https://olivia-shaw.myportfolio.com/
Website update – Sustainable City guide
Homepage edit: I’ve added in the guide section where the ‘latest blog post’ section sits and pushed the blog section down.
On the guide page, I’ve added in a flipbook tool so that people can look through it as if it was a book.
Project Evaluation
Inspired by my trip to Asia in the summer of 2017, this is a project that I have explored thoroughly and spent 24/7 working on and as a result of, is now a way of life in which I intend on taking forward with me after university. I believe that the platform conveys the importance of making small steps towards a better future and highlights the significance that the fashion industry plays in this.
Areas in which I feel are particularly successful are the branding both online and within the physical city guide. The website is clear, easy to navigate and full of information. Social media platforms are updated on a daily/weekly basis and follow the strict schedule that I have planned out. Due to this my following is continuously increasing week by week, my engagement is improving, and my content style has developed. The sustainable city guide to Brighton is a pocket-sized guide, perfect for the first-time visitor that contains information key to behaving ethically within the city. The style of this guide fits within the branding that I have created and is a very important addition to the brand. I think this element of the project is what makes it stand out and will allow me to approach businesses with the idea to turn them into a product produced on a larger scale.
Areas in which I think I can improve on are my Instagram in particular. Initially I struggled making my Instagram page flow however now there is a clear style of image that is uploaded which makes the aesthetic strong. All social media channels link which also increases the reach and therefore success of my campaigns. An element in which I think I could improve on are the Tuesday tips (posted on Instagram stories each week) as they do not fit with the weekly edit and ‘In The News’ features. This is something that I will look to improve on after this projects deadline.
In addition, the bio is another area I need to re-assess. Through research and now having spent a full 3 months within the sustainable fashion industry I have come to realise that this section is very important and that key words to your brand/philosophy need to be here as people make a judgement within a matter of section before exiting your page. In the future I will re-do the highlights titles, removing any extra wording so that it is simple and even more concise.
Furthermore, the promotion of the guide could have be much better. I think that I needed to have been talking about it and creating awareness at least a week or two before I started too and that a few posts on my feed should have been made. However, to address this I am going to ensure that over the next 2 weeks I post images of the different businesses that I have used for it, explaining background information, my experience with the brand and why I chose to use them. This will both promote them and the guide and so should encounter the maximum coverage.
Overall I think that this project has been a success. From the extensive research that I have gained from AD394 and from the first 4 weeks of AD395, I have immersed myself in the sustainable fashion world and created a brand that represents exactly what it set out to do: creating discussions, providing solutions and overall promoting sustainability. I have met so many inspiring people, have learnt an unbelievable amount and I feel that as a result promote and discuss topics that are relevant, which creates a positive response from my audience which is 18-30 year olds.
Website update – Shop section
I’ve added in the water bottle and cotton buds.
Blog post written content: 6×6 Challenge
Images for post:
Written content:
Sustainability is a word that can often (in my opinion) feel rather overwhelming and sometimes, sort of – impossible (nothing is ever actually impossible). How is it that you can be completely sustainable when there are just so many things to take into consideration: not only do we need to think about how a material is grown, sent, used and disposed of, we also need to consider who is creating it. If a product isn’t made of a sustainable material but in buying it you support a smaller, local business, does this make it more ethical/acceptable to purchase it? I’d say it does!
Fashion is an industry that will always be both wanted and needed. It is an industry so large that no matter who you are, where you come from, how much money you earn or spend, it affects you. As of late, I have taken a particular interest in trying to think about how I source my clothes and the effect that purchasing them has on the planet and the people around me.
A few weeks ago I became aware of Lee Vosburgh’s Instagram account and stumbled across her amazing idea that is the 10×10 challenge. The campaigns take place in both spring and summer and are really simple: you wear 10 items (or 6 depending on the challenge) and wear the items across the same amount of days in different combinations. I was slightly late to the 10x10spring event at the end of March and so decided to start with 6 before joining the 10×10 in the summer. Taking part during the scheduled time also means that by using the hashtag 10x10challange you can be apart of the ever growing community of people that are engaging with the idea of capsule wardrobes!
