In this task, we were tasked to create a professional visual identity which will assist in building our foundation to our individual online presence and branding.
Starting with the business card, I began to design the shape and style of the card. At first I went with a typical landscape style with one side illustrating my name and an illustration, and the back with my details. However that seemed too typical and I started developing it from portrait.
Business Card Process
Business Card - Back Design 1
- Very simple illustration and text design
- Colour of the name and profession might clash too much with the illustration
- The details of the squares are a nice touch but there's no specific design choice
Business Card - Back Design 2
- Illustration choice is nice, however it would fit better isolated from text
- The colour of the text was changed as I was testing out colour choices; the text colour of salmon works better with the chosen illustration compared to the one on design 1
- Overall, it's clean however again, it seems like it lacks a little personality and I will have to explore upon those after revisions
Business Card - Back Design 3
- Combining both elements I still think that the first design with the simple illustration worked best
- I will have to think about colour palette and intentions to detail on my revision
Colour revision:
- After thinking about my colour scheme, I decided to create 6 sets colour palettes as my own personalised colour theme
- The reasoning behind these colours are simply because I like them. My work has developed over the years so much so that there are no sets of colours that I can think of to define my work, therefore I chose colour combinations that I felt were most personalised to myself.
Below are the colour tests I did with the chosen colour schemes.
Colour Scheme 1:
- Design 1: The use of primary colours are nice, however it's a little loud and therefore will most likely not be used as my colour scheme
Colour Scheme 2:
- Design 2: The colours compliment each other well and balance each other out. Considering this colour scheme and implementing it as my website and cv colours will be highly considered.
Colour Scheme 3:
- Design 3: Similar to 'Design 2' the colours work well and balance each other out. The only downside to this colour scheme personally is that it has a retro surfer palette, which does not entirely resonate with the context of animation and my style.
Colour Scheme 4:
- Design 4: Refreshing with the lighter colours, although this scheme was not a highly considered scheme, I might consider this as the lighter colours with yellow and orange compliments one another.
Colour Scheme 5:
Implementing the 5th colour scheme on the business card was a challenge, the light and dark colours were difficult to balance out and the outcome was unsatisfactory. Therefore I designed two designs using the 6th colour scheme.
- Design 5: Similar to the others, I used a dark colour as base, but instead of two distinct colours, I used two hues of orange. The orange and the dark navy works extremely well with each other.
Colour Scheme 6:
- Design 6: Experimenting with the arrangement of the colours, I felt like the colours are less effective as the orange blends in too much with each other.
Conclusion:
- Through process of elimination, I ultimately decided to go with design 5. The colours there are ones I feel strongly about in terms of colours that define myself as an artist.
- As I was not able to include the lighter colour from the 5th colour scheme, I will be combining the colour schemes of 5 and 6 as my personalised colour palette. I will also be doing a minor revision on the chosen design to incorporate all the colours of the final palette.
Final Colour Palette:
Final Business Card [Back]
Business Card Front:
- Since the contact information is on the flip side of the business card, I decided the other would be an illustration with a QR code of the website attached.
Here are three designs I came up with
Front Design 1:
- The illustration is from one of my favourite projects so far
- The layout is simple and the choice of using an illustration as one side is visually appealing for something as simple as a business card
Front Design 2:
- I used this illustration at the beginning of the design phase as I thought it was visually striking and impactful
- However it lacks personality and it does not fully portray myself
Front Design 3:
- This illustration is from my most recent solo project, Revival
- Out of the three illustrations, this is the most personalised choice and therefore will be choosing this illustration as it represents me the most
Note:
- As the website will be completed after the business card, the QR code and website link will be updated after on the business card
Website Process [My Website]
As I have no experience in coding, I used Squarespace and their portfolio templates to create my website. Then applying the previous design of colour schemes, I applied it to make the site visually more personal and more on brand.
Choosing my best array of works, I separated my work showcase into 4 sections, Background Illustrations, Animation Shorts, Showreel, and Other Projects.
As I am more interested in background illustrations starting this year, I decided to showcase my best work and development from the beginning of the year to present. Most of which are from the group project I worked on in LAUAN603.
In the Animation shorts section, I included a series of animations I made during the second year and this year as I feel like some shorts produced in the second year demonstrate works that I am still proud of. I also included a section for background illustration from The Last Riders...And Hell Followed With Him. As I am now more interested in background illustrations as well as animation; showcasing both in my showreel would demonstrate my best works and interests.
As I plan to develop this website post graduation, I created a section for showreels; which I hope will accumulate annually as I keep this website updated with all my best works.
Finally, I have a section for 'other projects' which includes works such as illustrations, designs or even work in progress animatics/animations, which I will hope to show more of in the future.
Other than work showcasing, I also have an About Me page which will allow people to understand who I am and what my interests and ambitions are for animation. I also have a contact page which will allow people to contact me for commissions or work opportunities in the future. Last but not least, I also have quick navigation links which will lead them to my other socials such as Instagram, Twitch, and Email.
[note that screenshots do not showcase the website fully, visit the link to view fully!]
Homepage
About Me
Background Illustrations [Original]
Background Illustrations [Zoomed Out]
Animated Shorts [Top]
Animated Shorts [Bottom]
Animation Showreel
Other Projects [Original]
Other Projects [Zoomed Out]
Contact Page
Further developing my website, I created a logo for it with the designated colours and a simple illustration.
Website Logo
In the end, I bought the website and the domain 'tuffkinsart' as I am committed to further expand the develop my website to showcase my work post graduation.
Website QR Code
Updated Business Card [Front and Back]
- I aim to use Linkedin to network with professional animators and artists in hopes to find opportunities for professional work in the animation industry
- Instagram will be best suited for commission work as compared to Linkedin, Instagram caters more towards the general public
- I aim to use my platform for commissions on the side
- As I continue to work towards streaming, my goal is not only to showcase my work and progress to an audience who are interested. I also aim to network with those who have similar interests and eventually in hopes of collaborating or taking up creative jobs from larger streamers in the streaming industry.
CV
- I took a more of a creative approach towards it, making it visually similar a info-graph, simple visuals making it simple to understand and digest
