Presentation

Promo pack

I decided to mock up my work to create a promo pack to send out to future employers. I thought it would be interesting to create a short booklet (as I am going into the publishing industry) and thought it would be an interesting concept to have it link to the concept. The front cover being the CV and having a few pages showcasing my best work. There could also be a little pouch inside where my business cards could be placed.

There doesn't seem to be a clear cohesive brand identity because for my business cards I have used a different image and opted to not use my self portrait again. I don't think it matters too much and I feel like it's actually more interesting as a lot of my work is slightly different and feel I don't really have a clear style or way of working. I could also try a more cohesive promo pack in the future using my portrait and shapes and colour etc, but for now I think it works as a striking business card and CV respectively.

Creative CV

I felt like it was important to create a CV which was striking and would really capture people's attention - after all most companies receive so many CV's. I feel like it was especially important for me and my practice, as I am a graphic illustrator and focus heavily on image and type. I decided to use the dot effect to create a really interesting dimension. I tried to use block colours but felt it really diverted your attention from the writing which I guess is the main focal point. the CV reflects my practice in the sense of Type and image, as well as shape colour and simplification. 

Personal statement

Striking. Conspicuous. Captivating. My work is thought-provoking with intentions of challenging the viewers thoughts and ideals. A graphic illustrator with emphasis on visual communication.

A visual storyteller with use of metaphors to create hidden meanings.

My simplified, quick and snappy ideas have allowed my work to develop into both editorial based illustration and Logo Design. My perpetuating love for reading books, immersing myself into the magical, mystical world of fiction lead me into book design. Conveying my own personal interpretation of a script and recreating existing cover designs is an exciting concept. Searching for hidden meanings and motifs that run throughout the book - creating designs which challenge and lure the viewer in and maintaining that level of excitement is something which lies at the forefront of my practice and will continue to endeavour.

Relevant skills

Adobe suite - advanced level in Illustrator, Indesign and Photoshop.

Concepts

Photography

Drawing

Painting

Mono printing

Lino printing

Relevant Experience

Designed a logo for ‘Sip West Didsbury’ Manchester (January 2018)

Commissioned to design some wedding invitations (January 2019)

6 Month study abroad scheme (February 2018 - July 2018) - Partner university in the Netherlands ‘MAMDT’ - studied Graphic Design and collaborated with artists from various disciplines.

Took part in a creative residential in Italy - Tuscany (April 2016) Collaborated with other creatives in rural landscapes.

Massachusetts art collaboration - created a zine about Leeds (March 2019)  Worked with both graphic designers and illustrators from across the pond.

Worked at ‘Kings Framers’ - frame factory (March 2014) responsible for making the frames for the shop.

Took part in Penguin Design Student Award 2019.

Education

Leeds Arts University - BA Illustration (September 2016-July 2019)

Art Foundation - Brighton City College (September 2015 - June 2016)

Hobbies and Interests

Travelling

Reading Fiction

Fashion

Photography

Drawing

Music

Socialising - meeting new people

References

Available on request

Portfolio

For my portfolio, although I am planning on going into the publishing industry with Book design being my main goal, I wanted to include other pieces of work to show my variety and diverse way of working. I decided to lay out my work, considering the double page spread of the portfolio - showing the  design on one page, and then its context on the other. 

COP work???

I decided to include my cop work in the end. Although the style of work differs greatly from my predominant way of working, evident in my other pieces of work, I felt like it was important to include it as it still shows my skill in type and image - something which I i plan on showing for future employers.

Audience

The audience of my work is mainly adults who enjoy reading weird, mystical fiction books or thought provoking imagery. I wanted to show my work being applied to the book publishing context as this something I intend on going into.

Layout?

I wanted to start my portfolio with my strongest piece of work - one which is a great representation of me as a practitioner and what I am wanting to go into in the future. I decided on not having all my book designs bunched up together and instead have separated some of them with my other pieces of work which is great way of showing diversity.

Contacting alumni part 3

I contacted Beth Ewens, a Graphic Design Alumni who won the Penguin design student award in 2017 with her book 'The secret diary of Adrian Mole.' We had a phone conversation, gaining some very valuable information.

How did you find the placement at Penguin?

