Contact

natalielimbrey@live.co.uk
@natlimbrey

Saturday, 21 April 2012


Hi guys! Just seen how many views this site has been getting... happy doesn't cover it! For all my latest work please visit http://www.behance.net/natalielimbrey

If you'd like to contact me personally I'm still on natalielimbrey@live.co.uk

Thanks!

P.S Here's a little taster of my latest fashion photo shoot...


Monday, 16 May 2011

Twenty Exhibition



As it is now coming to the end of our final year, we are having an exhibition!
Everyone is invited, so if you're around, come down and have a look :)
All the latest updates are being posted here: http://twentyexhibition.tumblr.com/

Thursday 19th 19:00 - 22:00 (Invite only)
Friday 20th 12:00 - 19:00
Saturday 21st 12:00 - 19:00


Tuesday, 3 May 2011

Race For Life

Yesterday I entered myself into the Race for Life, taking place in July, I would be over the moon if any of you could sponsor me a small amount. It's situations like this where the little things make a massive difference. You can do it all online, and it's really quick and simple just click on the button at the top right of my page.
Thank you so much :)

Tuesday, 26 April 2011

Photo shoot

Off to the studio back home in Kent this morning to get lots of photo shoots done. The images are for my photography project I have on at the moment which is inspired but Halsman's Jumpology theory. To make people jump instead of pose, so that they forget about their stance and posture and focus purely on the jump, thus showing their true personality. 
So into it :) and using a dancer this morning so should get some awesome jumps. Not sure the studio will be big enough though...


Also the model's ill, so a massive thank you to her for battling through, as this is the only day the studio is free.


Thanks Alice, you're a star!

Saturday, 23 April 2011

Turner Contemporary

Pretty lucky living in Kent when things like this come around...
Went to the new Turner Contemporary Gallery in Margate this week (first week it was open). It also coincides with my self directed project I am completing at the moment, where I have mentioned Turner and how he found light extremely important.


“Turner Contemporary’s purpose is to stretch the boundaries of current visual arts practice, to make the exhibitions sufficiently varied and to bridge the gap between the historical and contemporary.” Victoria Pomery, Director, Turner Contemporary

http://www.turnercontemporary.org/ - link to the gallery's site, if ya fancy looking...

I love contemporary art (as I'm sure most my lecturers know, as I focus a lot of my essays on the subject) so I was really excited about seeing what was there practically on my door step. And don't get me wrong I loved the artwork, I just feel it was a bit sparse... there seemed to be a lot of 
S    P   A   C   E which is of course a very modern thing to do, but I believe there was too much. I understand that one of the main focus' was to capture as much light as possible, however I feel their attempt to do this is not obvious, unless however you already knew their intentions. 
Also gold type on a red background for some of the descriptions... I mean really?! Kind of hard to read and I'm only 20...

Plus you had to really look for the descriptions of each display (which are kind of vital to understand the work when it comes to most contemporary pieces of art). Therefore if you're not that interested in art would you really go looking for it? And considering it's in Margate... is the artwork then wasted?

However on a more positive note, it was amazing having contemporary work so close to home and I hope they continue putting new pieces in there :)

Wednesday, 13 April 2011

Monday, 4 April 2011

Dover Museum

Got confirmation a couple of days ago that the work I had done for Dover Museum was now up and on show. Here are some photos of the permanent display panels I designed:




Friday, 1 April 2011

Everything is Made.

One of the girls here at the design agency showed me this book a couple of days ago and it was brilliant. Full of thousands of designs and stories/meanings behind them.
"There is an important message at the heart of this Annual.  Everything is Made.  This statement appealed to me on every fundamental principle of being a Creative. The fact that everything we create is born of us, starting with a blank piece of paper and finding the inspiration and motivation to not just answer a brief but to do something different, something special and dare I say it, original.
Then the skills of crafting take place making the craft integral and relevant to the communication. Creativity is a wonderful and powerful thing.”
Definitely recommend it :)


Arnold KLP (2)

Can't believe how much I have done since I have been here... work for 7up, Nokia, spoken to the designers, the illustrators, the copy write people etc etc and learnt that there are so many slightly different jobs within the industry that make up the company. It has also made me realise that if I decided I didn't want to be the person to create the actual design, there are so many other opportunities out there which still allow me to be within the design world.
I have also attended a couple of serious meetings, signed confidentiality reports and visited another company that creates adverts and moving images. Was reassuring to see that they mainly used Final Cut Pro which I am familiar with :) was also so inspiring to see people using their skills on programs I  recognised and understood but for huge companies and designing posters, short clips, logos that will be seen by thousands if not millions and will without doubt influence people.

