Matthew Leonard Design

[matthewleonarddesign]

Hard Work Paying Off...

So the plan of me doing blogposts didn’t last long! But hey, I could always take it up sometime soon, I just need things to blog about. So this is one that I was planning on posting last week but I think that posting it now is better timing. 

As mentioned in previous blog posts I went to the D&AD New Blood Festival in Spitalfields Market and exhibited my work. Not only was this a great opportunity to get my name and work out there, but also a good way to see what other university students were doing and how strong their work was, so after it was over and I was on a “I want to be in London” downer for a week I up’d my portfolio game. Hearing about people getting placements and jobs straight after graduating pushed me towards improving on my portfolio and how it was set out, originally it was all about me talking through it with the person, this worked if I was there but how would it work if I wasnt?!

So for the next three to four weeks after New Blood I worked the majority of nights on my portfolio. Multiple cups of coffee, various different versions and many “I’m sick of looking at this shit” moments came to where I am right now, eventually happy with how my portfolio layout. I knew I needed a second opinion on it from someone in the industry, someone who had experience looking at various portfolios and knew the difference between a good and a bad one. Having already spoke to her at Newcastle College Final Show and attending a talk by her at College earlier on in my course I chose to email Sarah Tempest from a Newcastle based agency Sumo, asking for a crit on my portfolio, both printed and a small email version I have to spike a little interest.

This process helped out a great deal, Sarah gave some really useful advice and invited me into the studio for a look through my portfolio as well as giving me the contact details to one of her friends that was looking for a graduate to be part of an 8 week placement, the interview for this was first in the week and went really well, this was the first time I had shown the new full printed folio with the changes Sarah said and it went down a storm. Later in the week I had the Sumo interview, so this was showing Sarah that I took the feedback she gave me and acted on it, and again, it went down really well. 

So that brings me to where I am now, four weeks into the 8 week placement with a three week placement lined up at Sumo straight after. Not only that but I think I’ve made some good contacts in the North East and all of this experience will look good on my CV. The placements are also teaching me a lot about the foundations of design that I was aware of, but never really understood. Looks like all of those coffee fuelled late night/early mornings payed off! And hopefully it wont stop here. 

Next thing on the list is getting a website/online presence sorted, stay posted, I’m thinking either on here or Behance. Who knows, but itll happen soon!

[matthewleonarddesign]

Monocle Magazine...

Since starting to design editorial pieces Monocle has been a great inspiration for me, being a standard of publication and design that I wish to accomplish in the future. Having glances through the pages and admiring how much information and beautifully shot/illustrated imagery they can fit on a page without it seeming too much is amazing and I hope I learn how to make this possible in the future.

Monocle is also more than a magazine, even their videos online and their site are fitting with the tone of voice of their publication and puts forward a very luxury brand. This post however, will focus on Issue 85, a 315 page magazine filled with excellent articles, clever pull outs and beautifully designed pages.

Having only just bought the magazine yesterday I’m coming at this from a purely design perspective (as you would expect from a Graphic Designer) and it baffles me how simple they make everything, from the clever way they set out the sections with an alphabetic system, to the way they simply bind additional sections in with the use of an elastic band. In a nutshell Monocle is what I strive for, beautiful design that makes taking in information easy and nice to look at. I hope that future projects that I take on can come even slightly close to this standard. I suppose only time will tell, stay posted...

[matthewleonarddesign]

New Blood Festival 2015...

So its been a great week full of inspiration, lots of beer and some great people. New Blood Festival brings together creatives from around the country and puts them in Spitalfields Market to offer the chance to show of their work. The big universities we all there giving there students a showcase for industry and other creatives.

As said in a previous post me and two other students from Newcastle College self funded ourselves to go down to London and show off what we have, knowing we’d be small fish in a big pond to begin with, but this was a challenge we knew we were getting ourselves in for and my competitive edge loved it. Branding ourselves simply as 3Newcastle, we tried to strip down from what we expected the other stands to look like, having a lot going on with the amount of students. A breath of fresh air if you will, staying minimal and eye catching was the main concept, using our brand mark a primary focus.

The first night of New Blood on Tuesday being the private viewing gave creatives the chance to get a look at the showcase before everyone else. Given the opportunity to meeting Paul McAnelly for Hawaii design and Joe and Charlie (a duo of ex Newcastle College students who have experience with D&AD and stayed down London) was great getting their opinions and feedback on work and life in London. 

