Being conceptual is at the very heart of being a creative. Forming the idea around which to base a beautiful design is arguably the most rewarding process of all.
Game Over was a beautiful 176 page coffee table book on retro video games. Minimum resources required maximum imagination, often to the detriment of my own personal schedule. Wanting each page to personify the game or console it was disucussing, I would often have to recreate graphics and characters myself.
As a magazine Art Editor, I would often be faced with budget restrictions meaning that entire articles would need to be furnished with bespoke artwork. This example was a feature on the rise of online streaming (at the time, in its infancy). With noting to illustrate it, I devised a concept, which sold the idea as a visual, then brought it to life via Photoshop.
Corporate identity is such an incredibly important aspect of any business and crafting the right logo is at the top of that list. While in today’s market websites offer ‘bespoke’ logos for next to nothing, they leave out the most important aspect; that of heavily researching the business and conceiving a graphic which encapsulates both the company and its ethos in as simple and eye-catching way as possible.
When I got the commission to provide an illustration for The Great British Bake Off, the challenge of aligning the show’s quintessential ‘Britishness’ with commercially viable products was an interesting one. In the end, inspiration struck when viewing the old GWR railway posters - simple yet gorgeously produced pieces of art that summed up the UK at a glance.
In a similar way to corporate image, a poster for film or theatre must express the essence of the product at the briefest of glances. While sometimes a design must conform to industry expectations (especially on DVD), there are occasions where a poster design can be entirely conceptual in telling the story in a single image.
Few things push you more than when a client asks you to conceive of an entirely new product for a brand like Star Wars. Whether it’s a Bluetooth Speaker or in-car phone-holder, the ability to think outside the box, coupled with the skills to ‘sell’ it to the client are key.
So here’s a challenge; come up with the best Saturday morning cartoon that would also be incredibly marketable. That’s a challenge I set myself a while ago and its one that I’m still working towards. Having worked with current Children’s brands while still having love for the old ones of my youth, this project is well on its way to being a future classic. With the exception of the animation and music used in a promo I put together, I’ve been able to produce all of the Style Guide and bible material required for a pitch.