tompriestleyunit16

[tompriestleyunit16]

Project Evaluation

This brief asked us to setup, promote and maintain a presence on social media as photographers. To do this we were to design a logo and name for ourselves as professionals and then use that material to get pages and profiles up and running on multiple social media sights, like Facebook and Behance. The process was relatively clear for this project, First we spent several days brain storming potential ideas and looking for inspiration to help us design logos / brands to ultimately represent the work we produce in the future. Doing this is an important part of any artists career as it marks the transition from amateur to professionalism. We learnt and researched extensively into why having a professional presence online is so beneficial, both in its own right and to differentiate from your own personal presence on the web.

Behance - https://www.behance.net/tom1936e8a0

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TomPriestleyPhoto/

While I'm in the initial stages of fully establishing a presence online I just needed a place to put all the work I have done so far throughout college. At the moment that is what my portfolio consists of with a few additional extras from shoots & work I have conducted in my own time, purely for experimental purposes, moving into light graphic design and image composition. The entire portfolio as a whole consists a lot of different types and styles of work simply because thats what I have produced as a result of the course curriculum.

Projects: Fashion editorial x Art Movement 

This piece came about as a result of doing a commercially orientated project, learning about concepts within the wider art world as well as photographic genres, e.g. fine art, commerce etc. We were tasked with combining an art movement and a genre to create a final project. I chose to draw inspiration from cubism / image composition techniques and implement them for a commercial product. The result was the initial part of a series I plan to move on to create in the future. This was my first attempt at working with fashion as well as showcasing my work in this kind if format (something I did not have to do) It shows initiative and an ability to think outside the box to meet a brief and this is why I included it in my portfolio

NYC Graphic Design Experimentation

As the name might suggest this project is something on the side I want to look into more as I progress. Im using this project to see the process I go through when I look back on it in the future, using trial and error to see how I can present my images in a more imaginative way.

Montana Advertisement

First piece of work produced for a real client, additionally might be the most complex studio based assignment I have completed so far. The increased level of planning and preparation paid off to create a real competitively professional piece of material. After extensive post production the single image is clean and clear, showing my ability to edit and execute more complex shoots in my portfolio.

Image Composition Experimentation & Golf Wang Mock up Shoot

My most recent two projects posted to Behance were formed from a single photoshoot. For a while I have known that fashion photography is a primary interest and I would like to get more into it during university. For this reason, and my lack of experience in the area, I did a shoot on the premise of it being for an editorial covering musician Tyler the Creator’s newly founded brand Golf Wang specifically referencing his newest collection, Golf le Fleur. I wanted to be as in sync with the brands identity as possible ensuring some level of authenticity. Bright vibrant colours and childlike euphoric energy play a huge part in their advertising campaigns. Additionally the brand is orientated towards summer and warmer environments. Unfortunately I was unable to meet all of that criteria and instead opted to focus on the slightly grungy street style society that the products are enveloped into by people that wear the brand every day, as well as a focus on the colour / palette of the images which for this shoot was green. I further built on previous experience with experimental image composition to create a couple contemporary designs combining several different types of shop into one piece. I plan to further use material in this shoot and work in contextualising images to see how they turn out. I wanted to include this work in my portfolio mainly because of its fashion orientation but also because it displays my ability to shoot on location, adapting and overcoming issues, shoot planning and model coordination.

Self Promotion 

For this stage of the project I opted to use Facebook, Behance and Instagram as they're the most widely used, image orientated or accommodating social medias. Facebook has a huge ability to reach billions of people around the world, its worth having an account just for the increased exposure you'll get from this fact alone, additionally Facebook has great capabilities to see and analyse your pages audience, aiding you with when and how to advertise yourself, and also getting info on things like your age demographic to cater contents towards certain people. Behance is a place strictly for professionals, I like to think Behance is a digital way of networking as you would through jobs within the creative industry, just done online. Finally I used Instagram for its heavy focus animate based content and easy UI, again helping me reach as many potential customers as possible.

Final Logo:

What was the inspiration?

I always wanted to prioritise cleanliness and clean lines, Something that would be recognisable and as understandable wether its blown up on a wall or a single app tile on a smartphone, much like the twitter and Instagram logos of today.