Brighton Uni

Had my interview for Brighton yesterday (for my top year, just incase I don't get into Bath Spa)... got offered the place on the spot... BOOM :) a lot less pressure now, if all fails with Bath.


Also got an e-mail saying my interview for Bath is on Tues... eek!

Ministry of Sound exhibition

Previously I mentioned an exhibition taking place in Ministry of Sound that I really wanted to go to... well I went. It was so good mainly due to the fact that I was there on my own so got my own personal tour of the club, sound and light system :) as well as having the manager go round the exhibition with me. The display showed and explained the last 20 years of the industry. It gave me a greater insight into the brand identity and the journey to become so well known. It explained not only the progress of the company and design over the years but also the social issues that were taking place at the time whether it be the recession or Royal divorces... all of which had an effect on Ministry.
I loved how every panel was explaining a different year, beginning of course with 1991 and you were given the option to listen to the music of that year through the type of music player that would have been popular i.e ranging from cassette players to the latest ipods.
My favourite use of the logo had to be in 1996 when  Charles had his first divorce, Ministry displayed a shameless instinct for self-promotion, projecting its portcullis logo on to the Houses of Parliament and Buckingham Palace, the latter with the legend: “Lasts longer than a royal marriage.” Utter brilliance.






Tuesday, 29 March 2011

Arnold Klp

What an amazing work experience so far and I'm only on my second day!
1st day on the job and I'm already designing and coming up with ideas for 7up :O
Apparently I have a meeting today with the top designers to discuss the sketches and mock-ups that everyone has come up with (including mine!) 
I do feel slightly over my head but everyone here is so welcoming that they're breaking me in slowly to this massively challenging world of design with confidence. 
Think I'm getting my head around the buses, tubes and streets now as well which is good... pain it takes an hour to get in every day but my book makes the time fly.

Sunday, 27 March 2011

Busy busy busy...

Right now I am preparing my portfolio for Thursday's interview in Brighton... scary stuff! Going to stay with my uncle and aunt in Mitcham, London, so that I am closer to the design company I will be completing my work placement at (really hoping the tubes play nicely this week!) 

Will also hopefully find the time to head down to Gaunt Street as it's the last week the Ministry of Sound Exhibition is on! (Will give me a talking point too for the interview :p) So much to do, so little time!

Thursday, 24 March 2011

Work Experience 3

I am SO excited about my work placement next week at Arnold KLP!! 
Massively successful design agency in London!! Not sure exactly what's in store for me but my briefing starts at 9.30am Monday :) Take a look at the website... they've worked for BIG names :) and I wil get to be part of it for a week! 
I got this opportunity all because of networking, which proves it really does work :)

Work Experience 2

Working with the designer at Dover District council was an absolute success and I learnt a huge amount.
She was very good at explaining the programmes and what she wanted me to do which allowed me to just get on with it and create exactly what she had in mind.
In the end I created 16 museum panels which have already gone off for their final proof and will be put up within the next week. They will be part of a permanent display, which is exciting as they have my name on each one as the designer.

Monday, 28 February 2011

Photography - simulation


For my latest photography project we had to focus on selecting and using digitally based skills in order to enhance, simulate and manipulate photographic situations.

I began by researching into issues and ideas that related to simulation and then creating my own work in response to the ideas that I looked into.

I chose to focus on the idea of 'Dreams'. My thought behind the subject was that I wanted to simulate a world that is usually extremely personal to the dreamer, yet I would be making it public, allowing the viewer to catch a glimpse of the person’s subconscious. I wanted the images to seem surreal yet at the same time could quite possibly be reality. I liked the idea that I would be simulating our minds deceiving us, for when we are engrossed within a dream we are not usually aware that it is in fact just a vision created by our imagination.

