Here is your freshly squeezed design inspiration for the week of March 13 2023.
- SOMETHING GORGEOUS: Lyric video for SBTRKT - Waiting
- PORTFOLIO OF THE WEEK: Aaron McGuire
- Syrupy Branding
- Sex Brand by Uncommon Studio
- Critical Danger
- ONE TOK: Dioramas for Sneakerheads
- ONE THING I LEARNED: Work Smarter Not Harder
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Resource of the Week
Tome
As a designer, I know building great case studies to share with my clients is super important. It helps with finding new clients to work with and also to show the value of working with a designer like myself.
Tome is a new tool that uses Ai to help build engaging presentations that you can share easily with whoever you want....aka CLIENTS!
Last week I put Tome to the test by building a case study for a client project I just finished. For the project, I created the brand identity and developed the entire website.
Tome is like Keynote on steroids! Adding descriptions and images into Tome is super easy and you can even embed your Figma boards.
Check out this video I made on TikTok to see how easy it is!
Something Gorgeous
Lyric video for SBTRKT - Waiting
Finally a lyric music video that didn't make me want to gag as I watched it. I'm a big fan of SBTRKT and as a graphic designer, this lyric video is a dream. Scrolling type perfectly timed to the track. *CHEF'S KISS*
The whole video gives me old karaoke bar vibes and I'm here for it. Also, the type for the title frame is 👌
Portfolio Of The Week
Aaron McGuire
Aaron McGuire is a seasoned design director and his portfolio website shows off his years of experience working within product, motion, and branding. While the header animation at the top of his portfolio is repetitive, I like the bluntness. It just hits home the idea that he has a ton of years of experience and not to waste his time with small-time jobs.
The other thing I found really interesting about his portfolio website is his use of animation to draw attention to the copy he has written. Something I mention all the time to designers and creatives during our portfolio reviews, is you want to make sure to include descriptions within portfolio website to give context and help illustrate your process, objective, and outcomes of your work. Aaron's execution of this takes that to another level.
Portfolio Rating: 6/5
Aaron's portfolio website is built using Webflow, but I do think he has incorporated some custom code for some of the animations. Don't quote me on that.
If you would you're portfolio reviewed, you can use this link here.
View Aaron McGuire's portfolio here.
Creative Finds
Syrupy Branding
Syrupy is a handmade wooden furniture company based in Washington and the branding was done by Brazilian studio ODUPLO_. Syrupy is defined as "excessively sentimental" and that is all I feel as a 90's baby looking at this. Everything from the use of warm primary colors to the bold logotype and secondary serif typeface makes me think of those old inspirational "hang in there" posters. Well done 👏
Sex Brand by Uncommon Studio
Sex Brand is literally a new sex brand co-created by London based Uncommon Studio. I didn't know this but apparently there is a "sex recession" going on and Sex Brand intends to change that. The brand identity entails an almost demonic visual direction with a bold orange color and gothic type. Fun fact, their condom is biodegradable and safe for the planet and for every million they sell, they donate a million to their charity partner Safehands.
View more here.
Critical Danger
Critical Danger is a website created by a collective designers to draw attention to ever growing number of endangered animals. The website and all the interactions are masterfully executed along with the merch. All profits from the merch sales will be donated to IUCN, Re:Wild, and World Wide Fund for Nature.
ONE TOK
Dioramas for Sneakerheads
Stella is a UK based artist creating art on anything she can get her hands on. Sneakers, skateboards, jackets, bags, wallets, canvases, you name, she can do it. However, her recent sneaker diorama for a client caught my eye on TikTok. The amount of detail she puts into these pieces is lovely and I love seeing her destroy these sneakers in the process.
One Thing I Learned
Work Smarter Not Harder
This week I shared on TikTok that I have finally figured out a way to get all of the portfolio reviews I do with designers and creatives onto my website. My goal is to build the largest catalogue of portfolio reviews on the web so that young designers and creatives can use it as a resource whenever they need to work on their portfolio website.
Every portfolio review that goes on my website will include the full video recording, all the notes that I send to the creative, as well as references, and will be tagged with their respective focuses so you can easily find reviews that relate to you and your work.
Call it a shameless plug but I'm really excited about this. I have learned that your portfolio website is the key to opening up new doors in your career and having a resource like this when I was just starting out would've been priceless.
Check out the most recent portfolio review I did here, where we discuss how to prioritize and separate out your work.
PS. If you would like a portfolio review, you can use this link here.
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