ba2bpersonalbrandinglucysummers

[ba2bpersonalbrandinglucysummers]

Above is the link to my website and below is my evaluation of the project. 

This was a very interesting project that I found myself really getting into and also opening my eyes up to a lot of information that I really needed to know to better myself with personal branding. I feel like a lot of people don’t realise the importance of personal branding and what difference it can actually make to your work and development (I certainly hadn’t until after this project). Overall I felt this project was really positive for me and I worked hard at getting a lot of research done which included looking into a variety of things from what makes a good logo design to how to be a successful freelance designer. This gave me a lot of wide spread information that is really valuable for me. Creating the website was good too as I had never used Wix.com before so designing it was really fun and now has given me something I can use for the future. Personal branding has been something that’s been on my mind for a while now regardless, and this project really has given me a good kick start into thinking about where to head next on getting my name and work out there. Over the summer I really want to continue working on this in a various amount of ways, using social media platforms too like Instagram and Youtube. It even inspired me to create a new CV that I have sent off to various employers. Finally, what this project has inspired me to do the most is to really work and improve on my own personal style of illustration and animation; so that my work becomes more consistent and recognisable. I learnt from my research that having your own specific style is incredibly beneficial.

[ba2bpersonalbrandinglucysummers]

Week Seven Summary

I finished all deliverables and blog for this project last week. 

[ba2bpersonalbrandinglucysummers]

Week Six Summary

This week was great as I got everything finished!! I had done all my research and blog work in previous weeks, as well as logo and branding design, so this week was all about putting it all together. I made a really professional looking introduction in After Effects that I could put on the front of my showreel. I then edited my show reel together showcasing my best work and finished off my website. 

[ba2bpersonalbrandinglucysummers]

Website: Making of!!!!!!

Above are some screenshots that I took whilst making my website. I used the website Wix as that appeared to be the most popular within our course and seemed really easy to navigate and design. As I said in my previous posts I really wanted to go for that clean and minimalistic look, so I went with a very stylish template where I could have clear and crisp black and white text and a white background that really helped to make my work pop out. 

My home page includes some of my animation work, then I have the portfolio page where all my illustrations and animations are in tidy and organised galleries specific to the genre. Then I have a BIO and contact page where there is some information about myself and a way to contact me, as well as a location on google maps which was a really cool addition. 

As well as cleaning it all up on the web browser version, it was obviously important to make sure that the mobile addition worked too. So I designed that on the editor as shown on the last photo. I was really pleased with all this so published it and now is live! 

[ba2bpersonalbrandinglucysummers]

My final showreel

After putting all my work together, looking at other examples of showreels and also making a brand/logo and intro for myself, I started editing together my work on premiere. This is a mixed showcase mainly containing my 2nd year animation and illustration/design work, as well as just showing a couple of my favourite pieces from first year. I was really happy with the outcome and am going to be heading it on my website when I publish that. 

[ba2bpersonalbrandinglucysummers]

Good example of a showreel

I felt this was a really good example of somebody’s animation showreel. It gets off to a really strong start, showcasing their personal brand and logo in a really exciting way. The music is also very upbeat and has a good rhythm to put work together to. The images change really quickly which makes it look exciting but also gives you plenty of time to see what it is. It shows a really wide range of different animations and styles, showcasing a lot of skill and talent. It just shows so much work that is very visually appealing. 

[ba2bpersonalbrandinglucysummers]

Bad example of a showreel

Before I make my own showreel, it’s good to refresh my mind and look around at some different examples of people’s own showreels. I felt like this example above wasn’t that captivating. It really rushes through the work at the start, and there is way too much text to make it look exciting. You can’t really tell or see what he has been working on because of the weird ugly transitions. Also it really needs updating, this showreel is from 2011. It would be ideal to be making new showreels every year to keep it relevant and up to date in this fast pace world. 

[ba2bpersonalbrandinglucysummers]

This is my animated intro that I have created for my new showreel. This was really fun and quick to make but just really adds that professional touch to my showreel. Jake helped me create the particle animation in the background for that starry effect which I really liked. I added a gradient of two colours I liked and then added my logo. I wanted it to enter in a really fun animated way so we got some coding to give it that ease bounce as it zooms in. I then added text which was really simple and faded that in. Overall I was very pleased with this an am now about to edit my showreel which I am really excited to add this onto it.

[ba2bpersonalbrandinglucysummers]

Week Five Summary

This week has been really focused on logo design. I’ve been really happy with my progress this week and have now got closer to creating my branding. Now that I’ve got a solid logo, that gives me now two weeks to get all my showreel and website together. I feel like I’ve done a really good amount of research to know what I want to do now. My next step is to create an After Effects intro that I can use on my showreel so it gives it that professional touch. 

[ba2bpersonalbrandinglucysummers]

FINAL LOGO DESIGN FOR PERSONAL BRAND

[ba2bpersonalbrandinglucysummers]

These are the two logos I have come down to from my rough designs. I really wanted to go for a minimalistic black and white classy look with my logo, which works well with the italics and my initials. I was really happy with both of these. I created them in photoshop and then line traced and smoothed them out on adobe illustrator just to make sure they were as crisp and smooth as they could be. I am personally happier with the second one as I feel it stands out more and looks a lot more stylised. 

PEERS FEEDBACK:  “I prefer the second one, it’s tidier and sleeker. It looks a lot cleaner and smart. I feel it’s better proportioned to the first  one”

I definitely feel because of feedback and also my own personal preference I am going to go with the second one. 

NEXT STEP: My next step now is to work on a little into for my showreel, using my logo design. I want to create this within After Effects to give it that really professional and smart look. 

[ba2bpersonalbrandinglucysummers]

Another video created by Draw With Jazza where he discusses how to develop your own style. This is a really key element of becoming an artist in  your own right because you want to be recognisable in the industry and online. So this is something I do want to develop on as I progress on my skills. 

[ba2bpersonalbrandinglucysummers]

Just another really helpful video I have watched by the youtube channel Draw with Jazza where he shares his wisdom and experience of working as a freelance animator/illustrator. It gives some really important advice for freelance such as don’t work for free etc which is crucial stuff to hear. 

[ba2bpersonalbrandinglucysummers]

Another really helpful article that has very similar ideas with this chart

[ba2bpersonalbrandinglucysummers]

Now I want to really focus on logo design. I’m gathering up some tips and research so I get some really good pointers before designing my own. Then I will work with that. This article had some really good advice that I have taken on board such as:

1. Focusing on simplicity

2. Think about where the logo will be used

3. Update the design over time

4. Think about  a ‘timeless’ design

5. The right process. 

[ba2bpersonalbrandinglucysummers]

Week Four Summary

This week really got kickstarted for me! I found this week’s lecture particularly helpful and especially the more intimate session we had in the afternoon with Mhari, where she made it really clear what we needed to do next. Even though it was the BBC project this week, I was really focused on branding while it was all fresh in mind. So I got a lot of work pumped out, especially research and now I feel solid that my feet are in the ground of what I need to do. I will continue to keep doing research, but now I have a lot behind me, I am really wanting to start designing a logo for my branding, putting my showreel together and setting up my website. So I will now start looking into logo design for my branding as well as looking at more research.

[ba2bpersonalbrandinglucysummers]

These are both a couple of really helpful videos I have watched about individuals kickstarting their careers as freelance designers. It was actually really inspiring and has encouraged me a lot to think about this career a lot more. The second video with Sam Taylor really talks about his brand as an illustrator and has a really distinctive style that gets his work recognised. I feel like this is definitely I want to work on to better my personal brand.