She said she had an amazing experience and everyone who worked there was really nice. You are almost thrown into the deep end and designing covers in quick succession. She enjoyed the experience of communicating with her art director about projects and briefs, discussing designs and responding to feedback. 

Advice: don't have your eyes set on winning the competition as there are other ways of getting a placement. She mentioned a few contacts which could be useful for me. In terms of portfolio, she said to include max 5 pieces of art, as you don't want to give too much away as it is more of a taste of what you can do. Alongside the work have some very brief annotations, maybe 1 or two lines outlining what the project was about. 

She also mentioned that a big part of standing out is having a strong portfolio of work and a strong personality - this is something they are looking for. 

She is currently on a year placement with iTunes and plans to work for an agency in the near future. We have decided to stay in contact and she even advised me to send her my portfolio to give me some feedback. She recommended going to portfolio reviews which are occasionally held around in Leeds.

Applications for placements at penguin open on March 29th - something I will be doing.

Hachette

After doing some further research into work experience/placements available, I came across 'Hachette' - a UK leading publishing group, made up of 10 publishing divisions. After browsing through them all and reading up about the types of books created in each category - I decided to apply for John Murray Press, which focuses on both Non-fiction and Fiction. After looking at some of their books it was evident that the style fitted my practice with a predominant focus on metaphorical imagery and intriguing concepts. I thought I'd apply for work experience here as it was a quick and easy application, and if I got a place, would be a very valuable experience for the future.

Contacting Alumni Part 2

• She did work experience with Penguin which is something I am planning on doing when the application comes out in April - this will give me more insight into the role and Penguin as a company.

• 'Design a book cover for your favourite book, an idea for a new book, or a story about you.' - something to consider for my portfolio.

• Placement at Ebury publishing - you get to put down 3 offices and departments you're interested in. As I had a look on the Penguin Website I noticed that 'Transworld' is an office which is most appealing to me - its inclusion of the UK's best love fiction.

Contacting Alumni

Following up from our email conversation, we had a phone call. I wanted to ask her a few questions on applying for internships/work experience and what kind of things do they look for in portfolios.

Working at DK was one of her best experiences as she really enjoyed designing illustrations for books including Mary Berry as part of the life, book and drink section. She applied for the internship via the random house website. She also mentioned that they tend to look for people outside of the London so they get more variety. In terms of portfolio - she mentioned that the more variety the better as it shows as a designer you are more diverse. In the interview process it's pretty much a conversation about who you are as an individual and less about your experience/skills - they look to hire someone who is motivated and willing to learn.

I asked Kate if we could connect on Linked In so we could keep in contact for future communications and further advice, maybe even a collaboration who knows!

Hanbury Symposium

Hanbury was a very useful experience getting a greater insight into how to go about applying for jobs/agencies/companies after uni:

Publishing:

• NoBrow have an open submissions policy - they encourage people to send in work as they always try to give some feedback.
• Learn to deal with rejection as it will happen and you have to move on and keep applying. Be persistent.
• Follow publishers. Attend events/talks. Keep up to date.
• Bigger revenue for children books as opposed to graphic novels - harder to sell.
• Book covers are very important. Think about the production, size format. Needs to be eye-catching and think about the importance of the spine as this is what is going to be on display.

Anthroplogie:

• You need to work outside your comfort zone - if you are feeling uncomfortable in a working environment, you know you are challenging yourself and learning.
• Spend time to learn new things!
• Be guided by your authenticity, not your circumstances.

It's Nice That:

• Encourage people to submit work. Keep trying even if you don't get a response.
• Need to create a strong online presence - BEHANCE was mentioned a lot. They look for work both on instagram and Behance.
• Remember to keep updating your website - most of the time outdated.
• Make connections with anyone! You never know who could mention your name in conversation.
• BE PROACTIVE. Go to events, meet people in person, go to talks.

Agencies:

• More likely to be noticed.
• There is more communication with the client if done through an agency.
• You need to have a style that is Different. Try not to follow trends.
• CIA will happily take on graduates if their work is eye catching enough.
• Editorials a good way of making money. Less restrictive as the client doesn't really have an expectation.

Advertising:

• Mainly hire freelancers
• Find a sector of the industry that appeals best to you and stick with it.