Here are some examples of my work. The first two represent the dream of falling and the last two flying:










Work Experience 2

Tomorrow I am starting my second work experience working with Dover Distic Council's Graphic Designer on a Dover Museums project.
Exciting stuff! Will keep you updated, it is only for three days, but have also planned to do more work with the designer in April.

Guest Lecturer - Rob Taylor

Rob Taylor is involved with the media, having studied English and Journalism he has interviewed from the highest producers to game producers.
He believes that new technologies breed new opportunities, for instance the internet has played a big part in the games industry.


Even with the recession, the game industry hasn't suffered due to the fact that everyone still plays games, whether it be your Mum with the Wii fit, your Grandad playing Brain Training on the DSi or of course your brother on the Xbox with either COD of Fifa.
Studios can range from 1 man to hundreds...


Rob went on to explain that the UK has a great gaming heritage and is the 3rd largest consumer and developer in the world (not bad for such a small country!)


If we were thinking about entering the gaming industry Rob told us at the beginning it is not brilliant for mega salaries. This starts to improve when you get to producer level. However you still get all the free games and consoles... so I'm thinking it is definitely worth it!


Rob also told us about the different headquarters of different gaming companies and how amazing their studios and facilities are. For instance some have rock climbing walls, slides down to the different floors, DJ's coming in every lunch time, basket ball courts etc etc... 


Once again we were advised to get work experience, as this is key to making the right connections and getting our foot in the door. 

Guest Lecturer - Andy Fuller

Andy Fuller - works at 'Design Ball' based in Bath.
Andy works mainly on brand identity and logo designs (which is what I would like to focus on).
His company consists of just him but he uses associates for certain tasks. 
He explained how it used to get frustrating not being able to extract exactly what the client was hoping for so instead he puts together a questionnaire for them, which is really efficient, useful and sets the professionalism. 
This is certainly something I will consider doing with my clients - this makes it easier for both you and them to understand where each of you are coming from and what your objectives are.

Guest Lecturers - Ben and Joe

I have been extremely bad at updating my blog on all the guest lecturers we've been lucky enough to have come into Uni to talk to us. So I thought I would take this opportunity to give you a quick update on what they spoke about.


Ben and Joe did exactly the same course as me last year and got accepted into the Top Up year in Graphic Communication (which is what I hope to do) so they are technically the year above me. I was excited to listen to what they had to say as i felt it would give me a real insight into what I should be prepared for from people who had experienced it very recently.
Their advice was:
  • Go to as many exhibitions and events as possible to meet contacts - pick up leaflets
  • Document all the work I do
  • Enter lots of competitions
  • Client work - get my name out there to as many design companies as possible
  • When sending an e-mail, try to get an actual name rather than just saying 'Sir/ Madame..." This makes it more personal and shows the client you have actually done some research.
  • Show personality - gifts/biscuits work well...
  • Always have a portfolio ready with relevant work.
Joe mentioned a good website to take a look at which gave examples of people's recent pieces of work they'd completed : http://dribbble.com/

They then went on to explain what the third year will be like... they explained it will be a big step up from our foundation degree and that we should know what area we want to focus on. With regards to the dissertation, Ben and Joe advised us to do 500 words at a time, this allows you to not ramble and yet keep up.

To be honest the way they spoke about the third year was a shock considering how hard they were finding it, but I'm willing to take on the challenge...

Sunday, 20 February 2011

PostSecret

What an awesome website :) PostSecret

Friday, 18 February 2011

Work Experience 1

Last week I did a days work experience with a professional photographer. I shadowed him whilst he worked on his client's work and he helped me with the studio, lighting, remote flash, camera settings etc for my own project. It was an extremely interesting experience and I left with a hell of a lot more knowledge than I had when I arrived. He has also said that I can contact him if ever I have any questions or problems which is very encouraging and reassuring.
His website if you're interested: http://www.petersmith.co.uk/

Tuesday, 8 February 2011

Brown's Networking Event

Yesterday Evening, two friends and I attended the Brown's networking event that I mentioned previously.
It was an extremely good learning curve, and eased us into the world of networking very nicely. It allowed us to make some contacts and discuss with other business men and women  what we do and how we may be able to help their business in respects to marketing it. It also allowed us to hand out business cards and make some very important contacts. And as I know from listening to all our guest lecturers, having contacts is the most important thing in this industry.

