A New Stage of Life

I have finished University, and I am almost a Graduate! Hooray! So you ask, why has it been so long? Well, I have come to apologise, as my last year at Staffs Uni was very full-on and so I haven't had any spare time for blogging, only quick tweets here and there! However, I feel that I can happily say that I put all of the effort I possibly could have into my final projects (Very little sleep and very very little play!) and I can not wait for the Degree Show (The opening is on Friday 7th June - 6:30pm and it will be open until Saturday 15th June).

Here are a few examples of the work I have done in my final year:

*I must note that this was HAND CUT not laser cut

*I must note that this was HAND CUT not laser cut

So, as you can see I've been very busy! I am in the middle of perfecting and finishing my portfolio (pdf and print versions) so that I can get started in the real world! Wish me luck! Oh and find me on twitter at @sianysknitter as I am on there much more often! Please get in touch :-)

Happy New Year!

I'm sorry that I haven't blogged about the favourite designers yet, but with Christmas, Boxing Day, New Years, and the new project I have been working on, all going underway, I've been extra busy and distracted!

I am starting a new project based on Staffordshire Oatcakes, you see! Have you heard of them? Some people get mixed up with the Scottish oaty crackers, but these are more like oaty pancakes. They're really lovely, but; 1. They don't look all that appetising and 2. No-one out of Staffordshire seems to have heard of them!

Now, I am in my third and final year at university so I have been able to create and tailor the briefs that I work on to suit my portfolio's needs - which is great! So, I have initiated this self-authored brief:

a) To make the local Staffordshire Oatcake look more appealing to people outside of Staffordshire.
b) To get the local Staffordshire Oatcake recognised by people outside of Staffordshire.

This project will involve branding, packaging, logo design, name ideas for the brand identity, and I will be creating the identity for (it could be all or either of these); a cafe, a restaurant, and a bakery.

I have been looking at the old english language and the slang used in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, to give me ideas on the brand identity, for example, the Oatcake has picked up many nicknames through the years; The Woodcake, The Tunstall Tortilla, The Clay Suzette, and The Potteries Poppadom. These are going to be really fun to work with, and when it is finished I will post it up here and show it off!

For now, here is a brilliant (brilliantly informative - not designed!) website containing much of the history of The Potteries in pictures, and articles and stories... lots of photos showing the same spots, then and now. It's very interesting - take a look, here!

This is a spot I have walked past lots of times!

This is it now...

And this is it back in the 60s or 70s.
How much nicer did it look back then?!

 

I needed a web presence!

I already have a twitter account and a tumblr blog,
and I use both of them a lot but I haven't got a real space
for work in progress, design inspiration in particular
or for work that I have finished!

So here we go... I am a graphic design student
at Staffordshire University, in my third and final year.
I think the title "graphic design" is a very
loose term for what I do, and I find it hard to tell
graphic designapart from infographics,
print and illustration. I prefer to call it Visual Communication -
as a lot of others do - it sounds more friendly.

I will start by "blogging" about the designers, old and new,
that have inspired me and then I will move on to some of my
work in progress and portfolio pieces! I hope you will
like what to you see. Feel free to follow me on twitter or tumblr,
as I update them all the time! You can e-mail me
here or here if you have any questions, ideas - anything.