Valentino Messina : Creative Platforms

UoP Unit Blog

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Software I Used

for this project i used many different programs to help produce the final product. the main program which was used the most was Adobe Illustrator. but others like Photoshop, WordPress and Sony Vegas were used for separate tasks.

i designed and created both my CV and Logo in Adobe Illustrator the main reason i chose to do this was as illustrator is a linear program which means maths and lines are used to create each image, this allows for much higher quality images in the long run.

creating my logo in illustrator allowed me to create a high quality image which symbloised me ( the logo being my head), i wanted to make sure not mater how big or small the logo was made that the quality would stay the same no mater what.

this was also the same reason i decided to create the CV in illustrator as it allows for much higher quality then many other applications available.

using WordPress to create the website was easy as pie, it was my first time using it for myself and it was a breeze as i didn't use it straight through WordPress and installed it on my own hosting it made it slightly more difficult but with my past sever and web design experience i figured it out quite quickly and easily. WordPress allowed for a website to be created almost effortlessly and it was great being able to still edit HTML and CSS code to help add a bit of my personality and style to the site.

finally was using Sony Vegas to create my photography/Animation showreel came quite natural to me as i have many years experience with the program, it wasn't a very complex video but i felt if it was too complex it may draw the viewers away from the images being shown witch was the purpose of the showreel in the first place. Sony Vegas has many build in tools which help with generating text and moving the images around which helped produce the final showreel.

i feel by using all of these different programs for their set tasked helped me create my desired look and feel for my product and i would like to expand my knowledge on more design programs to help produce even better work in the future.

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Photography/Animation Showreel

i created a short showreel to help show off some of the photos i have taken and to help show what i am able to do behind a camera, i also included a short clip from an animation that i created which hopefully i should be able to soon place on the site too depending on weather the client gives me permission to place the video publicly as currently it is being kept as unlisted so only the client may use it.

i really like the idea of photography showreels even if its not very energetic or feature filled i like the idea of showing off images with some music and syncing the music and images together to create a nice simple product for a viewer to see.

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WordPress - Portfolio

when i set out i wanted to create a portfolio website to help show off who i am and help show my skill set.

valentinomessina.co.uk

the website was created using wordpress as it would help provide an easy to use interface and also comes with an easy updater which helps allow the user to add pages and add new posts. also with my knowledge of html and other web languages i was able to customize a theme to my specific requirements.

using illustrator i created new icons for different pieces of information for the website here is some  icons which i created to show off the different things i can do. as illustrator is vector based it helps keep the icons high quality even with a small file size which is great when trying to keep a website as adaptive and responsive as possible.

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Deliverable

below is what i could send to a future employer so they can see who i am.

this envelope contains two business cards(one of each design) and a CV, i did want to try and arrange something else branded but it was very difficult to find something which i felt would show who i was as a digital designer. i would of liked a special sort of box instead of an envelope but it was hard to find one i felt would suite the design of the business cards and CV.

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Final Business cards

below is the final business card designs

i was undecided on the logo design at the time so i decided to order both using moo.com and their square business cards. i really liked the square design as i felt they would work best with my logo design. i wanted the business cards to be simple yet memorable. so i kept with clean designs  with the relevant information on the reverse. 

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Final CV

Above is the final CV design that i went with, i wanted a unique design which would stick out and attract the viewer to it. i took inspiration from ‘Jimmy Raheriarisoa’s’ CV (Below) as it is very abstract and unique.

his CV may not have every piece of information usually in a CV but it shows his skills and helps show the viewer of the CV what he is capable of. i wanted to have a similar sort of CV, as being a Digital designer allows for many different design aspects.

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Digital Designer - Presintation

Digital Designer - Presintation by Valentino Messina

Here is the presintation that i created to show what i have done sofare and what i am planning on doing next

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Business Card Design

i decided i wanted to go with simplicity for my business card and i had been looking around and came across that moo.com had brought out a new business card style which were square so i used their designer and really liked the outcome, i am uncertain if this shall be my final business card but i do really like the card shape and i wanted to go with simplicity as i feel my logo should be memorable itself.

i shall shop around for different company's who supply business cards and see if i can find any different design that catches my eye. i want to have a business card that people will keep hold of and not just chuck out.

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Business Card Research

being in a creative industry it is always good to carry around business cards to make sure if you are ever at an event you shall be able to produce a high quality card to give to a future employer or future client.

whilst searching around online i came across a blog which had many different creative business card designs some using many different materials other than standard paper. these business cards obviously have had a lot of thought put into them and it really shows as they are unique to the person they belong too.(http://dzineblog.com/2010/09/33-very-original-creative-industry-business-cards.html)

below are some examples from the blog that i really liked.