Controversial Art

Recently I have been looking into controversial art, or rather 'misunderstood art'. Work that doesn't necessarily have an obvious meaning, or work that some people would say, "Well a five year old could do that!"
My favourite artist within this topic would have to be Tracey Emin so I thought I would share some of her work on here.
I was really inspired by this chair, called ‘There’s a lot of money in chairs’ decorated with embroidery, patchwork and applique. The chair was given to Tracy by her Nan and has been embellished to tell her personal story.
It is “An exchange between the artist and her grandmother using the nicknames they had for each other: ‘Ok Puddin, Thanks Plum’, covers the bottom front of the chair and a saying of Emin’s grandmother’s, ‘There’s a lot of money in chairs’, is appliquéd in pink along the top and front of its back. Behind the chair back, the first page of Exploration of the Soul, handwritten onto fabric, is appliquéd together with other dictums such as, ‘It’s not what you inherit. It’s what you do with your inheritance’”.

Saturday, 5 February 2011

Client Work 5

Well this has really made me feel like a designer... I received an email today from a guy named Nick asking if I could design his album cover for him. His brother and him are releasing an album in America very soon and he's chosen me to design it!!
Very exciting that he contacted me first!

Wednesday, 2 February 2011

Interview

Kev Adamson, another Digital Designer whose work I admire, was kind enough to answer some questions for me to go towards my interviews.

Ok, first off, could you explain your journey on becoming a designer?
Drew a horse when I as 6 that teacher said was good; Did art and design GCSEs, Art and Design A-levels; Diploma Art Foundation Studies; Degree Graphic Arts

What made you want to become a designer?
Always loved creating things

What do you enjoy most about your job?
That it is both a job and a hobby. I get paid to do something I love doing :)

Is there anything you don't like about it?
Being a freelancer means lots of admin

Do you ever have disagreements with the clients about what would work best and how do you solve this?
All the time. It's a tricky one.

How do you work out how much to charge?
I get a brief or ask enough questions so I know what's what. I then convert that to time and then apply my hourly rate.

As a designer do you find work is readily available or is it sometimes hard to get a steady amount work?
I'm pretty busy :)

What would you say the most valuable skills are for an aspiring designer to possess?
Talent; ideas; communication skills; a technical ability with design tools; good project management skills

What other advice would you give to an aspiring graphic designer?
Do a degree - if only for the cheap drinks :P


Was so nice to have some responses that showed enthusiasm and personality as well as being note worthy. If you're interested in what work Kev has done or is doing, check out his website at http://www.kevadamson.com/

UCAS

Due to going to Bath Spa University for my 'top up' year isn't a given, I have had to make sure I have a backup plan. Which means applying for other top up years at other universities (scary stuff!) through UCAS all over again. Makes me feel like I'm back in year 13...
So far I have heard back from Bournemouth and Southampton :) With an interview date set for 1st March at Southampton Solent... nervous yet excited! Even if I do get into Bath Spa (first choice) it will add to my experiences of interviews etc, which is always helpful.
They want me to take in a written piece of work and discuss it... that has kind of confused me as the course is clearly more about the design than the theory... so I think I'm going to take in some digital designs on CD as well just in case they have a chance to have a browse.

Wednesday, 26 January 2011

Typography 2

After working on static designs we went on to make kinetic typography in Motion,  I started to think about how they should or could differ from each other. Here is an example that I found pretty damn inspirational, unfortunately mine is not likely to look this good as it is the first time I have ever used the program.

Saturday, 22 January 2011

Client Work 4

Recently designed a meningitis leaflet for biomedical students at King's University in London. It's not a leaflet that will be placed in hospitals/ doctors etc, but one that will be used as a model for the students to work from. Always nice to do work that may actually make a difference, i.e designing something to help our future doctors.

Friday, 21 January 2011

Ministry of Sound | Blog | Ministry of Sound launches The 20:20 Project

http://www.ministryofsound.com/blog/blogDetail.aspx?n=1665 - this popped up on Twitter...