What does it say about you?

Often logos have connotations associated to them thanks to the inclusion of animals or geometric designs / symbols within a logo. I do not have that element as I have simply gone for my initials. That being said the colours in my logo are bound to give an instant impression on any potential customers. Even though I went out of my way to maintain a sleek, modern and neutral appearance for my logo, the dark greys and silvers may give the impression my work contains elements of B&W, architecture work or perhaps fine art. Something worth also noting is the influence my logos style takes from the automotive industry, especially an old racing fuel brand named 76 which shares the same sleek and italic shape. This was not entirely on purpose but thankfully the logos are distant enough to avoid any connotations crossing over into my business from the motorsport industry.

How did you ensure your social media was optimised for your campaign?

I wanted to ensure that only my best work or work that shows a range of applicable skills had been posted before beginning any promotion to ensure I wouldn't feel the need to take it down again six months down the line. I also sorted out all my privacy settings and contact information as well as ensuring there was as little as possible connection to my personal accounts as possible.

Evaluating my Campaign

Over the past week or so I have accumulated 20 likes on my Facebook page and numerous views / appreciations on Bechance. I am yet to post a huge amount of my Facebook page due to issues I have been having with the optimum file size and quality of my content and I do not wish to post images unless they are the best quality they can possibly be. That being said I have posted and the figures can be seen above.

I learned that so far my audience is whats known as “organic”. This means that I have not yet paid for any promotion on Facebook and follows I have gained were from my friends already on Facebook or people who came across the page of their own accord.

I have had much more feedback on Behance mainly because I have posted a great deal more on that platform. In a way that does seem more significant to me as the feedback is coming from industry professionals. This has taught me that although I should aim to reach as many people as possible using all platforms, different platforms give me access to different types of audiences and I may want to think about prioritising them to benefit my work and opportunities down the line.

As of right this minute my overall campaign hasn't been entirely successful and I wouldn't say my social media is completely up and running. This is mainly due to the reason I mentioned above. In many ways I have always been my biggest critic and in some ways a perfectionist so If I'm going to post I want the content to be absolutely perfect. I intend to figure out the best way and format to post content to Facebook ASAP and then finish establishing my online presence. In the mean time I will continue to use Bechance and grow my page there. Other than sorting this issue out in the future I want to try more interaction with my following, but I will probably leave this until my page has grown considerably more as this will allow me to taylor content to my audience encouraging more success and interaction with my page.

[tompriestleyunit16]

Logo Development 

Steps 1 through 5:

Step 1 - Initial Idea generation, very brief ideas sprung from looking at other logos within the industry (heavy focus on shutters & apertures, knew I needed to avoid this). Practise using InDesign shapes and text to get me up to speed.

Step 2 - Real large scale brain storming. Quickly Identified I wanted to incorporate my initials into the company name / brand logo. Partly for personalisation reasons but also partly the lack of company names that I liked. Could probably come up with a full name but I wanted to avoid creating and posting under a company name/ identity I wasn't 100% happy with. While TP is far from the most imaginative thing in the world, it is clean and clear. Mainly experimented with font here as opposed to shape after drafting two A4 sheets worth of conceptual designs. Also wanted to experiment with an inverted text design as seen with the blue circle but that was quickly identified as a non starter for now. Arrived at the idea of doing the letters together to get a smoother and more simplistic design. At the later stages of this part after a few minor tweaks altering the original font, I had my basic shape, now I just needed a font and colour.

Step 3 - Experimentation with colour, additionally I began to think about the idea of implementing a three dimensional effect simply by duplicating the shape and moving it slightly. I found that to make this look right the colour needed to be something bland as to not distract the eye from the main piece, additionally the effect needed to be very slight in size ensuring the logo just gets a subtle little upgrade. In terms of colour I always had in the back of my mind I wanted a a logo that wouldn't age. Obviously colour plays a huge role in that. I found that whatever I went for the the best formula was to have a darker colour as the outline, it both looked more natural and ensures the logo would stand out on any colour page.