On reflection:

The main thing i learnt was to continue in the pursuit of creating a strong online presence and keep it updated, as this is the most successful way a client will find you and contact you. Keep applying for jobs and sending work as long as it fits the aesthetic. Overall the experience has opened my eyes of the the endless opportunities available to me when I graduate. I guess it makes it feel a little less daunting. Before the trip I was set on working in publishing and working in-house but it's nice to know of the possible pathways which could be potential back up plans. Editorial is something I am definitely interested in looking into as something part time.

It has also made me more aware of agencies - I didn't really know much about them before but I guess its a really positive way of getting work as clients take you more seriously.

In-house vs Freelance

In-House:

Pros:

• Working with a big company will give you the benefits that come with working for them. Their success is your success.
• Reliable pay-check.
• Health insurance.
• Company-sponsored retirement fund.
• Don't need to search for clients, they will come to you.
• Always have work waiting for you in the office.

Cons:

• Stiff competition from other designers in a similar position.
• Might require relocating to a big city like London/New York.

Freelance:

Pros:

• You are free to work to your own according schedule. Control over your working environment.
• Creative freedom.

Cons:

• Responsible for everything you do - running your business, searching for clients and managing your own finance.
• Paying for your own benefits and setting up your own retirement fund.
• Starting your career will be a mixture of juggling numerous jobs at one time as it is difficult to get work consistently.
• A lot of hard work.

On Reflection:

Working in in-house is something which appeals to me more. I like to have a steady routine and commuting to work is something I find helpful and a way of me switching off and listening to music, reflecting on things. Travelling for me is not an issue and I actually see myself working in a bigger City so that shouldn't be an issue. I also feel i need to be working in a creative environment in order for myself to feel motivated. Working in-house will also give more of an opportunity to talk to people from different sectors within the publishing world. Working in-house will also save me a lot of money as I won't need to invest loads of money into buying adobe suite, as they will supply it.

House of Illustration

Visiting Sister Carita Kent in London was very inspirational. It was so interesting to watch the creative process of the screen prints which were on show. Her work and use of type with image combined with bright striking colours was something that resonated so well with me and my practice - it inspired me to do some more work in the print room!

More business card designs

Another design I had was using my self portrait and altering the composition so you would get different sections from the portrait on each business card. I also thought this could be created by screen printing the design onto an A3 sheet of card and then cutting them down.

Although this is a really interesting design and would definitely create a cohesive brand identity (using shapes and dots for linked in/website/instagram)  I feel that it is important to include your strongest piece of work on your business card as it is supposed to show what you are all about as a practitioner in one image.

Business cards

For my business cards, I experimented with using my self portrait for the front and then have my contact details on the back? I thought it was interesting concept using the various shapes used for the face, enlarged and edited with opacity. I also had another idea of making an animation, where the shapes would come onto the screen and gradually slot into the outline of the face. I thought maybe this was a bit unnecessary. I was also thinking that for a business card to really pop and stand out, it needs to not only be a good representation of you and your practice, but also I felt it needed to be your strongest piece of work, giving the viewer a real taste of your skill. Although this idea reflects me as a practitioner, it's not a great representation of my work and is definitely not the best work I have produced.

I decided to choose this as my best piece of work as not only is it striking, but there is a few little hidden meanings within which is a huge part of my practice - my intention of challenging the viewers thoughts and ideals. I thought this image would work really well with the logo on the back cover - the red correlates nicely. I wanted to keep it simple as possible, using the white space to my advantage.

Penguin networking

Start-up Wednesdays

I have visited a few start-up Wednesdays to help me gain a better understanding of the potential jobs available after graduation. I started to talk to Sharon Heleine, who's daughter works for penguin Random House both in London and New York. I asked her if she could ask her the best way to apply for internships/work experience and what kind of work they look for when applying. This was her response:

• Collaboration
• Communication
• Curiosity
• Proactivity
• Online Awareness

I have also visited London and went to Penguin studio in Strand to get some further information on working with Penguin. The lady mentioned the work experience opportunity and said that they take people on every 2 weeks. So this is something I investigated further and applications open in April. 

Penguin Books

Penguin Book competition

After hearing about the Penguin students award competition, I thought it would be a great opportunity to immerse myself into something I haven't really done before. Reading the books allowed me to fully engage myself into the writing and create visual meanings through my analysis. This was something that I thoroughly enjoyed and felt it was a great way of creating thought-provoking imagery. Through this experience, I came to the acknowledgement  that working in the publishing industry is something I am very much interested in.