Combination of my favourite club, city and inspirational design, definitely going to this!


"Showcasing a unique archive of photography, design, and featuring contributions from some of the biggest names in dance music, the exhibition is a must for anyone interested in youth culture, electronic music and the future of late night London."


Will also be a great opportunity to feed my interest in album cover art as well and how it has changed over the last 20 years regarding Ministry of Sound's genres.



Wednesday, 19 January 2011

Bit of fun..

Try out this logo game... it's surprising how much a logo can truly represent a company or organisation.
I managed 20/26, pretty pleased with that :p

http://www.jpink.co.uk/logo_quiz/


Interview/advice

Today I e-mailed Jonny Pink, an incredible graphic designer that i feel has influenced me a lot over the last few years and is a designer that I truly admire. I got in contact with him in the hope that he will get back to me to answer a few questions as our professional studies module requires us to go and interview/get advice from an industry professional or mentor.
Fingers crossed :)


As I was browsing through his website I came across a section called 'My Thoughts', I found the way he describes what he does extremely inspirational and worth putting on here.


""Good design is good business" - Thomas Watson uttered those words back in 1950, and I feel that quote is even more pertinent today than it was all those years ago; and it resonates with my own approach.

Good design isn't just about making something look pretty, it's about communicating the right values, aspirations, and the right voice to the intended audience. Starting out with good design is like giving your child the best possible start in life.


Sure, bad design can look pretty on paper, but made without thought or reason and it may target the wrong demographic, give off negative messages or just confuse the audience. These are things every business owner wants to avoid, but unfortunately it's what a lot of them get without really realising it.
A good designer will approach each job from an artistic sense, as well as (if not more so) from a commercially viable sense, and I think that's the one thing that separates good design from bad, and good business from bad business.


As a designer, my pleasure often comes weeks, months or even years after a project has been completed. It's only then that we can both look back and see what a positive difference good design has made to their business."

Networking

Very excited to be going to my first networking event with some friends. I'm hoping it won't be too awkward and that we won't be sitting in the corner not knowing what to say to anyone :) It's going to be a great opportunity to get some contacts and hopefully get my foot in the door of the design world. It's hosted by Creative Bath which I have heard a lot about from other students in my class, so will be good to put some names to faces. Will keep you updated on how it goes and if anyone's got any hints and tips on the whole networking world it would be much appreciated, from what to wear to what to say.
Here's a link to the event:
http://www.creativebath.org/events/148/networking-social-at-browns?ticket=true

Wednesday, 12 January 2011

Photo Shoot

One of the photo shoots I have done recently for my photography project, was to show upper class people in non-stereotypical situations. I chose to do a set that looks similar to a modeling shoot in a field. It worked out pretty well, and added to my experiences, especially working with a model I had never used before.





Competitions

After doing so many photo shoots recently, I decided it was time to enter lots of competitions :)
Here are some links to the sites, may not have remembered them all as I entered a lot in one afternoon...
www.wesay.com/Photo_Contest/
http://www.poster-printing-uk.com/win-an-ipod/
http://www.thegalaawards.net/
http://www.photocompetitions.com/2010/international-nature-photography-competition/


Annoyed that I can't find the site I entered lots of different comps on, but they have my e-mail so will keep you updated on the results.
Fingers crossed :)

Client Work 3

Over the past couple of months two other students and myself have been working for a company called 'Spoilt Little Pets'. It's a brand new company so we are basically designing their entire corporate ID.
The first job they gave us was to design their logo. 
Some initial ideas:
We came up with lots of designs and after many emails and discussions the company decided on what bits of which designs they liked, which allowed us to put together their desired logo. This was the chosen one, still needs some tweaking, but gives you the basic gist of what we're doing:
The next task they gave us was to design stickers for the animal hampers they were putting together. This was a lot easier to design as we now have a clear idea about what they are looking for and only took one set of sketches.