Step 4 - I settled on a silver/very light blue tint for the inside of my logo with a strong dark navy (importantly not black) for the outline. I like this colour scheme for its ability to remain neutral and sleek. It both looks modern and clean, enkeeping with the clean bright white trends in the likes of fashion and interior design, as well as this the logo is resistant to ageing at the same time thanks to the neutrality of the colours used. I now essentially had the choice of the two designs you see on the image above, a lighter tertiary colour grey as the shadow/3D effect or use the same navy colour as my outline already, creating the effect that the right hand side of the letters is thicker.

Step 5 - As you can see I went for the later as ultimately I knew that the simpler my logo is the more effective it would be and sticking with just two colours significantly contributes to the texts simplicity.

[tompriestleyunit16]

Unique Selling Point (USP)

A USP should be something that is exclusive to you, your brand or your company, its what makes you stand out from the competition. Examples can include slogans, marketing techniques or even the products you endorse/sell. A few examples for photographers potential USP could be:

- Company branding 

- where and how you chose to publish your work

- Personal style

- Specialising in a specific field (e.g. marine biological studies)

- Level of consistency with themes and frequency of posting 

- Size and scale of the work you do/pieces you create.

Identifying my own USP?

I may not be the most skilled but I like to think I am the most committed to putting in the graft to finish a piece (can sometimes conflict with time restraints) I like to work on the fly and enjoy being thrown in at the deep end, adapting and overcoming challenges as i go.

What is your inspiration / rational?

I know I draw inspiration from the likes of Joel Meyerowitz and Bruce Davidson with regards to how i favour raw and real images, but I also get inspired by the likes of JW Anderson and Virgil Abloh both in terms of their work i fashion and indeed design, leading me to albs take an interest in graphic design, specifically the way in which I can present my images, as opposed to having them on their own.

Style and Creativity

I don't feel what i mentioned above has enough substance to be defined as my style, I know of certain aesthetics i like and tend to lean towards (mid 90s colour film and distortion) but I am also aware that may very well be a subconscious trend and is subject to change, I still need tine to discover my person style.

What can you do to create and market yourself and your company as a brand?

Initially establish an image and logo to go with the name, something thats more recognisable than a word or two. Then I think the second best way to grow a brand is to post consistently, trying as hard as you can to always be current so you never slip to the back of peoples mind. Look at brands like Highsnobiety and LadBible, They post content a few times a day and only a few days ago Highsnobiety hit two million followers.

[tompriestleyunit16]

Guerrilla Marketing

Guerrilla Marketing is a unique form of advertising that often incorporates creative, ‘outside the box’ art work to ensure the pieces audience remember the adverts and the message/ company behind them. The pieces are often showcased on a large scale like on the side of vans or busses as opposed to in leaflets being handed out on the street allowing the work to be big and bold, as well as reach a large audience without costing a huge amount, ideal for small or start up businesses in some cases.

Potential ideas for promoting a photography exhibition with a budget of 10k

- Interactive billboards on the street (Heavily reliant on people engaging with them to be effective)

- creative a hashtag to get a digital movement going (Doesn't guarantee people will attend the exhibition but generating hype is definitely a plus)

- Ads on busses (People may not get the relevant information needed from a moving ad in time? Also wouldn't typically expect an exhibition ad on a bus so would need to really catch the publics eye, perhaps look at digital billboard installation on busses much like in Piccadilly Circus?)

- Online advertisements through social media (Works well and would be able to reach a lot of people with that kind of budget but again doesn't guarantee people will attend the event

- Turn the exhibit into an event, add live music etc and also promote that? would sit better with more people?

Group Task: Promo ideas with a budget of 200 pounds

Instagram advertisements- Instagram adverts are good for advertising, however people tend to not always look at these Facebook advertisements- Facebook is a strong platform for advertising and promoting work Posters around the local area - Everyone will see these when walking around so this would benefit the exhibition and also because it is local people will know the area Charity - Donating the cause to charity will gain more interest Reverse Graffiti - a creative and eye catching way of gaining interest Magazines with examples of the work inside and short description.- dependent on the target audience this will be good to talk about the work that is being shown QR codes - Increases accessibility

[tompriestleyunit16]

Online identity and Privacy

In the modern age society likes to have quick and easy access to things, especially where the internet is concerned. For that reason artists in the creative industry can't afford to not utilise the web and the likes of social media to promote themselves. Theres nothing wrong with this but it does draw into question just how much about yourself and your work you should disclose to the world.

