<![CDATA[ryanchambers.grillust.uk

<![CDATA[ryanchambers.grillust.uk - Where to work]]>Thu, 25 Jul 2024 10:03:26 +0100Weebly<![CDATA[Do's & Don'ts]]>Thu, 07 Jan 2021 21:56:50 GMThttp://ryanchambers.grillust.uk/blog/dos-donts

Inspiration for a good website

]]><![CDATA[Action Plan]]>Mon, 19 Oct 2020 19:53:06 GMThttp://ryanchambers.grillust.uk/blog/action-planShort term - to begin with I'd want to fully own my skills, I want to work on myself and my own style of work till I personally believe I have perfected it. Working as a freelancer primarily till I feel comfortable with my own pace of work, start charging low and gradually raise when I feel more confident with my work aiming to get a amazing portfolio to back up my application, primarily selling my typography as my strong point to whatever client I bring in.

Medium term - Getting myself properly out there, applying to a decent, well connected Graphics job even if it isn't in my criteria just so I can get the experience required to further propel into my desired career, still working in the background as a freelancer so I'm able to keep track of my own style and study and still building up my portfolio to present for my long term

Long term - This is my end goal, in one sense there is the possibility my freelance work can take off then I can prioritize that and still enjoy the designs I do without being in any strict brief but realistically it is a fairly difficult task to achieve. My main long term goal would be heading into a full time career in the Graphics team at Nike/Adidas etc, potentially aiming for a creative director role within the industry, if I was to achieve this high goal I would have to prioritize fixing my organization skills alongside perfecting my work to keep up within the industry

NIKE - Rich Scurry | Creative Director
https://bit.ly/2Hf19Dc
]]><![CDATA[Future aspirations]]>Sun, 18 Oct 2020 14:02:48 GMThttp://ryanchambers.grillust.uk/blog/future-aspirations
As I've stated in my previous self-analysis I aspired to be a tattoo artist at a young age, but after working within the scene and developing good connections and friends it didn't all turn out as it seems, which turned me back into full time studying Graphic Design. I began developing an interest in design within the fashions industry but mainly companies like Nike, Adidas, Footlocker etc, the advertisements for their products specifically shoes were always different and unique = versatile, which I why I believe it would be a good approach for me, also having worked in Foot-asylum I believe I have experience to work with, such as what appeals to the customer, the demographic etc on the other hand whilst I find working for companies like that appealing, I also find freelance interesting as I've also had experience in that area too. The reason behind working freelance is I feel its a lot more open when it comes to work, I can pick and choose who I work with and for along with being chosen for my own style of work so I can focus on doing the style I enjoy a lot more.

I'm inspired primarily by Carolyn Davidson who is famously known for designing the Nike swoosh, I'm a fan of minimalism and at how much the simple tick has made such an impact, the logo is easily recognizable to the public eye, I also enjoy how NIKE's font is constantly developing, ranging from Futura to Trade Gothic Bold and continues to interpret different typefaces within their designs
https://fontsinuse.com/tags/3648/nike - some fonts used on Nikes products, from adverts to clothing

In terms of dark lettering and as to where I developed my passion for it was during my time in the tattoo studio. Whilst working there I was told a lot about many different artists and their styles alongside how they achieve them, two artists in particular caught my attention, Gromov6666 and Young-hearted, these two artists caught my attention for the rough and dirty yet oddly appealing work they produced, the styles primarily known as dark lettering and dark mandala. The reason I was so interested in this style of work is because it takes such a heavy spin on general mandala and calligraphy, it incorporates a lot of details and symmetry usually. Here are some examples and links to Gromov and Young-hearted

Young-hearted - https://www.instagram.com/younghearted.tattoo/
Gromov - https://www.instagram.com/gromov6666/

A youtuber called Jake Rainis, is a Boston-based calligraphy artist who specializes in black-lettering, watching his YouTube videos helped me significantly in producing dark lettering and taught me a lot on how to customize my brushes in procreate and the rules within black lettering, links to his Instagram and YouTube account will follow
https://www.instagram.com/jakerainis/
https://www.youtube.com/c/JakeRainis/featured

Will Paterson I also occasionally watch, he kind of acts like a teacher of all things Graphic Design, he specializes in brand and logo design primarily but all his tips and tricks add up in helping in areas you in particular are keen on. Whenever I'm in a creative slump I tend to stray into his direction for direction as he provides me with entertainment and the motivation I need within Graphic Design

]]><![CDATA[Self-analysis as a Graphic Designer]]>Sun, 18 Oct 2020 13:03:59 GMThttp://ryanchambers.grillust.uk/blog/self-analysis-as-a-graphic-designerContemporary art awareness
I've always had an eye out for art, whenever I walk through a city or even town I keep my eye out for anything inspiring. I personally find a huge interest in the art of graffiti and the reasoning behind it, whether it be politically based or just freedom of artistic expression, I find this to be a strong point of mine as I evaluate everything around me and use it within my personal design

Versatile
I'm very versatile when it comes to graphic design and feel confident tackling any project, whether it be for example graphics for a kids book or a design for a big company, I'm very adjustable given the subject matter

Environmentally friendly
I see myself to be very environmentally aware, I'll do whatever's in my power to work with anything that contributes to the environment, such as power usage, printing, design, ink and so forth

Typographer
What I'm most interested in within Graphic Design is typography, I feel this is a big strong point of mine as its my favourite topic to work within, as it has so much freedom and requires a lot of smart design, such as colours used to trigger emotion, fonts that appeal to the eye. My favourite type of lettering is dark lettering, its very popular within the tattoo culture which I have a very familiar background with

Work experience
I've gathered experience mainly from working in a tattoo studio as a receptionist, working with clients and helping them with design ideas, this alone provided me with confidence and the skill to talk to clients. Whilst working here I was also surrounded by talented artists and having them help me practice my own work, as in the past I was aspiring to be a tattoo artist. During my time with College/1st year of University I was taking the role of a freelancer and providing Manchester bands with merchandise to be sold to the public, this provided me with a professional outlook as to what appeals to an audience and how to work professionally with an entire band as a client

Personal cons

Organization/Procrastination is a con for me as I've always been juggling more than one thing, such as a part time job, study and personal work, I've got lost with time and ended up having to organize my development / final work near the end
I self doubt myself a lot, I always compare my work to others and it drags me down as I convince myself the competition is way too high and I can't keep up. I always believe there is always a bigger fish but its focusing on convincing myself that everyone's art is different and meaningful in its own way
Providing a substantial amount of development work is another con, as when I start work I don't always screenshot the progress of the piece, I keep working at it and changing parts till I'm comfortable with the result, I work with feedback fine and work off that but I don't always show previous work

Areas for improvement
Personally I need to focus on organization, I struggle a lot organizing study time with my part time job. A thing that I found that personally effecting my motivation and organization is lack of inspiration, as of recent due to lockdown I'm been caught in a 'creative block' lacking any way of tapping into my creativity and just being a stump when it comes to doing anything productive, I find inspiration from being out and about and admiring other peoples work, like I said whether it be graffiti on a wall, to a full scaled advertisement down the side of a building, I pick up on things that get my creativity brewing but unfortunately I've had to rely on internet based research, which I understand can provide the same effect but personally I like to be up and close to the artwork

Another thing I need to work on is my personal work, as I'm so caught up with university and my part-time job its as if I don't have enough time to work on my own, as from my gallery I take a big interest in that type of design and I need to spend more time developing that style, such as using the studio and using prints and inks to replicate the overlay design I did digitally, it would keep me in the loop with my creativity and provide me with motivation

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