The next two days were when the showcase was available to everyone who wanted to see, giving them an chance to look through portfolios and make contacts. This was another great opportunity, having people come up and see my work, give their opinions and show their interest. It was definitely a great event to be a part of, and is over too fast in my opinion. Not only was it great during the day to see what other peoples’ work was like, but after the festival had shut for the day the pubs were full of graduates and creatives, a chilled atmosphere to share what they think of the festival and their aspirations for the future. If you get the chance to get a stand or even go to New Blood next year I say do it! You wont regret it.

Thanks to everyone who checked out the 3Newcastle stand, grabbed a beer with us and showed some interest in our story! A great event, great people and a great experience!

[matthewleonarddesign]

Songs to Make up to...

So as I mentioned in the last post I have recently finished my course at Newcastle College, that means that I have a lot of free time to do some work and a lot of blogging. Thats what I intent to do, so this is going to be the first of many posts that I want to do, my blog will be full of what I’m looking at and being influenced by, what I’m listening to and things I think you guys will like to hear about.

So here it is, this is the album I’m listening to this week and I cant recommend it enough, if you like layed back chilled tunes, this is for you, and I mean, just look at that album artwork! After listening to this album on repeat for two days I started playing all of Taku’s songs on Spotify and I havent got sick of them yet. I heard about the album by a few people I follow on Instagram posting about it (especially the man himself), I love how this happens and is why I love using Instagram so much, you get to find things that you wouldn’t usually get to look at or listen to.

I would definitely say give this album a listen if you haven’t already! Thank me later... 

[matthewleonarddesign]

New Blood Festival, We’re Coming for you...

I’ve been lacking a bit on my blog posts lately, but for those of you that are interested I just finished my two year course at Newcastle College! So its all about moving forward now and getting my work out there (scary thought), first step on getting that done is New Blood Festival in London at the end of June. Me and two other students on my course have self funded to go down there and take on all other universities and colleges taking part, an exciting and pretty daunting task.

Simply branded as 3Newcastle we plan on making the most out of the opportunity of going down London, already being in touch with a few famous names from industry and a couple of D&AD Pencil winners, itll be great to pick at their brains and of course have a couple of beers.

3Newcastle are on Instagram (@3Newcastle) and on Twitter (@3_Newcastle), where we post regular updates of our work and our progression towards New Blood. If you’re down there why not come and say hello?! It’ll be great to meet some new people.

[matthewleonarddesign]

Universal Everything: Lighting the Sails...

“Here's a behind the scenes look with Matt Pyke of Universal Everything chatting about their recent collaborative architectural projection when they were commissioned by Sydney Opera House to create a living mural on one of the world’s most iconic buildings.” via COLLATE

Watch the video at: https://vimeo.com/131093692

Looking through Collate to try and get some inspiration as I usually do I came across this project by Matt Pyke and Universal Everything and I still find it crazy. Taking an animation and projecting it onto such a prominent landmark that people instantly recognise, it must be crazy to get your work on such a huge scale, I can only guess how intimidating and exciting it was getting this brief.

The behind the scenes video is also a really nice touch, showing how they go forward with such a big project is a great insight into the creative process of such an influential studio. I would love to get to work on something like this in the future, maybe it wont be on such a huge scale on an iconic landmark but to see your work on such a massive scale would be amazing, I can dream right!?

[matthewleonarddesign]

Jessica Walsh...

A big inspiration to me and a kind of nerdy graphic design crush (if thats a thing) is Jessica Walsh, a designer, illustrator and art director based in the Big Apple as part of the partnership Sagmeister and Walsh. I've looked at her work for around a year now and have become a big fan, especially her hand rendered typography, taking it further than just on paper and applying it onto people and taking her designs to the next level.

Sagmeister & Walsh's work is crazy, the concepts are things I would never think of doing, but its inspiring to see what people at the top of their game can come up with and actually get away with doing, some designers think that the creative freedom that you get with projects in University and my case College stops as soon as a live client is involved, Sagmeister & Walsh prove this isnt the fact and output crazy concepts that meet the brief. I remember watching a video on a live video they made to go onto a screen in Times Square, it was the making of a piece that I had seen before looking through Behance and on thier website and just automatically thought that it was computer generated, I was wrong. This piece spelled out the work MAX, in purple spikes, or thats what I thought. These were actually pencils that had been placed into large cutout letters and then sprayed.

I found the below video when going through a classmates blog to see if I had missed any posts for my PPD unit (inspiration right?!) and found it really interesting, it gives an insight into Walsh and her work as well as a little bit of a back story. In the video she mentions that she got a flat with an ex partner that they could barely afford just to follow a dream and approached Sagmeister for his opinion on her portfolio, he then asked when she could start working. Just goes to show following a dream sometimes works out VERY well.