What is the difference between private and public information?

Private information are details that relate directly to you and have nothing to do with your career as a creative or things that would be best if only you knew. Examples include address, personal mobile numbers or email accounts, PIN numbers, ID (passport/driving license) and personal social media accounts. Public is anything else you don't mind the whole world finding out, work email/telephone, business address, company name etc.

Why is it important to keep your private life private?

As a professional you need to maintain a positive reputation and image in the working world so potential customers have no reason to not hire you, posting photos of you and your mates in a bar may disagree with some of your audience and could result in less business. Additionally if a customer isn't happy with you as a business you wouldn't want that person to nesscerily know where you live or be able to drag your family/friends into the issue.

Why is it important to have a public profile?

Primarily for outreach reasons, the more people see your work the more likely they are to hire you or at least show their friends/colleagues your work. Essentially the more people see your content the more likely you are to earn business  and therefore a living.

What measure can you take to keep your private life private?

Almost all online spaces that allow you to have an account now have the option to restrict access to it, for example Instagram private function means people cannot see what you post unless you allow them to, letting you have a selective following.

Why is it important to be selective with your portfolio images when applying for a job or university?

Portfolios are all about balance. You want to showcase your broad range of skills and abilities while at the same time keeping to a concise theme or narrative. Additionally you want to tailor your content you chose to include to the position you're applying for but always be mindful not to get too specific. For example a fashion photography course at UAL might want to see an element of creativity but that can be shown in any type of photography, not necessarily just fashion shoots with a twist.

[tompriestleyunit16]

Humans of New York with Brandon Stanton

Humans of New York is a website and now best selling book that documents and showcases peoples stories from all around the world. Set up and still run to this day by Brandon Stanton he has said that all he is doing is walking around having conversations with people, the photography comes secondary and he is never as official as a journalist, its more relaxed and natural mainly due to his calm and genuinely interested/considerate personality. The idea of his work being essentially very intimate conversations with people is the very brand identity of HoNY and I think that comes across when watching or reading the interviews. 

In a way that is also Stanton’s USP, his ability to get people to open up to him on the street, achieving a high level of intimacy in a very short amount of time, giving his audience an insight into the person life that they would otherwise only get access to through actually knowing them. Stanton believes he has approached over ten thousand people at this stage in his career so its clear his ability didn't come over night and required plenty of practise, he know believes its nothing to do with the words you use, its all about the “energy you give off”. Both verbal and psychical actions can contribute to this, for instance he says he never approaches from behind (which catch person off guard/startle them), he crouches down to draw away from his 6′4 imposing figure to avoid intimidation and speaks in a slightly higher pitch than he usually might.

HoNY’s Facebook page is curated in a way that emphasises the story telling aspects of the project. With the platform being digitalised a lot of the interviews use videos instead of photographs and text to further bridge the gap between the audience and the subject. Additionally the posts often include a comment that encourages discussion surround that particular interview and the issues raised in it. After only scrolling through for a maximum of 5 minutes I found real intellectual conversations in the posts comments section about abuse in catholic schools, the legitimacy of schizophrenia and whether or not it is possible to act emphatically on a purely intellectual basis, without feeling it inside yourself.

[tompriestleyunit16]

Social Media

Social Media can be defined as websites that allow an individual to create and share content with a worldwide community. Below are some of the most popular sites and their characteristics.

Instagram:

Users - 800M

Arguably the most image - based platform of them all, Instagram was designed for image makers regardless of whether its Nick Knight or your gran. People post pictures on Instagram of what they find to be pretty or entertaining or simply just because they like it. Instagram is a great way for photographers to give people an inside into their life, as well as their work depending on how far you want to go with it. The variation in images and content on Instagram is so unbelievably diverse, primarily because of its simplistic UI allowing people of any age to use it with ease. A big part of that is being able to view anyones posts all together in a continuos grid, acting if you like as a potentially never ending, giant mood board / portfolio for photographers. Thanks to the millions of viewers Instagram is also a great place to get inspiration from people from all walks of life, all around the globe.