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Planning a Portfolio

as i have acquired a domain and hosting i shall be creating my own portfolio website, i am planing on trying to create one from scratch but if i find this too difficult for my skill set i could resort to using word press as it provides the user with many tools to populate the site which makes it very easy to use and as there are many customize able themes it would be easy to make personal.(https://wordpress.com/)

Using word press shall be a last resort but i feel i shall be perfectly capable of creating a portfolio website which i can be proud to show future employers.

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Portfolio Research

being with a creative industry it is very important to have a portfolio to show off the work you have done to allow employers to see what you are capable of. looking around the internet i have found a few different styles of portfolio which caught my attention

the first portfolio i found was by a guy called Andrew Couldwell he is a Digital Designer who has now been hired by Adobe for his work on UI design his portfolio(below) shows all of his work for many different company  he worked for. the lay out is nice and simple and easy to read which would allow employers to see what he has done and his skill set easily.(http://www.roomfive.net/)

the second portfolio i found was for a guy called Vito Salvatore who is also a digital designer and a art director his portfolio starts by showing his previous work which is shown in a very clear and truly beautiful manner. Vito's portfolio site is split up nicely having an about page separate from his work and photography. i really like Vito's portfolio as it look very professional and is very attractive.(http://www.vitosalvatore.com/)

and this is his about us page.

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Creating a domain

it is very important when going into the creative industry to make sure you get your own domain, this is much more professional and it shows you mean business. there are many people out there all competing for the job you want so you want to make yourself stand out and show you care about your career and business.

i use go daddy for my domain as it was one of the cheapest at the time and i found it had a strong support system just in case i ever ran into any problems with my domain, i now own the domain valentinomessina.co.uk and with this i can do many things.

one of the things owning a domain allows me to do is use a email forwarding service which i set up with my hosting company for my website which allows me to now use the email [email protected] , this is much more professional than using email addresses like '@hotmail' or '@yahoo' this helps me look more professional and allows me to put it on my business card and websites.

below you can see the emails i set up, i set up two for testing purposes to make sure it worked but i feel i shall either use a info or contact beginning of the email depending on what i find in my research.

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Previous work examples

the first one is some photo manipulation that i like to call 'The Onlooker' this is accompanied by a video showing the creation process on how i made the photo using Photoshop.

the second photo is of a style of photography called tiny planet which i found online and really liked the idea of it, i also have accompanied a video with this one to show the creation process of the photo.

next i would like to show a video i had to edit together using after effects. i was given the files and asked to edit them into a sequence to help show my skill level with after effects and to create the product that the client wanted.

finally i would like to show a short video showing a taxi that i personally made using 3Ds MAX which was for a university uni where we had to make man made objects just from blueprints, i was very pleased with the outcome as this was the first time i had ever made anything using 3Ds MAX

its is not the best peice of work ever produced using 3D moddling software but i have been self teaching more in my spare time and would like to further my knowlage in the field of 3D moddling.

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CV - Test Styles

After looking around i decided i wanted to try out some different stylized CV ideas , something that could catch an employers eye and attract them to me , something they had never seen before that was out of the box. 

bellow i have created two different ideas i had but still i'm unsure what to chose i have been fine tuning the information i shall be putting in my CV to allow it to all fit on one page. 

the second design i played with seems a bit strange as i don't feel i have seen anyone produce something this way before and i would like to see how it would look once it is filled with information. it might be too over the top so it is very important i test it.

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CV - Feedback

this is my CV which i had been using, it has a very outdated style. from my feedback i gained a lot of information and also had some mistakes pointed out. one thing i was told was to put my Logo on my CV which i never had thought of doing. another thing is to make sure not to have too much blank space. shaping the CV was one of the most important things i learnt it is important to minimize  pages and to make sure to try and sell yourself.

bellow are scans of the feed back i received on my CV showing me what i could do instead.

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CV Research

the next thing i needed to think about was my CV, i currently have a very outdated one and it doesn't help show me off to my highest standard to a employer.

from what i already know a CV should never be longer than two pages but is much better if you can fit all of you information on one page as it makes it a lot easier for an employer to read. (no one wants to read through two pages of irrelevant information)

while looking around for ideas i came across some really creative ideas for a CV(shown below), its a great design and style but could be hard to read for some people and i felt i would prefer something a bit more simple and straight to the point.

i then decided to look in Google images and came across another which was just as design orientated but was a lot easier to read and understand. i would like my final CV to look similar to this but maybe not as graphical.

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Final Logo

this is my final logo design, i am very happy with the outcome as its very simple and easy to distinguish and remember, and i really wanted a logo that could represent me which i feel this logo does perfectly.

Creating this in illustrtator also helps keep the design high quality as illustrator is a vector base program that uses vector lines and maths to create the image the quality of the image is much higher and looks much nicer on paper and on a screen.