Showing posts with label freelancing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label freelancing. Show all posts

New Theme | Dark Flora

(Sources 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5)

First of all, how on earth is it September already? This time last year I had only a couple of weeks left in my first placement and this year I have just started my new job it really is unreal how much can change or happen in a year. Speaking of which, due to the fact I've moved back home, worked constantly, working on my new blog and spent time catching up with friends this blog has been neglected slightly and there has been no weekly content. I am trying to figure out where I want to take this blog as I have had the same structure for about two years now and want to push it more when I start my own projects. It will take time so stick with me whilst I sort it all out. But I am back to freelancing and working on designs ready for Premiere Vision which I am hoping will bring some success for my designs. You really never know how PV is going to go and there is a lot of competition but all it takes is that one meeting and that one design for someone to pick it up.

So the new theme is Dark Flora which is a theme I have wanted to do for months. Of course it is me, I love florals and so is a great them for me. As with any new project that I haven't really had the chance to do before it comes with is challenges, so the best thing to do at the beginning is to breathe, turn on the music and design away. It will need a lot of working in to and patience to get the layout, colours and florals right. I have this imagined in my head like I do at the beginning of every theme but it is all just about making it fun and enjoying the process of working in to the designs, layering, varying scales and using filters. I've found that during my research I didn't want to look to much in to what other designers have done as I would feel like I had to replicate that rather than take my on approach on it. Some designs can be oversized, smaller, darker, brighter, blurred, layered or mirrored. It really is all about experimenting and if it is not right then just try again or ask for some help. I really enjoyed creating this mood board for it after being inspired on Pinterest for the layout. It really helps to have a mood board for each project and it never has to be a final cut before you start the project as your inspiration can change. Like the name suggest, it just has to replicate the mood or feel of the theme and to pick out little parts from each image.

What do you think of the theme?

Editorial Inspiration




My current freelance work is taking a lot of inspiration from the Valentino Spring Summer 2015 collection (see previous post) which is quite exciting now I've got my head around the drawing and technical issues I had creating the collection. The colours are gorgeous with dark blues, greens, reds and mustards. Primary colours in a more attractive manner.
The motifs are quite folky which means searching Pinterest for inspiration and then losing three hours due to how addictive it the site can be (of course I go of route to cute other things). I sometimes find that searching for editorials from the runway collection I am working on helps bring the mood together and I have come across the visually stunning and well put together editorial for the Valentino SS15 collection my Michal Pudelka. The clothes speak so loudly in the photos, nothing "fancy" needs to be done to make the garments stand out. It helps to see how the different repeat or placement patterns stand together and the contrast between them blend well together. I'm always pinning but to check out what all things folky I am looking at, follow me on Pinterest.

See the full editorial here.

New Theme | Freelancing


(Source: Vogue UK)

After a little break from freelancing it's time to get back in to it and create as many design groups as I can before Premiere Vision. My last collection was a William Morris inspired one and this new collection is also based around the idea of his work, but more inspired by the Valentino Spring Summer 2015 runway collection. I achieved a good outcome with the last group and I'm very excited about this new theme. Of course, I'm a little wary and scared as I always feel about taking on a theme I haven't experimented with before. I have a constant look in my head of how I want the designs to look and try not to feel disappointed when the outcomes don't match the ideal look in my head. But, overall, it's about experimenting and testing myself and my design skills. There is always something to learn from designing a collection and to use those for future themes. 
So, lets get designing... 

Inspiration | Marc Jacobs A/W 15


I am a big fan of William Morris designs and so I was thrilled when I discovered my latest freelance print theme was designing all over Morris prints.
I had a brief research in to this trend that took the runway by storm and was instantly inspired my the Marc by Marc Jacobs Autumn / Winter 2015 collection.
The colours range from browns, green, blues and reds creating an exiting colour palette for me to work from. The prints are so bold and stand out on the jackets, trousers and skirts that Katie Hillier and Luella Bartley placed them on.
I am just hoping my designs come out as great as these.

Woop! Yeah! Moment



It's always quite exciting when you reach the end of a design that has been challenging and taken you days and days to complete. It's even more of a Woop! Yeah! moment when it sells ... and it sells in New York. My first freelance design recently sold on a sales trip in New York and it couldn't have made the start of my freelancing career chapter better. I was excited to learn that my first collection, based around fragmented florals, who going to New York but I became ecstatic when I learnt I had sold a design that couldn't have been more painful to finalise.

Freelancing so far has been a great challenge. Yes, it has been a bit scary at times because you have to guide yourself a lot more and make your life fit in around designing for hours on end. But, the themes and ideas are endless excitement that only gets better when your work is greatly received.

So, here is to more of them Woop! Yeah! Moments. I hope there are more to come.

Prints On Garments






Change Of Theme

Over the last few days I've decided, with the help of the company I am freelancing for, to change the theme for my next collection for the company. We both decided that the Crystal/Ink theme was not working and another theme could work better.

The new theme I am now working on is called "Camouflaged in Still Life", which consists of dense pastels with hints of sharp, bright colours. I'm very excited by this theme and what can come out of working in this new, flat but colourful way and avoiding florals. 


It's always good to push yourself as a designer and see what you can do but, sometimes, themes or projects just don't work for your style. It may not be the right time to experiment in a certain theme. I have experienced a theme not working many times throughout my degree, either because it just isn't or I was trying to push it and make it look a certain way.
This didn't really help my confidence when I was at University, and it still sometimes gets me questioning my skills now. Why is this theme not working? Why, as a designer, can I not make this work? Sometimes the project your working on isn't the right one for you at this time, or it is not your style, or you're forcing a design idea so much it won't work. 

At times, it is best to just admit defeat and move on to see what else there is out their to design in your own style and with confidence. If you have no confidence in the designs then it does show within the collection and I know this from experience. I look back at some of my work now and I can tell I had no confidence in the project and no confidence in myself and to push myself because a previous theme didn't work. But, overall, this all takes time and certainly won't come overnight. This new theme might not work out, but it also might and be my strongest collection yet. It a process of working through that good/bad theme barrier and just going with it.

Work In Progress | Freelancing






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