I believe that low-stakes experimentation is an incredibly valuable pastime, and like many designers I find myself constantly sketching and doodling. I often merge these two pastimes, leading to a series of branding, typography, posters, and illustrations that allow me to experiment and be creative without putting in the investment that a full project would require.
(Note: these projects were made in the interests of experimentation only. All names, copyrights, and quotations are the rights of their respective owners.)
digital illustration
"She misplaced herself in the woods over and over,
until she knew by heart every way to get lost."
until she knew by heart every way to get lost."
Charlie Jane Anders, from All the Birds in the Sky
screenprint
During a particularly stressful semester, the phrase "This is fine. Nothing is on fire" could often be heard in the design classrooms. I turned it into a poster for a screen-printing workshop, and it now graces a corner of my workspace.
illustration
This series is a visual representation of my final semester at school, produced while I was hand-binding my print portfolios. The style is pulled from Jack Royle, who posts on instagram as @jackrdesign. I created this series as an homage to Jack's minimalist style, using his visual language to expand my own skills in minimalism and vector-based illustration.
typography
My main outlet for doodling is by setting typography, typically drawing from plays and songs for inspiration. Later I may turn these doodles into art print-style posters or graphics, developing skills that I can use in the creation of advertising.
brandmark study
As an exercise to improve my branding skills, I create logos for brands, stores, and groups that I am enjoying at the moment. I sketched these brandmarks during lectures and turned them into digital studies.
I try to incorporate some of the band or company's character into the brandmark; this makes it more of an interesting pastime than a simple logo-generating exercise. I make deliberate choices such as a lowercase j in AJR's initials, or a brutalist type treatment in Venice's logotype, which tie into the overall narrative.
illustration
"Make interesting mistakes, make amazing mistakes, make glorious and fantastic mistakes. Break rules. Leave the world more interesting for your being here. Make good art."
Neil Gaiman