Video at: https://vimeo.com/80495579

I will continue to look at Walsh's work and her Instagram is a constant source of inspiration in both hand rendered type and colour, and as I've mentioned in a previous blog post she's actually saw some of my work on there and liked it (crazy). Maybe someday I'll do a Walsh-esque move to another city and land a big job, who knows! Only time will tell...

[matthewleonarddesign]

Sara Marshall Imagines a Corporate World of Hand-Lettered Logos...

"Iconography is one of the most important facets of branding. Countless designers rack their brains filtering through the infinite library of fonts and typefaces available, all in pursuit of making a distinct, meaningful impression on its audience. With this in mind, graphic designer Sara Marshall abandons all of that, instead re-imagining famous brand logos in her latest series: Brand by Hand. Considering the ostensibly timeless logos of Coca-Cola, Burger King, FedEx and more, Marshall created custom scripts based on each brand’s existing color palette, boiling each down to its essence. Ignoring the embedded geometry of each logo – for example, the arrow between ‘D’ and ‘E’ in ‘FedEx’ – Marshall’s experiment does well to test the associations we make with each identity." via HYPEBEAST

Saw this project doing its rounds on Instagram last week, mainly the FedEx logo, was happy to find the designer behind the concept while on Behance, love how theyve took it further and mocked it up onto vans and cans etc. Someone definitely needs to bring hand lettering to a big company!

Check out her work at: http://itssaramarshall.com/

[matthewleonarddesign]

First Placement...

Yesterday was the last day of my placement at a local design agency in Newcastle, Cravens. Having done work for a number of different clients including the World Rowing Championships, Virgin Money and 32Red Online Casino I was slightly nervous to see what it was like to be in an actual agency rather than being in the studio at college, that and a mixture of excitement to get some work done and see what they had in store for me.

The two weeks absolutely flew by and was a lot more layed back than I thought it would be, that being said there was a lot of work being done and I was surprised on just how many projects were going on at once, everyone having different jobs to do and jumping from one project to another; a big difference from college where we have up to six weeks to do a single project. The placement also gave me the chance to do some work for an actual client and to my surprise on of my branding concepts for this client got chosen, my first payed piece of work!

Getting this placement definitely inspired me to get some more design work done at college, now I know what speed the industry works at and how you need to be flexible with your time I think I could get quite the amount of work done in the next unit that is going to start soon, which is portfolio building. The guys at Cravens were great to be around and definitely a talented bunch of people, I would definitely say dont hesitate to try and get a placement there if you have a portfolio!

[matthewleonarddesign]

They’re Just People…

Todays industry talk came from Dave McDonald, a freelance design consultant based in Newcastle. Having previously worked for a number of agencies including Gardner Richardson and Infinite, Dave now works for himself and sees himself as a problem solver, stressing that the most important part of being a graphic designer is having THE idea, that one idea that sets your work apart from everyone else that could have had the brief. Stating the fact that anyone can learn how to work on a computer or draw, “You dont want to be known as a great graphic designer, you want to be known as a great problem solver.” This made me think back to a question we got asked right at the beginning of the course, the good ol’ “What is Graphic Design?” and at the time it stumped a lot of us, coming up with answers of capturing a brand in a logo and things like that, but what about other projects? The answer is quite simple when you think about it, we’re solving problems in a visual way, a client comes with a problem and we go with it, solve it, make something from it. “The solution is always in front of you, its in the brief”, this line has stuck in my head nearly as much as the title of this post (which will come later), its a good way to get past a mental block, where ideas just don’t seem to be happening and you feel like youre at a dead end. A simple solution, read the brief again, as tedious as reading it over and over again will be youll get a better understanding and something will just spark an idea out of what seems like no where, definitely something I’m keeping in mind for future projects.

The question was raised of how Dave got into the industry, what he did when he left education and went out into the big bad world. An interesting answer came that I wasnt expecting, half thinking he was going to say I jumped from placement to placement until I got offered a job it was a shock to me when he mentioned that he worked on his portfolio for a full year after graduating, and even mentioned that it was his sketchbook that got him to where he is now and not the polished work he has, relating back to the most important core factor, the idea.

Dave then when onto talk about interviews and how you put yourself forward, this was a great insight into both what he has done and looks for and some helpful advice for the future. Saying the first thing he’ll do if someone comes in for the chance at a placement is giving them a simple search, checking social media to see if the side theyre putting out is actually them, or just a front to impress. He stands by the fact that being yourself will get you more opportunities than if you put on a facade, mentioning that he would much rather be spoken to like you would usually speak, within reason. Mentioning how even he got nervous when he first started pitching to clients (if you ever meet Dave youll never think this), until he thought of a great way to think about pitches, “Theyre just people”, this quote is the one that stuck with me the most through the great advice given. Clients are people, they need you and you need them, its a working relationship that should be back and fourth, if you be yourself and are friendly to them they’ll do the same back.

