Live CV: Monday 30th March 2015

Live CV: Monday 30th March 2015

Name: Conor Elliott Cresswell

Programme: Digital Media Design (BA)

Last Updated: Monday 30th March 2015

Personal Statement

At this point in my career, I have a very focused specialism in illustration through the software Adobe Illustrator in addition to using Adobe Photoshop to create digital illustrations. This has definitely become my specialism. Also during my time on this degree, I have used this skill to branch out into different digital mediums such as UX/UI Design on websites and animation using Adobe After Effects. Another one of my strengths is being able to adapt my illustrations within my sketchbook effectively into a digital illustration. I still feel that one of my strengths is being able to effectively present in from of a group of people. In addition to this, I feel that one of my other strengths is being able to manage my own time. In this last Semester, I’ve had 5 projects to manage simultaneously across 12 weeks and it has been a challenge for me. 

One of my weaknesses still is being unable to project manage a team as well as i’d like to. This is because one of projects in the previous semester was a group project and I couldn’t seem to manage my team very well. I struggled in many places to manage their time, ensure what every member needed to do and when they needed to complete these tasks by. In addition to this, I couldn’t figure out what each of my team member’s individual strengths where. Therefore this lead to me doing a majority of the work and putting unnecessary pressure on myself when I could have delegated those tasks to other members. 

Selected Previous Experiences

Activity: Designing T-shirts based on Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream flavours

Date: September - December 2014

Where: University of Winchester

During this task, I had to find my own competition and enter it. The competition I entered was to create a t-shirt design based on a flavour of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream. As doing a single design over the semester would be too easy, the brief was modified to create three designs. I believe that this was a great project for me as it allowed me to focus on my illustration skills in addition to managing my time. Another skill this project helped me enhance was that it helped me refine the method I use to get my physical illustrations into a digital concept. Having done this very little beforehand, the repetition of my methods helped me learn what to do. Finally the third skill it helped me learn was that I had to design something for print and think about layout in terms of a shirt design.  

Activity: Freelancing Projects through Sprechen

Date: March 2015

Where: Winchester, Hampshire.

During the projects set in my normal university semester, I was asked to do a few freelancing design pieces for a local company called Sprechen. I initially did some icon designs for them which the client enjoyed which lead on to me creating other assets for their website. In addition to work for them, I was put in contact with another client who wanted a logo for her hairdressing website. This was something I was extremely proud of doing because it was allowing me to build my portfolio of work in addition to taking my own initiative. Another skill this allowed me to do was self-management which included setting my own deadlines for the clients.

Activity: Developing a Video Game: Project

Date: January-February 2014

Where: University of Winchester 

This was a project that I enjoyed doing because it was to do with game design; something I wish to do more of in the future. In addition to this, I could focus on my main skill illustrating in different styles as my main role was to be the character designer. I began to design in Illustrator however we wanted to create a pixel-based game therefore I had to adapt my designs to be in pixel which was interesting and entertaining for me. I feel that this was my strongest project of last year as I knew my role in the group very well and could focus on what I did best. 

Activity: Developing the TransMedia 15 Website and Branding 

Date: September - December 2014

Where: University of Winchester

This is my most recent project, it has also been one of my most developing as it has pushed me further as a designer. This is because it has made me think about creating work for specific clients and developing a brand. In addition to this, I have been working with only one other person on this project therefore team communication has been key here. Collaborating with one of my peers has made me learn how well I can work to effectively meet deadlines.

Selected Future Opportunities 

Opportunity: Internship with Bravo Post Production

Date: June/July 2015 (Summer between 2nd and 3rd Year)

Where: University of Winchester

During my third year of my degree, I have to have a work placement in an area of industry I would potentially go into. Due to some family connections, I have managed to get myself a 6 week internship as Bravo Post Production in London. This design company focuses on editing and animation using various pieces of 2D/3D software. One of these pieces of software is Adobe After Effects. During this placement, I would like to expand upon the skills I have learned through my Motion Graphics module in addition to my 2D/3D character animations in the last semester. I would like to learn these skills so that I can use my digital illustrations more effectively.  

Opportunity: Focus on a section of Industry

Date: 2014/15 (Second Year of Degree)

Where: University of Winchester

Over the last year and a half of going through my degree, I had done many different projects and doing a variety of roles in those tasks. As I am now halfway through my degree I would like to focus on a section of the industry that I would think about going into. One of these industries is the games industry as I have written about it many times before in take-away exams and case studies. In addition to this, it is a industry I have admired and wanted to be part of for a long time. Another section would be to possibly enter web design. However web design is not something I would enjoy as much as game design.

