jordan steeds

why

emcdesign

SHOULD HIRE

W H AT ' S I N S I D E ?

About Portfolio Contact

//3

An invitation to familiarise yourself with who Jordan is

and what he can bring to the table

at emc design.

A showcase of Jordan’s

latest work that demonstrates his

versatility and natural flair as a young creative.

Various ways that emc design can connect with

Jordan.

//4 //8 //20

W h o I s J o r d a n S t e e d s ?

Jordan is a young creative based in the Midlands who specialises in Editorial Design. Inspired by everything around him, Jordan creates visually striking outcomes that are compatible with current trends within technology, lifestyle and design.

Jordan is a graduate of BIAD’S (Birmingham Institute of Art & Design) Visual Communication course. During his time at university he has further developed his passion and knowledge of graphic design, as well as re-defining his own ability across many specialist sectors within design. Jordan brings all of these elements together to create a solid design foundation that he applies to every project.

Jordan’s passion for art and design began while young and his natural flair for the subject was soon apparent. Whilst making his way through high school, he grasped every opportunity to showcase his work and share his knowledge and enthusiasm for art with the hope that his passion would rub off on those around him (not literally). Jordan still applies this attitude to exhibitions and client meetings, taking every opportunity to broadcast his work and enthusiasm to potential clients.

Jordan has already tasted success, He was invited to be a part of a prestigious exhibition in the mailbox in Birmingham which featured the best up and coming talent from the City of Birmingham. His work was also featured in the University’s private exhibition which also awarded him with nominations for awards in Editorial Design and Illustration. These nominations lead to placements and introduced Jordan to a strong network of young creatives.

Since graduating last summer, Jordan has been offered more placements and internships at agencies that specialise in multiple design specialisms. This offered Jordan the opportunity to learn new skills which have strengthened his versatility as a designer. Jordan has worked with agencies and foundations such as Quickfire Creative, and Endangered Species International. Working with these companies has offered Jordan invaluable experience and the chance to refine his skill set. Jordan has also been working as a builder in his spare time, something that he’s not as familiar with, in order to be able to afford to partake in these incredible opportunities. Jordan is not afraid to try something new, he relishes the opportunity to test himself in all aspects of life.

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pa r t 1 : i n t h e s t u d i o

I am a confident, efficient young creative with the ambition and drive to succeed. I work efficiently to deadlines as an individual or as a part of a creative team on either self-initiated briefs or live briefs from clients. I can work digitally due to my training with the Adobe suite (Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator) but I can also work traditionally due to my illustration and Fine Art background. This often gives me an advantage over my competition, as I can transfer an idea to a visualised concept quickly and effectively so that the idea can be understood. These skills, combined with my attitude and approach to design, have constantly enabled me to work successfully to strict timetables and produce high quality finals within this time period. I have worked previously on advertising, branding, photography, digital and editorial briefs and have shown initiative and strong understanding of the different approaches as well as an innovative creative flair for design in order to complete these to the highest possible standard within a tight deadline. This approach has enabled me

to be nominated for several awards within design.

"

"

We asked Jordan what he feels he can bring to the design studio of any potential clients or companies interested in hiring him, this is what he had to say:

/6 JORDANSTEEDS

away f r o m t h e s t u d i o

pa r t 2 :

So what makes jordan tick while he’s away from design? We asked jordan what life is like away from the design, and

this is what he had to say;

Well where to begin?! I’m rather tall and not very ginger... okay, I’m your streotypical ginger. You know the kind with Pale skin,

freckles, no soul. But it’s not all that bad. We do get preferential seating in Starbucks and our own factor of sun cream.

I pride myself on being an approachble and fun person to have around, with the added benefit of having the determination and skill to get where i want to be. Like most other young creatives i

like to think that im an ‘individual’, but unlike most other creatives i realise that wearing Nike trainers and a baggy tee doesn’t really stand me out from the crowd anymore. But still... This is who i am.