Capabilities for this platform include: 

- A personal & Business mode depending on what you want to use it for

- Paid and unpaid promotion

- Direct messages and 24 hour, time bound content

- audience analytics 

- Being able to run multiple profiles with ease from one device.

Despite being created to share images, Instagram does have some limitations when it comes to file size and shape when uploading, this is to decrease loading times for customers but it can sometimes inhibit creators for posting work if its size doesn't conform to Instagram’s rules. All of that being said, despite the fact Instagram has been around since 2010 its still on the up and sees the constant addition and evolution of subcultures connecting through the ‘gram and should be utilised by all image makers for sure.

 Linkedin

Users - 467M

Linkedin is an exclusively professional space for people to build and share their brand / business identity with the ultimate goal of generating interest and getting new clients. For me its always seemed less of a social media than it is the business equivalent of confused.com. There isn't many ways for users to interact with each other and the general consensus these days its that Linkedin is on its last legs, with modern business owners moving into sites with more social, laid back aspects to keep within the times and to cease the ‘chilled out’ mood the likes of Instagram have over Linkedin which would ultimately reflect on the business as a whole. Saying that the site does have a fairly good system of creating and maintaining a portfolio and its often easy to get professional services as the site is 18+ only reducing the likelihood of fake accounts and non business accounts etc.

Facebook

Users - 2.07B

Facebook is arguably the first of its kind in terms of worldwide domination / use. Its said that about 1/3 of the world population has a Facebook account. The site started as a platform for users to create a personal profile and add and interact with their friends, creating their own little social bubble as they do in real life, just online. Later as the site evolved Facebook added business capabilities to make it what it is today, a swarm of advertising and god knows how many business accounts and pages, competing for likes and shares. As a result of this and the fact its been around since 2004 its the biggest of its kind by some margin, meaning the main advantage of FB is that you can reach so many people with your advertising, obviously increasing the chances of you getting customers. It could be said that that is also your biggest challenge, making your page stand out from the rest in order to gain a following, made difficult by the shear amount of users with the same aim.

As far as i’m aware there’s no reason for people to start dropping off from Facebook unless something new and fresh takes us all by storm some time soon. Its definitely something for a professional photographer to get into as a start point at least, just ensure that your page / account looks professional and the content you post reflects that. A business account shouldn't be what you use to like your aunts baby picture or tag your friends in videos, differentiate from business and personal and you'll be fine.

YouTube

Users - 1B

YouTube is certainly an important tool for anyone but the site is centered around the sharing of video content as opposed to still imagery. Many photographers use the platform to show BTS content and additionally let the audience peak a little further into the artists lives than they usually might allow on other social media which can be great for building relationships and rapport with clients. It also has great advertising capabilities for you to get yourself out there and additionally earn revenue from adverts on your own content (All of your own videos will be one continuous advert for yourself so having someone else’s at the start of a video to earn you extra money wont hurt)

All of that being said it can be a lot of extra work to take time to put these videos together in post production if you want to make them any good, be careful not to give yourself too much to do. Additionally in the last 6 or so months its been said that YouTube doesn't do enough to support its users and their creativity on the platform, resulting in a bad taste in everyone's month and the relationship a little delicate, chances are this would never effect you as a photographer but if you wanted to put more time into video content its something to think about.

tumblr

Users - 30 - 50M (estimated)

The impression I have always had of tumblr is that its essentially revolved around any kind of visual art, still imagery, animation, short films, stop motion, etc etc. I would say its main strength is how easy it can be to discover new content and artists to draw inspiration from but on the flip side tumblr has plummeted in monthly active users over the last two years ans appears to be dying out.

Twitter

Users - 330M

Unlike the vast majority of social media I have already looked at, twitter is the only one that seems to primarily focussed on text based posts. There are limits to image and video content posting and as a result twitter seems to have evolved into a place for people to voice their opinions on anything from comical videos to political scandals since its launch in 2006. For this reason twitter is useful for sharing BTS content for a photographer but not so much in terms of showcasing your work thanks to the 4 photo per post restrictions.