Unfortunately I cant talk about any of the work that Dave shared with us, but the advice he gave was priceless and gave a great insight into the industry and the mindset of a great designer (or problem solver!), I also had the opportunity after the talk to have a quick chat with Dave, asking me about what I wanted to do with my time after college and asking if I had any placements lined up it was nice to get a bit of one on one chat going, asking for his critique on my portfolio when he is free was also mentioned, so I’ll get my work all up to the standard I want it and get as many opinions as I can, it will be great to get someone who isnt familiar with my work’s critique.

You can see some of Dave’s work on his website: http://www.david-mcdonald.net/

[matthewleonarddesign]

Just be a Nice Person...

Todays industry talk came from Merlin Duff of Wonderstuff studio, a design studio based in Gosforth that specialise in brand and design consultation. There was no denying from the off that Merlin was confident in what he preached, giving blunt and helpful advice right off the bat, this is my kind of person, getting the point across in a sentence rather that muttering for half an hour and getting to the same result.

Some projects that you might be familiar with that were designed by Wonderstuff is Lane7, the boutique bowling alley just outside of the centre of Newcastle, offering a place for people to socialise in something that is completely different to what youll find currently in the town centre. There is no denying that the visuals in Lane7 are great, the on trend us of wood all around giving it that slightly rustic feel, the type sprawled across the walls and of course the logo that has a special concept behind it. At first glance the logo for Lane7 has a stand out feature to it, people will probably notice that if you rotate it 180 degrees it reads exactly the same, but not a lot of people will know the concept behind this. Merlin explained that the logo does this so no matter what direction the bowling ball is spinning (of which the logo is printed) the branding will still be legible as saying Lane7. Clever! Another project you may be familiar with is the Durham Distillery and their Gin, this was a project that Merlin said they started off with a client approaching them with the simple idea of "I want to make Gin", and after questioning and pushing the brief with the client they got a greater concept and ended up with what they have now, a design that has been feature on blogs such as the Dieline and Design Week.

The question was raised of the creative process within Wonderstuff, the answer was broken down into five parts. Firstly comes the Purpose, other than money, what is the aim for the business. The Vision, if it was all blue sky thinking and nothing went wrong where would the brand be, where do you strive to be. The Values, how does stuff get done, economic? or quick and get as much out as possible? The Position, this should relate to an audience, why do you do what you do and who do you do it for? This needs to be definite for the brand to be as effective as possible and lastly the Promise, this is one sentence that sums up everything about the brand.

This talk was primarily based around branding and what a brand actually was, but Merlin raised a few extra points on top of these to help us along our journey, mentioning how many people approach him for placements and compliment the Lane7 work, he stated "We know its good work, we did it, we put it out". So a helpful tip, talk about the work that an agency has done in the past as a conversation starter, but just think how many people do exactly the same food for thought... What you should be putting forward is that youre a friendly person that can work in a team, if you put yourself out there and are nice to people theyll be the same back and youll be memorable (mentioning even bringing donuts into placement for the team, a hint maybe?), to sum it all up it goes to a simple statement, the title of this post, "Just be a good person", your work obviously has to do something for you as well, but if youre arrogant and that over shadows the standard of your work youre going to get no where.

If you want to see more of Wonderstuff's work, including their work for Lane7 and Durham Distillery check out their website: http://wonderstuffstudio.com/

[matthewleonarddesign]

Icons, Icons, Icons...

If you follow my Instagram (@matty_leonard4) you'll have noticed that Ive been posting a lot of Vector icon and digital typography pieces, they've really became an big interest with me over the past couple of months. Artists such as Dennis Cortes (@courtesarts on Instagram) put up high quality, simple work on their profiles and one day I just thought to myself "I could do that", so I did. Knowing the basics of Illustrator and knowing my way round the toolbars made this a little bit easier, I'll admit I wasn't as experienced as I thought I was and have had a lot of mediocre looking things made.

So this is my new little mini obsession at the moment and I'm really enjoying it, I think making these simple typographic/illustrative pieces will help me if I have to design a logo in the future too. Its definitely helped get my head round making more difficult shapes in Illustrator as well as creating balanced pieces. Follow my Instagram for updates on my work.

[matthewleonarddesign]

Line Logo Overload...