"

"

The conversation continues;

Growing up I’ve always had a strong relationship with the ‘underground’ scene in Birmingham and skateboarding. This has caused me to have influences in Hip-Hop and the graffiti scene, which in retrospect have heavily influenced my style as a designer. I love the chaos of city life, Like most other 23 year olds im socially dependant, glued to my mobile phone and enjoy a night on the town. My lifestyle away from the studio is devoted to my family and friends. If I’m not with my friends either playing or watching football or some other sport which I like to think I’m good at, then I’ll be with my family.

Saying that, I’m very independent. University taught me a lot about myself and like most other students returning home, after living by yourself for 3 years, there isn’t a house mate on the planet more frustrating than your mother. So I’m quite looking forward to getting away from them at the same time as loving them dearly.

I like to think I’m cool and down with the kids, but really I’m a bit of a geek. Okay, I’m probably a massive geek but there’s no harm in that. Is there? I quite enjoy keeping up with all the new technological advancements within computers, mobile phones, games consoles, mostly to keep up with what is going on within the design industry. One advancement is just another thing for

design to control and use as a platform to network to people. I also play a lot of video games and like keeping up with them too, I’d probably beat you at FIFA.

But the real reason for me applying for this position and my excitement for making this document, is for the possibilities that it could create. The job in question is my absolute dream job. Editorial design has been a major passion of mine ever since I can remember, I love reading, but it soon evolved from just reading to appreciating the design concept and the hard work that went into producing magazines and books.

I am not often found without a book or magazine on my person. Print media and publishing is a massive part of who I am now I’ve finished university, I will flick through endless numbers of magazines a day for influence and new ideas of how I can turn a flat page into a design that interacts with the reader. But mainly it’s just for the fresh feel of a page within your fingertips and the satisfaction a hard copy of something you can hold can bring. This relationship between the audience and the book is being lost with the evolution of technology and the introduction of digital publishing, Don’t get me wrong, Digital Publishing is absolutely incredible, but there will always be a need for print publishing because of people like myself who appreciate the time and effort, and the physical presence of a document. As awesome as reading a book digitally is, it just doesn’t give the same satisfaction as a hard copy, and doesn’t look as good on my bookshelf.

Editorial Design is kinda my thing, there is honestly nothing I enjoy more than creating a publication. You won’t believe how much fun I’ve had making this!

"

"

J O R D A N S T E E D S

&

H I S E V E R

E X P A N D I N G P O R T F O L I O

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Due to the specific role requirementthe work Jordan has decided to present to

emc design will be orientated around editorial design.

These examples will demonstrate his awareness of layout, typography and other fundemental elements of this

specialism, along with a few hidden extras in there too.

This brief challenged the designer to create a unique magazine cover for one of the films provided within the

brief. The films that Little White Lies gave as options were Black Swan, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, DRIVE, The

Tree of Life and Super 8.

Each film Little White Lies had chosen to be in their “favourite films of 2011” had soared in box office figures and was a controlling favourite within consumer ratings.

So naturally, being an absolute film geek, i had seen them all prior to the briefs announcement and was instantly drawn to it due to its nature and demands.

The illustration had to represent and personify the lead character of the film. This brief was appealing as i

had set myself the objective of refining my drawing skills and practising the different techniques incorporated

in both illustration and digital illustration. I decided to produce 4 magazine covers rather than one to ensure

that I tested and refined my skills thoroughly.

“Create an original cover illustration forLittle White Lies magazine, depictingthe main character of one of our five

favourite films of 2011”

T H E B R I E F :

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SPOILT magazine was an original brief created for my negotiated Project. I wanted to produce a magazine that had a replicable theme throughout, which in the

end was represented by colour and shape relationship with a consistent typeface throughout. By incorporating

these factors it would make the magazine more navigable and visually appealing for the reader.

The content within the magazine has a wide variety which account for music, arts, fashion and world

problems that were apparent at the time. The identity and content were created to portray the audience in which the magazine is aimed at, and this gritty street

theme is represented throughout the magazine through photography and subject theme.

Upon reflection, this was the first piece of editorial design I had created so looking back at it now there are a lot of factors that i would change, such as sizing

of type and layout consideration. These are being rectified within issue 2 of SPOILT Magazine which is

now in production.

“Create a magazine that appeals to student culture in order to assist with answering my dissertation title of ‘Has digital publishing

caused the downfall of traditional print publishing’.”

T H E B R I E F :

/13

This brief required the designer to produce a set of three typographically-focused posters that acted as a three month advertising campaign for Ministry of

Sound’s ‘Saturday Sessions’.

The blurred imagery is used to give a sense of movement & motion and attempts to recreate the hazy atmosphere that you experience in clubs. I had to use the brand colours of the Ministry of Sound as well as

provided copy and their logo.

“... produce a setof three typographically-focusedA2 outdoor posters (landscape orportrait) that act as a three month

advertising campaign for Ministry ofSound’s iconic London event ‘Saturday

Sessions’...”

T H E B R I E F :

/16 JORDANSTEEDS

These are a few examples of the re-brand that i came up with for Birmingham Perspectives

magazines. The designs gave the magazine an entirely fresh appeal and feel for the consumer,

bringing the design up to date with other editorial publications. As the magazine is aimed

at a slightly older generation i made the body text bigger and used sophisticated imagery that

would appeal to them.

Birmingham Perspecitives magazine came to university and asked for the assistance of an editorial designer to help rebrand their

magazine.

Their designs were tired and old and had no appeal to consumers due to it’s aesthetically

displeasing design.

B i r m i n g h a m Pers pecti v es m agaz i n e

OTHER EDITORIAL

WORK

/17

This is a prospectus designed for Warwickshire College. The client wanted a complete re-design

of the existing prospectus. As it is for Higher Education students, a sophisticated yet stylish

design and layout needed to be used. The prospectus had information about the college

itself and the course centres, as well as the night life and student life they could expect if they

decided to attend Warwickshire college. As there were 6 different centres to cover, it was important to give even coverage. The front cover

image is of the halls of residence available for Higher Education students. The overall look for the prospectus was to deliver the usual

information is an aesthetically pleasing way so that the student would not just throw it away, but

actually be tempted in to reading it. The purpose is to inform and be useful for those that are away from home for the first time, hence providing the

reader with a list of takeaways...

Penguin Publishing set the brief of creating a new children’s book cover for Grimm’s Fairy Tales

by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. I was aware of the horrific nature of the original German fairy tales and wanted to exploit this through the imagery used. However, the English version of the fairy tales are given a magical twist which is more

suited to the Disney version of princesses and fairy’s. I decided to create a cover for both the

dark origin version and the child friendly version. For the original dark covers I incorporated aspects of tradition and death using iconic

imagery which represents the stories within the book. For the magical version of the book I

wanted to create a design that was both suitable for children and demonstrated a story within the

book.

/18 JORDANSTEEDS

ILLUSTRATIONb y J o r d a n S t e e d s

/19

As already mentioned, Jordan began his career path as an illustrator, a skill that he has further developed and practiced constantly throughout his journey through school, college and university.

Below are just a few examples of different styles of illustration, ranging from life drawing to digital illustration.

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H O W T O c o n n e c t w i t h

J O R D A N S T E E D S

//18

There are many ways in which you can communicate and interact with Jordan Steeds. Being your stereotypical young adult he is involved with the mass of social networking sites that have become most peoples lives. Below are just a few examples of these life draining websites that

Jordan uses.

Jordan seems to be the only Jordan Steeds amongst google searches... so he’s pretty easy to stalk. Just stay away from his myspace, he’s rather

embarrased of that.

@jordansteeds

facebook.com/jordansteeds

@jordansteeds

VIA E-MAIL

jordan.steeds@hotmail.com

VIA TWITTER

VIA FACEBOOK

VIA INSTAGRAM

For more of what you're reading here, head over to the website and find out

what Jordan Steeds can do for you.

Alternatively,you can visit

jordansteeds.wix.com/design(i know, i know.. the wix will be gone from

the address soon enough!)

The jour mey continues online.

/22 JORDANSTEEDS

O U T R O

" d o n ' t b e a f r a i d yo u r

l i f e w i l l e n d ; b e a f r a i d t h at

i t w i l l n e v e r b e g i n "

by granting this exciting opportunity;emc design will help define the beginning of

Jordan Steeds.