[tompriestleyunit16]

Vallee Duhamel

Profile Picture - Studio shot of both Siblings. Conveys professionalism and artistic flare. Links to the almost eerier style of their workings.

About Me - Probably the most extensive about me section I have found so far. Split up into sections, the normal ‘about’ part, previous clients and then awards she has won. By divine the sections it gives her more space to go into detail in all three parts. The about section is where we learn that Vallee is actually a studio set up by the Duhamel siblings, Julien & Eve. Then goes on to elaborate on the three focus choices. The remaining two sections are simply lists of factual info about the studio.

Focus - Listed as: Art Direction, Advertising, Graphic Design. Probably the most broad three focus choices I have seen, especially Art Direction and Advertising. This is likely to be because this Behance is representing a studio as opposed to a singular individual, allowing more broad specialities to be provided.

On The Web - Links to twitter, Facebook, Vimeo and tumblr. Link to video reflects motion picture speciality mention in a bout section. Tumblr seems to be only used to post small scale, studio based animation. Facebook and twitter seem to operate very similarly and, again BTS info interaction with audience on both platforms. One thing I found for this studio is that they seem to have different logos / profile pictures for each social media. This didn't effect my ability to find the pages particularly but does reflect a certain amount of uncertainty bordering on unprofessionalism, something you'd hope to avoid as a potential customer.

[tompriestleyunit16]

Chris Labrooy

Profile Picture - Professional portrait, well lit, set in a studio / creative environment which immediately starts to give you ideas / connotations about what the artist is all about. Profile picture actually confirms with his style of work, bright, clean lines and colours with an overall sense of simplicity.

About Me - No bio has been given only an email address and location, perhaps because this artists doesn't view an about me section on his portfolio as appropriate?

Focus - Listed as: Illustration, typography and Digital art. Something with this artist I noticed (at least when looking at content posted on his Behance) is that he seems to have a fairly obvious route of development within his work which essentially displays the typography was somewhat of a starting point and from that he has applied his manipulation skills to real life inanimate objects like cars. Obviously theres no reason why this artist shouldn't return to typography and it would be unrealistic to think that typography is now behind Labrooy but it might be something to consider that every creative persons style and work change in various ways. Its important to alter your business / portfolio information to keep up with those changes.

On The Web - Links to twitter, Facebook and tumblr. As far as i can tell this artist essentially uses tumblr as a substitute for instagram. Personally I don't think thats the best decision simply because I think most people find Instagrams UI more user friendly hence why it has a vast amount for users than tumblr. Facebook again operates as a BTS platform as I have seen many times now, sharing other peoples work, promoting interviews involving the artist etc. twitter appeared to be the most personal of them all, interacting in conversations with friends / other creatives and using humour etc equates to a more informal enviroment.

[tompriestleyunit16]

Ahmed Klink

Profile Picture - Professional portrait done in studio. B&W tonal range conveys artist / contemporary mood. The way the shot is composed it could well be a shot of one of his subjects but we are lead to believe its the artist.

About Me - Again this artist talks about himself in the third person. Currently unsure as to why this is might be, likely because it might sound more professional? Goes to list some of the artists experience and range in an informal manor, consisting of award winning, celebrity, lifestyle imagery. Continues to mention photographic achievements and his customer base, dropping high profile names like Adidas and Converse. The bio then goes on to list notable achievements outside of the creative industry that are likely to make him memorable and unique, like a PHD in biomedical engineering, for example.

Focus - Listed as: Photography, Film and Fashion. Well selected three focuses and that reflected within his work. This is important to reassure your potential clients / audience that you will remain true to your style and that you haven't just chosen three focuses at random.

On The Web - Only links to twitter and Facebook. Was surprised there’s no Instagram available considering the age / content style of the artist, or at least the impression his Behance gives off. Facebook consisted of BTS type info. for example casting calls and opinions on other peoples work as well as some commentary on his own shoots / projects. Twitter followed much the same suit but wasn't posted on as regularly likely due to the fact that Facebook has a larger outreach and capabilities that allow an artist to alter his influence / presence on the site.

