Personal identity design is unique, you must wade through the heavy waters of subjectivity…
What an honour it is to create work for a fellow creative. It’s a rare request and one that comes with its own unique flavour, of added pressure. Design-led creative projects for businesses / organisations have clear end users and specific requirements that lead through objectivity, whereas personal identity design is unique, you must wade through the heavy waters of subjectivity. It has to, as every decision is purely driven by the wants and needs of one individual.
Subjective design always offers up the potential for creative loops, endless revisions and project stagnation.
I naturally fell into a more creative director approach, an almost mentorship style to my clients…
Fortunately, I cannot remember the last time I found myself in an endless loop of revisions, with a client. Maybe in the early days of my professional career, when you are finding your voice and attempting to define your personal role, as a designer, All designers are unique. I’ve known and worked with many styles over the years: some assert the high ground, some specialise in one thing, others build their career within one sector. I naturally fell into a more creative director approach, an almost mentorship style to my clients. My decision-making comes from a deep understanding of business, my creativity is born from fearless experimentation and my purpose is driven by the desire to understand and engage with other humans,
Fail to prepare, then prepare to fail.
I pride myself on efficiency and for projects such as this, preparation is paramount. As the saying goes: fail to prepare, prepare to fail. My process involves truly getting to know the client, the person behind the art form. Listening is the most important element here, and asking specific, purposeful questions. The next phase is building a loose strategy. Introducing the client to design thinking processes, intimately involving them in the entire creative process. Regular feedback and review, is extremely important.
References including Mo Wax records and the artwork of the iconic, Futura…
This project entailed the design of a custom typeface logo that avoided the aesthetics of a formal identity. The client specified a strong influence from the 90’s era, with references including Mo Wax records and the artwork of the iconic, Futura. No requests were made for additional assets other than the logo.
Logo Design - 90’s inspired custom typeface with signature style, movement and character
Marketing Moodboard Design - consistent styling and overall ‘look and feel’
Instagram Reel Design - clean, stylised and instantly informative
Promotional Deck Design - 90’s styling with distinctive ‘obe strip’ (or obigami)
Canvas Design - gifted to Jamie Trueself for use in his studio
Web Banner Design - sized and styled to add consistency across Linkedin and Mixcloud profiles
