CD design

A CD packaging design for Matthew Herbert’s album ‘Plat du Jour’. Herbert makes music that makes a point. This album is concerned with the processes that food goes through before we buy or eat it. My approach to the design was about the gap between what we take for granted about food, and what actually happens in its production. I used two types of visuals; one being from the romantic, ideal world of expensive restaurants, and the other from the everyday reality of supermarket packaging and selling.

CD design worksheet

CD design worksheet

CD design booklet (outer pages)

CD design booklet (inner pages)

CD design back cover and disc

Metrolink print

This mixed media piece includes lino-printing, digital vector drawing and my own photography. The brief was to produce possible poster designs to announce the opening of the Manchester Metrolink system extension. The ‘rough and ready’ look of the print creates a contrast with the digital/technical elements.

Garamond poster

This project involved researching into six classic typefaces. I chose Garamond to explore further, and created a composition that tried to reflect the spirit of the typeface. The sense of movement in the background was created by combining the shapes of lesser-used glyphs. I chose colours that gave the impression of depth; I thought this worked well with the movement in the background.

Handbag illustration

This project revolved around the website thingsihavelearnedinmylife.com. The website was set up by Sagmeister Inc. Sagmeister came up with the idea for the site from his diary, where he had made a list named ‘Things I have learned in my life so far’. Stefan believes that he has only learned about 20 things throughout his life. The website shows pieces that he and members of the public have contributed to show what they think are the most important lessons one can learn. Questions include: What have you learned in your life so far? What is it that you are fairly sure about? What is it that you believe in by now? My contribution was about women’s possessions. I thought that a woman keeps the things that make her smile in her handbag, such as make up and money. I also thought about how certain songs are able to cheer people up, and added an i-Pod, as most people own one.

Handbag illustration

'Desire' sketchbook pages

This project involved researching the typeface ‘Mason’ designed by Jonathan Barnbrook for Émigré. The typeface is often associated with ideas about religion and the church and I explored the Ten Commandments from a different angle. This seemed appropriate, because Barnbrook’s design was originally named ‘Manson’ (after the famous American murderer Charles Manson) and was never intended to be respectful of religion.
The subject of ‘Desire’ was the subject of my final drawing which tries to have a positive and negative side to it, using the shapes to suggest narcissism.

'Desire' project

Sample page from booklet design

This booklet is about how an evening baby-sitting goes through several stages. See below.

Booklet research worksheets

To research the project, I involved some children in the making of some mood boards for me. (Two of them are shown here). I visited a nearby crèche and got my boyfriend’s 5-year-old nephew to contribute as well. All of the drawings used in the final booklet were made by the children during this research stage. I wanted to understand the materials and methods that children used when creating a picture, and to use convincing, genuine images.

Booklet pages

This booklet is about how an evening baby-sitting goes through several stages. From the initial politeness, things gradually turn increasingly awkward and stressful. The pages show how my mood changes over the period of time, and the images darken as my stress levels increase. The child’s drawings obscure my face: this symbolizes the way I am being dominated by the children. The booklet also shows how a child can have two different personalities, one of which is shown in the drawings (the sweet and innocent child), and the other, naughty personality is shown through the way my mood changes as the story of the evening develops.

American Dance Theatre poster

This was a technical exercise in using typography to communicate information using space, alignment and hierarchy. I didn’t want to create a piece that involved the dancers that most people would have added. I considered how I could suggest movement in my piece and also suggest an ‘urban’ feel. Trying to avoid clichés made this a more interesting finished piece.

Printmaking sketchbook

Techniques and experiments using visual symbols and textures in an abstract way. I thought, following research, that the letter ‘A’ contained interesting shapes. I then combined a number of printing techniques such as chine collé and scratching into photographs etc. I included different visual symbols and mixed them with the printing techniques to create a variety of layouts.