[tompriestleyunit16]

Stijn Hoekstra

Profile Picture - Fairly informal B&W portrait of the artist. Interesting that so far all artists have chosen to use a portrait of themselves as opposed to a personal logo. Perhaps this is where Behance’s social media, and profession business aspects become slightly blurred/merged.

About Me - Chose to leave this section totally blank, could be because he simply uses the site for portfolio purposes and leaves getting clients to other online platforms?

Focus - Listed as: Photography, Digital Photography, Photo Journalism. Not the best use of your three focusses as they are all too similar to one-another. Needs to branch out more or pick one focus.

On the Web - Only links Behance to his Instagram, seems to post more frequently on there due to gaps in his content when comparing Instagram to enhance. This could also be explained as him only putting project work / best work up on Behance. Lack of other web presences indicates his income isn't dependant on his photography. Interesting to see varying levels of professionalism exerted by users as I research Behance more. 

[tompriestleyunit16]

Logo Design

The Principles:

1. Simplicity (K.I.S.S)

Logos have to be simple for quick recognisability. Shape and colour association works wonders in the human mind. Logo needs to look good at 0.9cm x 0.9xm ( the size of an app icon )

2. Recognisable

Always aim to make your logo as easy to intemperate and familiarise yourself with as possible, mush like how people can recognise the McDonalds “M” from hundred of meters away, without having to read anything at all you know exactly what it is and what you'll be getting there. 

3. Memorable

Again much like the McDonalds M you won't forget it. Its yellow and red design make it sick out both literally and in your brain because its not like anything else you've ever seen before. Granted a large part of having a memorable logo is it standing the test of time, of course the more you see something the more likely you are to remember it but by making a logo thats as unique as possible you'll be helping the process.

4. Flexible

A logo that will work anywhere from a huge billboard, a shop window, an app front or a post sized stamp is what always desired by companies around the world.  It can take years to perfect this (look at coca cola) but having a logo that requires no alteration wherever its put both saves money and time, and contributes to your brand identity and continuity.

5. Timeless

Try to avoid trends when making your logo. You want a logo to be as relevant and current as possible both now and in 20 years time. The most recent design trend thats now on its way out for example is the hipster-esc american vintage dinner, old stamp kind of designs. If your logo is attached to a time period it will effect the amount and type of clients you receive.

[tompriestleyunit16]

Social Media Optimization

- S.M.O

Tips for social media use.

Appropriate content

Promotion

Regular updates / uploads (consistency)

Contact information available

Using all platforms simultaneously

Use of hashtags

Link your accounts

Mainly to save time, time is money in photography industry. 1 post can go out to potentially 5/6 social media’s.

Use hashtags to stay on trend

Gives you the widest reach and keeps your content relevant and current with whatever the world is talking about

Schedule posts

Post your content at certain times in the day to ensure to get the biggest audience (8/9 am, lunchtime, Sunday evenings) all good. (Friday and Saturday night not good nor is working hours as people are occupied with going out or being at work etc)

Drip feed your content

Don’t upload all your work at a time, giving little bits both builds hype around your work and gives you content to give out. ( takes a second to post content but can take weeks to create content)

Be active and responsive

Interact with others to stay current and keep yourself in the public eye. Be responsive as now customers can view your typical reply times so it’s important not to keep your customers waiting.

Include a call to action

This simply means trying to get your audience to interact with a post of yours rather than see it and simply scroll past. Engage with your clientele, ask them a question, what do you think? For example. Giveaways, polls, asking people to comment.

Share the love

Follow other people and other peoples work, keep an upbeat tone across the board on your comments and give off a good vibe to reflect on your brand

Brand consistency

Once you have identified a brand it’s important to keep it the same and also recognisable, typeface consistency etc. People scroll through social media very quickly and if you are not recognisable there’s every chance your audience will breeze past you

Know your audience

Cater yourself and your work towards your audience and what they might enjoy. Use the likes of Facebook analytics to see your audiences age groups, gender, location etc.