Research

I wanted to do some further research into the types of jobs available at Penguin.

A junior book designer is the job which is most suited to me. After reading a few blog posts on the penguin website, something which i am really drawn to is the collaboration aspect and communicating with people from all areas within penguin. Being surrounded by people with a passion for what they are doing is an environment I would enjoy working in.

Work Experience

Best way to get some experience in the industry. Applications open in April and this is something I will be applying for.

Self branding

I wanted to create a logo for myself. Being a self proclaimed logo designer, I felt obliged to make one. I experimented with shapes and colours trying to create a simple yet interesting signature logo which could be applied to numerous promotional gear. I thought it would be interesting to somehow link it to my self portrait in which i created. I felt like the shapes created for the letters didn't scream simple and conspicuous - It reminded me of something I had seen before. I decided to go with the really simple J and S design - the thing is with logos is you should never try and over complicate what you are trying to communicate - it's always better to try and include a hidden connection or meaning within.

I also wanted to create a self portrait for other possible promotional gear/online presence. I wanted it to be a perfect representation of me and my practice and not just a 'drawing of myself.' This interpretation is a perfect reflection of who I am both as a person and practitioner. Striking, simple yet abstract. 

Logo Design. I thought it would be interesting to add a further hidden meaning with the pencil idea. Without the pencil the logo looks fairly generic and there is no real relation to illustration - the pencil effect  immediately draws a link to drawing and art. 

Mass Art Collaboration

I thought that this collaboration would be a great opportunity to work with students again, from a different country and learn more about different styles/ways of working. Following on from my study abroad experience I was already feeling confident and excited for producing the work!

My group consisted of Both graphic Designers and illustrators. Creating a piece of art about Leeds we thought the most proactive way of generating effective ideas would be to walk around the city centre and observe surroundings, with the hope that something would spring to mind. Two of the Americans thought it was really interesting to see the contrast between the luscious elegance of the Victoria Gate and how its completely juxtaposed with the surrounding commercial, more affordable shops like 'poundland' for example. Pandora is placed at one side of the arcade, and Poundland at the other, which prompted the initial brainstorming and eventual title of the zine.

Positives gained:

We collaboratively decided to make a zine which is a department I don't have a lot of experience in so it was great to learn some new skills with regards to the cutting it out and putting it together. 

We communicated really well as a team, and immediately delegated each other to specific roles once we found a direction to go down. I think what was particularly beneficial to us was our consistent and regular meet ups to discuss current work which had been undertaken. This gave us points of discussion and further advice on work which is more successful than others.

Work Produced

POUNDLAND TO PANDORA

W e wanted to show the history of Leeds in its advancement and juxtaposition between the ambiguous antipodes throughout Leeds and how they unite to form a fluid melting pot of classic and contemporary.

Creating an online presence

I started off my website with just a simple wix design. I wanted to keep my website layout really simple with a lot of white negative space surrounding my work to give it that slick professional look - after all my work should really speak for itself.

Making a website FROM SCRATCH

After doing endless research on what the best website platform is for my website - I came to the understanding that making a website from scratch actually seemed the most effective way in terms of the SEO (being at its highest) and a lot more cheaper to maintain. Of course this means a lot of time was needed to actually make the website and a lot of Youtube tutorials were consumed but after a few days, you start to become very familiar with everything.

http://jacksymons.com/

Again in terms of the layout of my website, I wanted to keep it really simple and decided to opt out of having galleries for projects etc. This was because when someone browses a website, they are intending to just get a feel for the type of work you do, and the style of work. Creating mood-board layout allows my viewer to really examine my style instead of having to navigate their way through my website.

Instagram

How was it useful?

Instagram has been great for not only networking, but for inspiration, scrolling through the discovery feed you see all types of artist and illustrators. It's also been useful for building up a portfolio and and getting regular feedback and connections. It has also been a great way of finding competitions, hash tags, and just general happenings within the creative industries.

Linkedin

Why has it been useful?

Linked in has been great for connecting with people strictly for business. I have heard from multiple sources that Linkedin is the place to be if you want to find work as a freelancer illustrator. I have started messaging people when I connect with them to continue the networking process. i will continue to connect with people and search for potential employers to find work.