Prior to the Monday I decided to take the advise stated on the worksheet (provided on Lee’s website) and look at my schedule and the weather. After this I then choose the following outfits to wear each day:
– Monday: Floral jumpsuit, white t-shirt.
– Tuesday: Black polka dot dress, black t-shirt.
– Wednesday: Denim dungarees, white t-shirt.
– Thursday: Floral jumpsuit black t-shirt.
– Friday: Denim dungarees, black t-shirt.
– Saturday: Black polka dot dress, white t-shirt
Here are a couple of the outfits that I wore throughout the week.
*insert images*
Now you’d think that by planning this all out that it would then make it easy and mean that there would be nothing else to consider, however, this being my first time at this meant that I hadn’t considered that by only choosing two t-shirts, I’d have to wash them every other day! This is definitely a lesson that I will not forget and an aspect that I will not fail to consider when planning the next challenge that I do. I also didn’t try on any of the outfits beforehand and so come the first day I realised that the jumpsuit was a lot more see-through than I’d originally thought (oops)! This ended up being great though and led to the outfit seen in the first image above where I’d decided to wear the t-shirt over the jumpsuit, tied in a knot. This ended up being my favourite look of the week and one I will definitely be wearing again!
Overall, I found that I spent a lot less time thinking about what to wear each morning which was great (I hate those ‘I have nothing to wear’ mornings with a passion) but that the washing machine was on twice as much as usual which is definitely not ideal. To avoid this in the future when I plan my 10×10 challenge, I will make sure to include at least 4 top, 2 full pieces that can be added too (jumpsuit or dress) and a pair of versatile bottoms. I didn’t include jackets or shoes and I don’t think I’ll include them next time as I know that this would be too difficult for me (I have a lot of jackets and shoes).
Thank you for spending your time reading this! Please feel to comment, like or share – I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Love,
Olivia
Shaw Swap – toothpaste shoot
Chosen image
Business card update.
After speaking with business tutors Martin and Mylinh I have decided that the original email address shopshaw@hotmail.com isn’t professional enough, therefore, I have used my domain name account with 1and1 and created info@shopshaw.co.uk which will redirect any emails to the Hotmail account.
Final business card
Social media content w/c 14th May
Feed posts
Tuesday tip
In The News
Weekly edit
Friday Follow
Shaw Swap
Caption:
Enamel (the bit that protects your teeth) is the hardest substance in the body. With that in mind, this weeks #ShawSwap is toothpaste!
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OK, so I have to be upfront and tell you that this was not the cheapest swap I’ve made, priced at £7.90 it was actually the most expensive. I am petrified of the dentist so religiously brush my teeth twice a day, and because of this before purchasing this product I researched it to make sure it was a product that I wanted to invest in.
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Key information: it is all-natural, non-toxic, made with coconut oil and with responsibly sourced ingredients. It contains important minerals such as calcium, potassium, magnesium and natural organic silica that are essential for remineralising teeth naturally.
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Once I finish it I’m planning on using the pot for a candle or maybe to store some moisturiser, who knows!
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Have any of you made any swaps worth trying?
Final Exhibition
Missing one sketchbook here as Mixam have messed up my order and haven’t delivered it. Overall I am happy and very proud of the work I have submitted and feel that this exhibition is clear, professional and inforamative.
Portfolio navigation
As I am printing my portfolio on A3 300gsm paper and placing into a box I have decided that I need to somehow signify how the user needs to navigate through it. As there is no bind, I think an arrow on the front page will help to ensure they know how to open it.
Initially, I tried a straight arrow pointing to the left like this:
But then I realised this could look like a logo and so I’ve decided to make is diagonal and face towards the left top-hand corner as this is a universal sign that I hope will signify that pages need to be opened from right to left! I’ve also shortened in so that my title doesn’t have to sit any further up the page.
Final design:
