Vinyl Hunter Competition

Before attending Nottingham Trent University, I was a student at West Suffolk College for 2 years. I have very fond memories of these years because this is where my love and passion for Graphic Design sparked and grew to the extent that it is today. This is where I started to live and breathe Graphic Design. Where I realised this was my number one passion, both as a potential job role and a hobby.

My most successful project of these two years would have been when my class competed in a Vinyl Hunter rebranding competition, set to create the best tote bag or the best poster design.

Vinyl Hunter is a record cafe in Bury St Edmunds, which "specialise in an eclectic range of music new and old!".

I have fond memories of my brief visit to Vinyl Hunter. Their team were so welcoming to us, which I can ensure was very much appreciated and did not go unnoticed. We were all very much at the start of our graphic design journey, and for the majority of us, this was our first opportunity to try and get our work out there. To try and get our designs recognised by others in our community. Their calming and authentic energy made my first opportunity at presenting my work for the first time (not including to teachers) much less daunting!

Tote bag

My tote bag design was successful, however it was not as successful as the poster design which I created, which won the competition. The boy in the far, back right corner won the tote bag competiton. My design is the blue and black tote bag, directly in the middle.

Above shows the different colour variations of a collage design which I created. I have decided that these designs are much more successful and unique. The boy sitting on the end of a UFO is very mysterious, and I think this design would be much more fitting on a tote bag. The different colour variations are also very interesting. I was experimenting with complementary colours, which are colours that are opposite each other on the colour wheel, such as purple and yellow. I also experimented with analogous colours, which are colours that neighbour each other on the colour wheel, such as red, orange and yellow. In hindsight, I wish I used one of these collage designs, instead of the collage design which I chose.

Development Process of Logo

Below are some key pages in my sketch book where I analysed the digital illustration progression of my design. The vast amount of text applied in my sketchbook shows how dedicated I am towards any project which I face. How graphic design truly is my favourite hobby.

I originally decided to choose a realistic colour palette, matching the primary image which I was using as reference. The design with the original colour palette does look interesting, however it does look boring, as there is a lot of brown, grey and black involved. I quickly realised that this design would come to light with a splash of colour.

This is where my designs really improved and started to look like a successful final product. I experimented with a range of different colour palette techniques. Some routes were more structured, where I used analogous colours such as different shades of orange and yellow. Some were a lot more random and intense, such as the design in the bottom right, which uses every colour possible, in a vibrant, bold manner.

As I was creating a poster promoting Vinyl Hunter, I felt it was important to add some typography to the design. I added information such as where their store was located, their contact number, the link to their website as well as their opening times. The technique of having the text curve around the edge of the illustration allows the text to fit in well with the design, which is crucial. The design would look unprofessional and rushed if the typography looked out-of-place.

T-Shirt

Above shows an image which Vinyl Hunter posted on their Instagram, with the caption, "New Vinyl Hunter T-Shirts and Slipmats have just landed and they are pretty damn sweet! They feature a new design from a local graphic design student at West Suffolk College which we absolutely love!". It was a great feeling seeing my work starting to get recognised, and even better when looking at the comments, and seeing Vinyl Hunter customers asking them to "put an XL aside" for him.

I also remember my friend going on a night-out and seeing the DJ wearing this top and her sending it to me. I felt really proud when finding that out.

The approach of these designs was to experiment with a new style of digital illustration, and I grew to LOVE this style, which is proven by me continuously revisiting similar styles in future projects. The thick lines and clear shapes remind me of the work of Thomas Hedger, who was a huge inspiration to me at the time, and also remains as one of my favourite designers.

I decided that it would be appropriate to use the old style logo of Vinyl Hunter as a stencil, allowing their brand identity to remain, in turn increasing their chance of potential interest towards the design. I have taken something which they are comfortable with and already enjoy the design of, and tried to reinvent it. I tried to make the design more exciting. I also traced an image of their shop entrance to place inside the logo stencil. I feel like this matches well with their authentic and calm atmosphere which I hit me when I visited their store.

The colour palette used in both designs was also very successful. The bright, bold colours make the design appear more exciting and fun. It also matches well with the playful, thick lines used in the design.

Slipmats

Above shows the two slipmats which I created for Vinyl Hunter, which were then sold on their website for people to enjoy. The pink design is currently displayed in my dining room on our Vinyl, always reminding me of my first achievement within graphic design.

A few years ago, the t-shirt and both of the slipmat designs featured on the website, however now, only the green slipmat remains. This is still a massive achievement. Something I achieved at a young age which I was, and still am, so incredibly proud of, still features on their website.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vinyl__hunter/

Website: https://vinyl-hunter.co.uk