetic.
Portfolio
My style is vibrant and bold. I wanted to use bright pink as I felt this represents me best. I am a bubbly Essex girl who is very interested in helping the environment and others around me in their time of need in a light hearted way. I am happy with my final designs and believe I have effectively represented myself through the vibrant colour scheme and youthful aesthetic. Fashion Revolution’s instagram has inspired me massively in the last couple of months and the urban feel of Molla Mills speaks to me which I have incorporated in my last two projects, thus, being my foundation for my final design.
Business Cards
Vista Print – Decent range of styles to choose from and reasonably priced. I have not gone for this service and am opting for Hello Print as I prefer the upload system better.
Hello Print – Range of styles and prices depending on which style you go for. I have ordered eco paper cards to keep within my strong interest in sustainability.
Brighton uni – Cheaper, however, not an actual business card printer but I like the aesthetic, my business cards have not turned up on time so I will be using these for the mean time.
Instagram Account
Over the last two years I have been adding to my uni account, keeping my peers and potential employers up to date with what I have been up to within my university journey. I have recently updated my logo in order to keep my aesthetic cohesive throughout all aspects of my work. My instagram account also shows my successes from my placement year. In todays society the use of social media to promote your work is a must as most people use the platforms regularly through-out the day. This is a huge amount of the worlds population on any one social media platform, all at one time, daily. Over the summer I will be creating more content for the site, elaborating on what I have been deeply inspired by during my final major project.
Website
I have chosen to go with WordPress to create my website and online portfolio as I have a background using the hosting site when working for my father. He is an SEO and marketing consultant and has a rich background in website developing and designing. Over the years he has taught me how to use the back end of WordPress and how best to use plugins, such as, slide revolution to create interactive content and WP Bakery page builder that allows the user to effectively create a page with a rich range of tools on hand to make the layout as professional as possible. I chose a theme from WordPress and added to it as I uploaded content. My father has been kind enough to buy my domain name and theme for my site. I made most of the site myself, building from the inspiration that the theme had given me. My father also helped me and gave me advise on how best to utilise WordPress to get the aesthetic I wanted. I used cloudflare to host my site.
https://www.wix.com/dashboard/426d1c53-12ea-4df2-956b-2d944e1b472c/home
I did begin to use Wix’s, however, I found it frustrating and thought it was wasting time when I have already got a confident understanding of WordPress. I found the site unhelpful and did not have the tools that the back end of WordPress has.
Inspiration and Reading
As I am interested in working for a craft company within their marketing teams I have been looking at their online presence to get a feel as to what aesthetic I need to create for myself in order to appeal to these companies. Bright, bold and vibrant colours are essential to grab someones attention, the use of an interactive website is also a must to draw visitors to the content. Bold and confident yet playful typography gives the aesthetic a light hearted feel with an urban street style aspect.
Bibliography –
https://www.pinterest.cl/pin/390476230187390877/
http://www.katiejonesknit.co.uk
http://www.fashionrevolution.org
https://craftivist-collective.com[:]