Live CV: Sunday 7th December 2014

Name: Conor Elliott Cresswell

Programme: Digital Media Design (BA)

Last Updated: Sunday 7th December 2014 

Personal Statement

As of now, I believe that I have a basic understand of a majority of different pieces of software in addition to specialising in some such as Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. Throughout most of my studies, from my GCSE’s all the way through my A-Levels I have been using Photoshop for multiple tasks from creating graphic designs to editing and manipulating images. This is something I strongly feel is one of my strengths is that by having a varied range of experience in multiple pieces of software. Another strength of mine is being able to complete presentations due to having a lot of experience in presenting both in and out of my specialist area. For example, during my earlier years of Secondary School I was chosen to take part in a two day programme. This consisted of working in groups to create and present a new idea of a breakfast cereal substitute to then pitch to representatives of food market leaders such as McDonalds, Mars and Cadbury. A piece of software I strongly believe is one of my strengths is Adobe Illustrator. This is because in recent design tasks, I have been using it more and therefore I feel that this is a software i’d like to continue to specialise with. In addition to this, I feel that one of my other strengths is being able to manage my own time. In this last Semester, I’ve had 5 projects to manage simultaneously across 12 weeks and it has been a challenge for me.

One of my weaknesses still is being unable to project manage a team as well as i’d like to. This is because one of projects in the previous semester was a group project and I couldn’t seem to manage my team very well. I struggled in many places to manage their time, ensure what every member needed to do and when they needed to complete these tasks by. In addition to this, I couldn’t figure out what each of my team member’s individual strengths where. Therefore this lead to me doing a majority of the work and putting unnecessary pressure on myself when I could have delegated those tasks to other members. 

Selected Previous Experiences

Activity: Creating a Flash Game for the London 2012 Paralympic Games

Date: January - April 2010

Where: Chalfonts Community College/ Pinewood Studios/ Stoke Mandeville Stadium.

During this project, I gained many different skills such as working in teams towards a common goal to presenting those final ideas to a client. In addition to this, due to the focus of the project being to create a game, once a week I would have an online class with someone from the different areas of the industry. These range from Tom Scutt, who was a senior programmer at Core Design who are most famous for the early Tomb Raider series, to Brad Borne who created the Super Fancy Pants Man flash games. Having this close interaction with real industry professionals gave me a different insight into this specific industry which is why it is one I find the most exciting. 

Activity: Planning, Creating and Running an Animation Festival 

Date: June 2011

Where: Chalfonts Community College/ Bucks New University 

This project was something which I believe used a great variety of skills from having to present my ideas for the festival to the client, planning and creating the content as well as the overall design of the festival itself. This also allowed me an opportunity to lead on certain aspects of the design process. This was something I wish I had more time to develop however I enjoyed feeling responsible for certain aspects of the event. Another skill this project taught me was about being organized in addition to meeting deadlines. As the event was set up by students to exhibit other student’s work, we had to organize our time accordingly. This level of time management was a skill I believe I carried into my other subjects for coursework deadlines and revising for my exams.

Activity: Developing a Video Game: Project

Date: January-February 2014

Where: University of Winchester 

This was a project that I enjoyed doing because it was to do with game design; something I wish to do more of in the future. In addition to this, I could focus on my main skill illustrating in different styles as my main role was to be the character designer. I began to design in Illustrator however we wanted to create a pixel-based game therefore I had to adapt my designs to be in pixel which was interesting and entertaining for me. I feel that this was my strongest project of last year as I knew my role in the group very well and could focus on what I did best. 

Activity: Developing the TransMedia 15 Website and Branding 

Date: September - December 2014

Where: University of Winchester

This is my most recent project, it has also been one of my most developing as it has pushed me further as a designer. This is because it has made me think about creating work for specific clients and developing a brand. In addition to this, I have been working with only one other person on this project therefore team communication has been key here. Collaborating with one of my peers has made me learn how well I can work to effectively meet deadlines.

Selected Future Opportunities 

Opportunity: Continue Developing Leadership Skills

Date: 2014/15 (Second Year of Degree)

Where: University of Winchester

During this last year in addition to this semester, I have attempted to take on more leadership roles within a team. However I do not feel that I have developed enough to be a successful team leader as I still struggle to lead a team effectively as well as understand a person’s individual skills. Understanding what people’s strengths are in a team in addition to allocating specific tasks to them is a skill a good team leader should have. I strongly believe that I do not have this skill yet and would like to try to develop it further.   

Opportunity: Focus on a section of Industry

Date: 2014/15 (Second Year of Degree)

Where: University of Winchester

Over the last year and a half of going through my degree, I had done many different projects and doing a variety of roles in those tasks. As I am now halfway through my degree I would like to focus on a section of the industry that I would think about going into. One of these industries is the games industry as I have written about it many times before in take-away exams and case studies. In addition to this, it is a industry I have admired and wanted to be part of for a long time. Another section would be to possibly enter web design. However web design is not something I would enjoy as much as game design. 