Saturday, 27 November 2010

Paris

I recently went on a trip to Paris with my university class and decided to take the opportunity to get some interesting shots.  Here are a small collection of the images I took:









Saturday, 30 October 2010

Guest Lecturer - Tom Maurice

Last Wednesday we were lucky enough to have guest lecturer Tom Maurice from SunHouse Creative, Bath come in and talk to us about putting together an effective client pitch.
It was an extremely inspiring lecture and was fantastic to get the chance to see so much of his work.
Sunhouse has an impressive CV that includes clients such as the BBCDanoneMarmiteCoca Cola and Hunter, it was interesting to be able to see the materials used when putting forward a pitch to a client. 
Tom explained his journey of temping at the BBC and going through a recruitment agency which he strongly advised us all to do. He also went on to say that we should never burn bridges with anyone throughout our time in the design industry as we will no doubt come across the same people later on.
Tom opened my eyes to the fact that you should always stick by the rule 'you're only as good as your last job'. You need to keep delivering otherwise the clients won't come back.
Tom ran through the process of putting a pitch across which was really interesting. Firstly, always take a printed presentation and don’t rely on computers because 1. they’ll slow you down and take the rhythm out of your presentation 2. they’ll probably crash sometime. He explained that you should always go in with positive comments and then move on to the negatives of the original design, however justification is essential! You should always show the client how you've reached your final idea and the process you went through so that they feel as involved as possible. You must always convince them that you know what they are and who their audience is.
I was pleased to hear that Tom thought it was extremely helpful to be able to have adequate drawing skills to speed up the design process. This was encouraging for me as I thoroughly enjoy that part of the design.
So, all in all, it was an exceptionally interesting lecture with plenty of useful hints and tips that are bound to help me in the long run. 
Here's SunHouse's website if you fancy having a butchers...http://www.sunhouse-creative.com/

Tuesday, 19 October 2010

My final design for a client's locksmith company's website


I created this Website design for my second client. He was looking to update his site so the idea was to change the whole look of the page yet keep all the vital information as clear as possible. After meetings and discussions we eventually decided on the colour schemes, layouts etc, which both he and I were very happy with.
The new design is much more modern than his previous and has apparently already attracted a lot more customers.
All in all very successful :)

Thursday, 7 October 2010

Wednesday, 6 October 2010

Some of my Images created for the design festival 'Ether'



Album cover designs...

After having a think about what part of Digital Design I would like to work towards specializing in, I've decided to look into the idea of album cover artwork as that is something that has always interested me from the design itself to the story behind it. Here is one example that I came across that I feel personally inspired by...

This album artwork was created by Ian Wright in 2008 for T.I's album 'Paper Trail'.


Wright has used strips of random pieces of paper layered on top of each other to create this unique effect, which i think works extremely well and is different to the normal Hip hop album covers i.e studio photography, thuggy imagery or simple logo placement.


Not only is the image made up of layers, but I think the meaning behind it is too. Some think that it was created to represent T.I's legal troubles - scattered paper, maybe legal documents - authorities trying to piece together against him and yet he beat the case and rose from it. So it could be a representation of what he had over come and this being the result of it.


I love the way that Wright has used more of an arty, abstract look by creating the image by hand instead of on the computer. Apparently one of the ideas behind the artwork was to stray away from the digitalised view that every artist seems to be coming out with right now and go for something more natural.

 

“We didn’t want to just do a typical cover, especially for my sixth album,” T.I. told MTV via e-mail. “I wanted to try something a little more different. The illustration for Paper Trail pays an obvious homage to my rekindled affinity for writing my lyrics down as well as displays my commitment to keep my art slanted towards the abstract.” [ MTV.com ]



Monday, 8 March 2010

Legal Issues

I believe that it is vital that my offer exceeds the highest standard beyond the design stage.


I will ensure that...
  • All my work meets a clients expectations and doesn't contravene legistration for decency, racism, sexism etc.
  • Respect and security is given to the confidentiality of any information or data supplied by the client.
  • All images used are free from copyright and without infringing intellectual property rights.
  • All work undertaken for a client is followed up with a feedback request to help ensure maintenance and improvement of quality.
  • All necessary liability insurance is in place.

Eye logo

We were set the task of creating a logo that we felt represented ourselves and this is the image that I created for myself on illustrator...




Thursday, 4 March 2010