[tompriestleyunit16]

Jota STD

Profile Picture - Less professional candid portrait of himself. Very informal and likely taken by a mate. Shows he is an independent creator and the work posted is his creation (not necessarily alone). Picture does not convey any kind of brand or identity

About me - Fairly sparse about me section, states where he is based, his occupation as “Designer” and the name of his personal brand, listed as “Jota. Design .93″. Seems slightly confusing the brand name would be listed in the about me section, especially as it is so similar to his username/ real name?

Focus - Listed as: Graphic Design, Branding, Print Design. 3 different focuses combined gives people clear idea of his specialty. See Mike Campau post for why artists use as many focuses (3) as possible.

On the Web - Behance account not linked to any social media accounts. Get the impression this artists is yet to differentiate between personal and business accounts (social media probably used for personal use while Behance is for professional work but retains a personal and slightly unorganized feel). Not connecting any SM limits this artists potential reach in terms of customers, whoever looking at the artists age it is likely he is a student and this page simply serves as a portfolio as opposed to a platform seeking business.

[tompriestleyunit16]

Mike Campau

Profile Picture - Uses a professional above shoulder portrait shot (presumably of himself). Gives his profile a personal nature and shows he is not part of a business / organisation? (Developing his own brand identity). No Photoshop alterations on profile picture, just about as plain and professional as you could get it, does not reflect the work he produces or its eccentric nature.

About me - Talks about ‘Mike Campau’ in the third person. Details his experience in the industry and the scale of his projects in an informal tone, evidenced by the phrase “Creating something from nothing is his ‘thing’ “. Additionally uses a high concentration of positive adjectives to lul audience into viewing him in the best light possible (Powerful, large, high profile)

Focus - Listed as: Digital Art, Photography, Advertising. Likely chosen these three because they are all large genres within the the creative industry, this gives him the biggest net of potential employers to produce work for as possible while still remaining true to his projects as all of his pieces seen here fit into at least one of, or all 3 of these categories very well. If he had chosen to leave one focus, say just photography, he may get contacted for portraiture jobs or wildlife jobs which he would probably have to decline. Putting three specialities reduces ambiguity.

On the Web - Links to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. Arguably the biggest 3 plus another place to source potential employers from to maximize his amount of jobs he gets coming in. Interestingly he mixes personal and business varying amounts depending on which social media site you visit. Instagram for example is the most informal as you can tell by the bio. Twitter seems to be primarily work based but accompanies it with personal comments, like how its been to produce the work, opinions on other peoples work, light humor about comments he has received etc. Facebook appears to be purely professional it appears as he likely has another FB account specifically for personal use.

[tompriestleyunit16]

Logo Research

Above are several logos drawn from industries such as, mixed media / photography, sports, fashion and food. All of which rely heavily on logos but I thought it was interesting to see how different industries approach the issue of creating a logo.

Logo 1 - An independent photography business, used founders name as a quirk for interesting logo design. Circular design keeps it compact with a basic black and red color scheme.

Logo 2 - Doritos advert incorporates infamous dorito shape into logo for iconic factor. Simple color scheme with large bold typeface, Black outline to make font more pronounced.

Logo 3 - Another Circular designed logo, Primarily font based logo with a small graphic in the middle (iris) Maintains relevance to camera based creation. (This is incredibly popular and for that reason I will be trying to avoid it.

Logo 4 - LA Lakers basketball team, utilises bright colours and unbelievably simple graphics. Basketball to relate to the sport, L for Lakers. Use of lines and colour variation to blend the two elements seamlessly.

Logo 5 - Typeface style is very reflective of the fashion industry thanks to influences like Vogue. Simple purely font based design with Initials of company presented as a secondary piece, the letters have had considerable manipulation to present them as a form of design as opposed to typeface.

Logo 6 - Vegas Golden Knights. One of the only logos here to include no typeface at all. This works wonders if you can come up with a design that will remain iconic and timeless enough that font can be done away with. For me this does the trick but it will be interesting to see how this logo will be developed years down the line, if at all.

Logo 7 & 8 - Another independent photography business, logo its self is fairly creative (7 not 8) but the additional typeface probably makes it too complex on the whole and would be difficult to see as an app icon or something of that nature.