portfolio

web design & graphics

A collection of work I have been doing since September 2006, when I started my course. A few websites and some graphics for both web and print. Some for clients, some while internshipping, some for myself and some for family or friends. I hope to fill these pages with more projects...

• 8-Web-VickyLester
• 7-Web-LifeTile
• 6-Graphics-Invue
• 5-Web-Auberginev1
• 4-Web-Capsuco
• 3-Web-CSSZen Garden
• 2-Web-FirstSite
• 1-Graphics- ConcertPoster

All websites have been hand-coded to web standards using valid CSS and xhtml mark up.

launch site

Vicky Lester - professional harpist

web & logo design

Brief - The client needed a site to promote herself as a freelance musician in and around London. She wasn't sure exactly what she wanted. A few adjectives, wide open to interpretation, were all we started with: rich, luxurious feel, elegant and classy, but down to earth, with a straight forward presentation of information. I also had to incorperate a logo design that would be transferable to a business card. More technical requirements were an mp3 player for her demos and a Flash homepage.

I am aware that some of my design does bend certain design rules (different navigation layout on homepage and offset text on testimonials page), but there was method to my madness and excellent psychological justification for my choices. I was very proud of this work, being my first formal 'client' project. Its evolution from a few vague ideas and a lot of worry on my part, to a fully realised purple masterpiece gave me much satisfaction.

Tools - Photoshop/Illustrator/Taco/Flash (& Ajax courtesy of DD)

view site in progress

Life Tile - urban roof gardens/wa-global

web & graphics for print

Brief - The client was launching a new product - LifeTile - an economic system for the installation of roof gardens. I was working with the creative director and marketing manager on the design and layout of an information booklet for a DVD inlay, the content of which would eventually also be used on their website and to produce a clean, bright half-page ad for LifeTile to be printed in a design magazine.

My Role - I was involved in many different aspects of this project: some preparation of graphics material, image manipulation, accurate alignment of content to grid once rough layout was set, conversion to .pdf for mock-up prints of booklet. I also made small contributions with design ideas and textual content.

Tools - Photoshop / Acrobat Pro

view screenshot launch site

Invue - invue/wa-global

graphics for web

Brief - My first job as graphics intern was to design the banner for a site promoting office and mobile phone software to a new international market. I was given the InVue logo and strap line with the phone-in-hand image, and told to design a minimalist banner featuring a small burst of information and colour around the phone area.

My Role - My Photoshop skills were put to the test as it was tricky work cutting up and organising tens of miniscule pieces of mobile phone into an information explosion. I did enjoy my first project there and was quite happy with the result though I fear my work might not fit in with the corperate image of the rest of the site.

Tools - Photoshop / Illustrator

launch site

Smallest Aubergine v1 - for myself

web & graphic design

Brief - As the number of websites began (very slowly) to increase, I thought I might practice design and coding skills with a self-initiated mini portfolio site to replace the first holding pages I did. I decided to do it as quickly as possible - in one weekend - so as not to waste too much time umming and erring over decisions.

Consequently, I made some fundamental design errors with information architecture as updating the site eventually proved a far from simple task. Still I was proud of the site's ickleness - I was going for cute - though some of its elements are a little too tiny and near impossible to read in certain browser display settings. Again, I learnt much from those mistakes.

Tools - Photoshop / Taco / Canon Powershot S3 IS

Favourite Feature - The background image, manipulated macro-photo of a single bird dropping on tarmac surface.

view site in progress

CAPSUCO - animal health service company

web & graphic design

Brief - For out 3rd web project, we had to create a site using design that reflected the site's content. My dad was in town and talking about a new project he was developing with a friend of his for animal health and production services in the Caribbean. Their need for a small website tied in nicely with my design brief and I went for a friesian cow theme that reflected the majority of their work with cattle.

**This work is still in progress...

Tools - Photoshop / Illustrator

launch page

CSS Zen Garden - for myself

web & graphic design

"The CSS Zen Garden is an influential World Wide Web development resource. The goal of the site is to showcase what is possible with CSS-based design. Style sheets contributed by graphic designers from around the world are used to change the visual presentation of a single HTML file, producing hundreds of different designs. Aside from reference to an external CSS file, the HTML markup itself never changes. All visual differences are the result of the CSS (and supporting imagery)." (quoted from WIKI)

Brief - Create a custom design for the CSS ZENGARDEN project by Dave Shea. Use your own visuals and write your own CSS to design the given html page.

I decided this was an opportunity to play and I went for a massive 1500 pixel wide design using an image of the 'Angel Caido' (Fallen Angel) statue (El Prado, Madrid) extending its wings to epic proportions in Photoshop, which was a huge amount of fun.

Tools - Photoshop / Taco

launch site

First Personal Site - for myself

web & graphic design

Brief - Create a holding area using your own imagery and text for a personal page on the course website. Show whatever you like...

It was great to have so much freedom for my first full website, but also very difficult to make decisions for myself within such a wide scope. I wanted to include a variety of stuff I had done and it became quite a feat for such a beginner. I had to restrain myself from adding more and more content. This one was a steep little learning curve for me.

Tools - Photoshop / Taco Favourite Feature - Category headers were taken from pieces of the homepage image that related to each different section.

zoom in

Horror Stories With Harp - musical recital

graphics for print

Brief - Design a poster with a strong visual impact to entice people to attend an unusual performance of classical music. The recital incorporated readings of the two 19th century horror stories that inspired the music back in the 1920s.

For my own inspiration, I read the short stories and decided to attempt a portrayal of the horror of Poe's 'Masque of the Red Death' in oil pastels. I had mere days to complete the project and decided to use tools I knew well, rather than make frustrated efforts with Adobe software I was only just getting to know. We got the posters printed professionally, but I printed and stapled 30 8-page programme booklets with a printer at home.

Tools - oil pastels / calligraphic markers / MS Word / HP Home Printer

Favourite Feature - the lightning through the large windows above the stage - wonderful divine contribution to the atmosphere of doom and horror created by the music, readings and imagery filling the hall.