Design Focus

As a designer I want to create and inspire digital interfaces that are used in products which will fundamentally change the way people do things. While my focus will initially be on web and app interface design, I intend to expand into OS and TUI development and design. I want to work in the emerging transport, space exploration or emerging technology industries. 

Whilst I was always against the idea of working at an in-house design team (due to staleness and lack of freedom), I've recently become attracted to the idea as long as the company suited my ideals. I've identified a relatively short selection of companies which would meet my perfect ideals; my plan is to seek employment at a design studio after graduating and then work my way towards one of my target companies. 

Design studios in San Francisco

One of my ultimate medium term goals is to temporarily move and work in San Francisco, and so it makes sense to do some early scouting. 

Below are screenshots taken from design studios in SF that appeal to my creative interests and ambitions. Some, but not all, are focused on interaction design. 

Only

DesignStudio

Astro studio particularly appeals to me - their space-based visuals and clean UI design hugely plays to my design interests. Additionally, they design for cutting edge technological products that, in a broad sense, serve a positive purpose. 

Moniker

Manual

Character 

A strategy: doing concepts of projects I'd love to be involved with

By doing conceptual designs for products that I would love to work with, it allows me to build a portfolio which is more relevant to my current ambitions. It also gives me a small idea what that kind of work would be like so I know whether it would fit with my skills and interests. 

Looking back: previous attempts at a personal identity

These are my previous attempts at branding myself. Most of them still utilise blue, and many of them still have a futuristic element to their design, but they never did fit the aesthetic I wanted. The typography is too robotic and esoteric, and the symbols lack precision and purity. I knew I needed a symbol which was simple, adaptable and memorable, and my pine tree device fits those criteria. My chosen typeface is modernist without lacking personality or emotion, whereas these ones are stern and aggressive. 

Areas of Interest: Games Studios in Leeds and at Home

The secondary objective in my design career is to work with and/or for a video game design company in a graphic design/design concept role.

I have identified two AAA game studios in the UK within a short distance from me - Ubisoft Reflections (Newcastle) and Rockstar Leeds. 

Ubisoft Reflections is Ubisoft's AAA game studio, and are listed as the secondary studio involved with the development of Tom Clancy's The Division, a highly anticipated and cutting-edge game for PC, PS4 and Xbox One. They offer graduate internships, but it may be worth requesting a summer internship or a tour of the site (this is unlikely due to the sensitive nature of their projects). Forming a line of communication could prove helpful.

Rockstar Leeds is part of Rockstar Games, a multinational video game developer and 
publisher known for multi-million-selling games such as Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption. 

Conceptual print applications of my identity

Although it's essential that my identity remains as digital as possible, there are some potential physical applications that I could get away with. I really like the idea of creating a medium sized book which would serve as sort of a mini portfolio. It would be created by me by hand, and would summarise me in a book. 

It'd be constructed entirely out of recycled and/or sustainably sourced stock, and probably be either sandwich bound or screw bound. 

This would allow me to capitalise on the industry's current interest in tangible print without compromising on my ideologies, and give me something physical which I could distribute.  

 

User Interface Design: Beauty in the Exaggerated

Traditionally I've always thought that an interface should be as simple as possible without being too boring, but StarWalk2 brought to my attention the idea that sometimes, interfaces should just be allowed to be indulgently beautiful. 

The app showcases and identifies a huge selection of extra-planetary objects, both natural and human-made, and has 3D rendered models and a variety of info pages on them. 

The home area has you stood in the middle of a lake - totally unnecessary, but beautiful and engaging. The same could be said for the responsive 3D constellation overlays - unnecessarily detailed, but unarguably engaging and appealing. 

Maybe some interfaces, those designed for fun instead of mission-critical procedures, should just be allowed to be beautiful. 

My Online Presence - Portfolio

As a companion to my Behance profile I have recently created an Adobe Portfolio; designed to be the central point of my online presence, it contains Behance-powered showcases of my current work, and links to all of my other online profiles. 

It is of course fully adaptable to all screen sizes and devices, as anything created by my philosophy should be. 

http://nickyhope.myportfolio.com/