Some New Work!
Hey friend,
Happy to let you know that I'm finally able to show you the fruits of my labours for the past couple of months.
The first is "Define Man", a visual campaign created to spark a conversation about what masculinity means. This was something that is quite personal to me, as I've faced my share of being on the negative side of gender stereotyping. One of the most amazing things I did on this project was do screenprinting for the first time ever in my entire life — it was life-changing. Having growing up only ever using digital printers, seeing the outcome of all the effort in preparing the screen and actually physically printing your pieces is a feeling like no other.
The second project is "30 Ingredients", which is a cookbook I've designed. I'm quite proud of this piece as I've really been able to build on my background in print design, but also push the boundaries and work with some new visual ideas. More importantly, I got to use a laser cutter to create the wooden covers, which was also absolutely unreal. Being able to have all of these resources here has definitely enhanced my learning experience, and I can't wait to play around with them more before I leave Leeds. Hopefully when I get back home, I'll be able to take a more hands-on approach to design, as I feel there is tremendous value in doing so. Yes — we're graphic designers, but I think that most of the work has to be done off of the computer in order for a well rounded outcome that is also "in touch with reality", if that makes sense.
It definitely has not been an easy ride to get here! If only I could show you the sketchbooks that I handed in and the pages and pages of research and conceptualizing. I only learned at the end that 90% of the work I did in it would be used, but I guess that's how it always goes. It's all about the journey to get to your final product, right?
And of course, there's still a lot to improve from, and I'm still learning, so I'm happy for all the support and hope you'll stick around for more stuff!
Happy days,
Jason