Recently I've got really into line icons and symbols, trying to do them myself to improve my skills in Illustrator. Finding inspiring examples of this type of work is great, the designers I see make it look so simple to make a minimal, well put together icon/symbol.

I came across a link to this Tumblr when I was going through Twitter today. Line Craft Logos is a blog made up of a wide variety of vector pieces that are mainly linework. Theres some great examples of work on here and will definitely be a blog that I will keep checking back on, there are also some lush colour schemes used in the work.

Check the blog out at : http://linelogos.tumblr.com/

[matthewleonarddesign]

New Book...

While scrolling through Instagram and looking at some designers' feeds I came across a mention of this book so decided to look it up on Amazon. I've always been a fan of a strong symbol and logo but had never understood how I would make one as bold and slick as the ones I see. This book definitely helps, it's a collection of "abstract and figurative trademarks" ranging from simple circle based icons to animal based.

It's filled with every kind of inspiration you'd need for designing an icon, even with small case studies of renowned designs that you will recognise. A great book and one I'll definitely keep using and hopefully improve my logo and icon designs in the future.

Find it on Amazon here: http://goo.gl/bAbplS

[matthewleonarddesign]

Humans of New York...

Humans of New York is a photography blog ran by Brandon Stanton, the idea behind the blog is to capture people that others wouldn't take a second glance at if they past in the street, but can take an interest in when put onto the blog. I first found out about this through Facebook when friends were liking and commenting on photos of interesting looking people, there has also been a spin off of the idea in the city that I'm from, Newcastle.

I love the concept behind this blog, its a very personal and interesting way to get to know something about someone that you would walk straight by. It seems crazy that there are so many interesting people out there with amazing stories to tell in a city, with it being based in New York I think there is a wider variety of people being documented too. The concept has also influenced me in a brief that I am working on at the moment, where a personal and accessible feel is very important.

Check out the video below to go behind the scenes of the blog, or check them out at http://www.humansofnewyork.com/

[matthewleonarddesign]

40 Days of Dating...

"Dear friends, followers, and fans of 40 Days of Dating: Thank you again for reading our story! We are still amazed and humbled that so many of you were interested. After everything, the number one question we received from fans was: What happened after Day 40?

The 40 Days of Dating book is coming out on January 20th, and that question will finally be answered. While the book provides that answer, it covers so much more, through excerpts taken from the journals we kept during the year following the experiment revealing everything that happened between us; Q&A’s about our childhoods, and our lives before we met; a history of dating and a dating map; worst date stories and essays about love and relationships from our friends; tons of new artwork; and much much more. You’re sure to find the before and after story as fun and deep and interesting as the blog. You’ll also find we added an extra layer to the blog, in the margins, that contains our personal remarks on each other’s entries.

It has been an incredible trip as you will see, even the difficult, awkward, and weird parts. In many ways, 40 Days of Dating— the book—is nothing like you might expect: It’s honest, raw, funny, sad, but at the same time full of hope. While some dismissed the blog as a side-effect of the too-much-information generation, many more have been loyal followers of our journey—hating to love it, loving to hate it, or just simply loving it. You be the judge—and we hope you enjoy!" Via http://fortydaysofdating.com/

This publication merges two of my strong interests in a great way, editorial design and hand rendered typography! I love the tone of voice it has, it seems very personal and that links into the interesting concept that is shown in both this book at the movie that goes alongside it. The colours that run throughout seem very playful too, it seems like a very fun book, whether or not it is is another story! Might have to buy it to find that out! Oh and it has Jessica Walsh, who I'm a big fan of.

[matthewleonarddesign]

Aaron Draplin Takes on the Logo Challenge...

"Most logos aren't designed in fifteen minutes, but most designers aren't Aaron Draplin. Aaron's a Portland fixture by way of the Midwest, the owner of Draplin Design Co., and an advocate of "blue collar" design: design that works. Here he takes our logo design challenge, creating a dozen iterations of a logo for a fictional construction company. Not inspired? Just wait. Watch as he sketches, brings his ideas into Illustrator, and tests and tunes the different iterations. The logos Aaron creates prove design can elevate any company or brand. Along the way, he provides tips for freelancing, finding inspiration, and providing clients context for logos that won't just live in PDFs." via Hypebeast

Love this video and this guy, seems full of life and very passionate about what he does, the video is also full of really useful tips on how to improve my workflow in Illustrator, a program that I would say Ive had least amount of experience with. It has definitely inspired me to try out making more vectors and further my skills in Illustrator. Since watching this video I’ve viewed some of Draplin’s talks on Youtube, a great public speaker and very inspiring.

Check out the video: https://vimeo.com/113751583