TransMedia Characters: Monsters

Individual Project: Choosing Flavours and Initial Ideas

To start designing my t-shirts, I needed to brainstorm ideas about the flavours and what images could be used in my designs of the shirts. In addition to this, I needed to decide on what flavours to use for the three shirt designs. The flavours I decided on where New York Super Fudge Chunk, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and Half-Baked. I chose these three flavours because of their names and ingredients. New York Super Fudge Chunk has Chocolate Ice Cream with White and Dark Fudge Chunks, Pecans, Walnuts and Fudge Covered Almonds. The Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough has Vanilla ice cream with pieces of cookie dough. Finally, the Half-Baked flavour contains Chocolate and vanilla ice cream mixed with brownies and chunks of chocolate chip cookie dough. These ingredients will be included into the designs of the shirts. 

Some initial ideas for the designs have focused on the names of the flavours so I have focused my designs on scoops of ice cream, chocolate chips. In addition to this, I have decided on created some characters for some shirts in order to give the right feel to the merchandising. Also, I have added designs of some props and pieces to give the artwork context.

Britishness Application: Developed Idea

After doing some visual research and understanding what it means to be a British Icon. I developed my initial idea further...

The idea would be now instead of using a single group's name or a person, that group would be under their British Icon. What I learned is that different people felt that different things are what defines Britain therefore I adapted the application to meet this. Each group would choose their British icon (in the illustrations above, the group has chosen Harry Potter as their British icon) and compete against other groups. Each group would gain stats on things they do within the application itself rather than relying on other social medias. The groups would be local to your region and can gain followers depending on how many people feel that your icon is the most British. Using a visual graph, the user could see how close they are to the groups around them. Using visual representation rather than numbers is more appealing to a user. 

This aspect would be expanding to the whole of the U.K through an interactive map section. In each region of the map, there would be shown visual hints to the 5 top icons of that region. The user could then either select each icon to inspect it or just select the whole region. Doing the later would take the user to a different screen that'd show the icons on their own in addition to their own icon at the bottom. Each user wouldn't be limited to just one icon, they would be limited to one icon per-region therefore if they felt something best represented a Northern region, they could choose that icon. Allowing this would create some competition between all the different regions to see who had the most British Icon. Each month, the lead team in each region will be given an award for doing so. 

Britishness Application: Visual Research and History

For the Britishness application, the visual identity of the product will be a crucial aspect as it be how users will associate themselves with the product. To do this, I did some research into how in the past, Britishness has been conveyed through artwork and media. This lead me to War Time Propaganda posters for World War 2. They are all icons and powerful pieces of visual work in order to prepare for the project, I felt like I needed to look at some and understand them.

Each of these is a poster with a fairly simple layout. Each has been illustrated instead of using photographs to create stronger visuals than what could be done photographically. The text is very small but is either a phrase or sentence that has a powerful message. For example, the final image says "Salvage! Every Little Helps" so very short but worded as if an order for a strong effect on the reader. The colours are simple in places but some parts are very detailed to help with the visual message of each poster. The third poster has been given extra detail because it needs to show a real coin to give the metaphor of the reader's money directly effecting the war. I strongly feel that these images are as iconic as anything else in our history. At a time when Britain was basically defined for the next century with phrases like the 'Blitz Spirit' emerging. There was always a focus on the people at the time with the idea that anyone could help in the war; regardless of whether they carried a gun or not.

Individual Project: Understanding the Brand

In order to design t-shirts for my individual project, I felt like I needed to research the brand of Ben & Jerry's ice cream. This is because my project is essentially merchandising therefore when designing my products, they would need to look like they belong to this brand. To do this research I looked at the company's website to understand some of the visual background behind Ben & Jerry's.

As you can see, the design of the website is very clean but somewhat rustic in areas such as font choice. The fonts shown are used throughout all of their branding from their own merchandise to the products they sell. From this I have learned than my t-shirts should use a similar font or if possible the same font to keep in line with their merchandising style. Including similar colours would be something that I will attempt to do with my own designs. However in the brief, it focuses on being as original as possible meaning I will have to put my own spin on their brand.

The colours they have used are bright and crisp instead of being very corporate. This shows the fun-nature of the company which would be something I would love to capture through my own design. Throughout the language on the site, the brand that Ben & Jerry's has create is something that isn't perceived as a company but more of a product. The product being their ice cream flavours, but showing that they aren't appealing to an elegant and elitist audience. I strongly believe that this brand is one that I can adapt my design style too rather easily because of it's unprofessionalism even though it is a professional company. This tongue-in-cheek approach to their branding is what makes this company unique and is why I chose this as my brief.