Author Archives: admin

Playing around with Illustrator yesterday I created a cute little fairy that my nieces will totally love. In fact I have created them one each to match their hair and eye tones, as well as favourite colour... I was so pleased with it, that I thought I'd give it a whirl, and turn myself into the homepage fairy for a week or so, after all it is my site. Although I will probably go back to my usual photo which is more in line with my website as a whole in a few weeks time. See what you think of the creative fairy.

At school in art lessons I was always told to come up with ten variations on a theme, choose my three best ideas, develop several ideas based on those ideas to get a final result, which I then had to work on, oh and to keep a notebook of my all my workings out and which artists I had looked at to get my ideas. I have to admit it was a very lengthy process... And when I started on the path of graphic design, I thought that this was what I had to do for every project and like before it was a very lengthy process... And so, to my present situation. The other day I was casually browsing the internet and came across a competition #tightbriefs on the Drum twitter feed in response to the new Ryanair advert. Come up with a design that shows "how you would advertise a budget airline" (full article here) have your submission in by midnight. And here's what I cam up with in about half an hour. What I learned about this first dabble in the graphic design competition world is that my speed has really picked up. I am under no illusion that I will win, but with this entry I have proved to myself that I can turn around a project in a restricted time frame with no trouble - and this is something I wouldn't have been able to do three years ago. I'm really quite pleased with myself for submitting this for two reasons. One, I have proved to myself that I can turn around a task efficiently when called upon and two, I would never have been able to even submit anything as I did not have the confidence in my abilities to ever hit upload a few years ago. This is all down to gaining that all important design experience. Yes, every designer dreams of being able to complete the Sistine Chapel ceiling on a Mac, with idea generation and time to fulfill the task to the best of their capabilities. But what I have learned along the way is that sometimes speed is of the essence and getting something down on paper is often half the battle.

Two of my favourite things in the whole world are film and graphic design, (there are of course other wondrous delights like profiteroles and sunbathing that could be classed as favourite things, but I won't go into that...). I came across this article whilst browsing the always fantastic Creative Review site and it got me thinking. How exactly would you get into this profession, it looks and sounds incredibly awesome. One day you're writing a blog (ok, got that bit) and the next (well not quite the next) Wes Anderson gives you a call asking whether or not you want to design for his next film. Yes please! I often feel that graphic design is an overlooked skill and art form, sometimes considered to be an after thought and something that can be done by almost anyone who has Photoshop. It is very true, there are a wide range of software packages out there and are readily available, but one quote that stood out for me was this one by Annie Atkins, lead graphic designer on the recent Wes Anderson film "The Grand Budapest Hotel:"

You're not always designing for the camera: much of this work will never be seen by a cinema audience, but still you have to create an atmosphere and a world for the actors to work their magic in.

This sums up what being a graphic designer means to me. Graphic designers provide the attention to detail that makes a scene complete. Whether it's your corporate branding or a submission to win business or an exhibition stand or web presence, we set the scene of expectation for the recipient. First impressions count and style can very much add to the substance. It's great to see that graphic design plays an important part in the world of film. Just think of all the newspapers characters read, or train tickets or notebooks the characters carry, I was blown away by the graphic design section on the Harry Potter Studio tour. Image really is everything... For now though, I think I'll stick with freelancing for small businesses, but you never know in years to come I may be designing for the stars! http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2014/march/grand-budapest-hotel

When it comes around to Friday and somebody mentions "that Friday feeling" I always think of this and then I want a Crunchie.  What is it about clever marketing campaigns, and how years after the release you can still hum the tune and feel inclined to make a purchase? I wish I could come up with something like that. (My mum thinks the person who came up with "more reasons to shop at Morrisons" was also some kind of genius.) It's very clever stuff. It's all about having a plan. And it's all about not being like the contestants on The Apprentice. So next time you have "that Friday feeling" rather than feeling like you want to sneak off from work a bit early to miss the traffic, feel like "wahey, I want to go ride on a roller coaster of a weekend, throw some shapes to some Pointer Sisters and eat a Crunchie." It sets you up for the weekend and it's what those marketing gurus were planning for all along.

A while back, I was invited to pitch for a graphic design competition. I was sent a brief, and request to create an infographic about "graphic design process." For those of you that know me well, you'll know that I do love an infographic! Here is what I produced... I am a big believer in the bit before the actual design part takes place - the planning! I definitely have the "let's think about this" frame of mind before diving in. In my opinion, this saves time in the long run as there is some method to the madness, supported by background research. Once this is all done and dusted, then comes the brain storming part (which I truly LOVE!) where I can come up with the weirdest and wonderfulest thoughts, and filter out accordingly. Some clients like some things, others not so much so understanding your target audience is key! Once I've sorted out the awesome thoughts from the not so very awesome, I get cracking on actually designing something... Come up with a few suggestions, then send them over to let the client have a look, and fingers, toes and legs crossed they go for one... So that's my process, with an offthewallcreative branded infographic to match. What do you think?

Goodness gracious me! Here comes another sporadic blog post all the way from my dining room. I have been updating my website of late and so I thought that I would write a little note saying so. Since my first www.offthewallcreative.co.uk site built back in 2008 on good old Dreamweaver, my graphic design portfolio (and website) has developed beyond all recognition, and my skills and confidence have sky rocketed! With my portfolio not only covering offline print projects, but designing for web on desktop, tablet and mobile responsive sites - but even apps! The projects on show within this portfolio are predominantly print based, with a few web ideas thrown in for good measure. I've learned a lot along the way from my first steps at Curly Kale to my slightly larger ones in my current role, and have branched into the world of marketing too. It's all contributing to the tapestry of my artistic life... Have a look through the updated portfolio - and see what you think!