A Little Exercise: What Is My Brand?

This is the first key question going into this part of the project. As someone with experience in brand design, I know to answer this question before diving into the visuals, and that means gauging what I want, and what the industry around me wants. I’ll be honest, I’ve struggled with it for a while now, because I often find myself at a crossroads between industries. Those are the film/animation world and the design world.

My Placement (and ongoing role) at Crown Creative is branding-focused, and whilst I bring a lot in terms of photography, video and 3D modelling/rendering there, the goal of the studio is primarily branding for hospitality design.

On the other hand, my focus in uni – this year especially – has been in creating a linear, narrative short film inspired by the hero’s journey.

But, I think what I bring to both is the same, and that’s technically a profiency in lighting, writing, and creative direction. It’s also a drive to deliver a story to the world, and create impact.

Whether I’m designing a visual identity or directing a short film, I’m inviting people into something immersive, something that feels real, considered, and alive. A brand should be more than just a logo or a colour palette; like a great film, it should have tone, atmosphere, a sense of character. It should create space for people to feel something. The same goes vice-versa. A film shouldn’t ignore the principles of graphic design in my opinion. Grid systems, colour palettes, and an oversight in the context of all those things is a real trick in making a film strong in its delivery. I think it’s what made Comfort Zone, a pretty complicated script, ultimately pretty minimal and understandable.

That’s the thread I’ve been chasing this year. Finding ways to bring narrative and visual identity together. Learning how light, sound, texture, typography, all of it, can shape experience. And exploring how those tools can work together to say something meaningful.

I found this was a real key point at OFFF this year, too. That interaction between brand and film. Territory Studios created the titles for the event, and every piece of it was a considered piece of Barcelona’s architecture, or a reference to another speaker.

This is what I want my personal brand to bring to the forefront: the crossroads (👀) where these two industries meet, and ultimately, where graduation meets new beginnings.

It’s exciting to watch new studios, even in Belfast, embrace this expansion of what brand means. Be it Allies Creative Studio, Hundred, Crown Creative, or Volta – a new motion start-up here in Belfast I’ve got to know well.

Portfolio

The first task: what do I have to work with?

The portfolio was a good exercise in consolidating all I do have. One thing I realised was that my time at Crown has been quite internal focused, so I’ve been doing a lot of motion bits for case studies, or behind the scenes photos, or renders. Not a lot of fully ownable work or projects. This is something I probably want to change quite quickly after graduating, so that I can get a bit more under my belt and offer a slightly more diverse portfolio.

An ILM junior job description I looked at required a 12-15 page PDF portfolio, so I modelled my approach off of this.

I was actually looking through my Instagram trying to find a cover for my portfolio, and I found this selfie I took using the shadows. It was about 6am before a photoshoot, so it felt appropriate for a professional portfolio, and it also combines my interest in light with my own silhouette. I might update it at some point, but I thought it worked quite nicely.

I actually used a template similar to a lot of the ones I made at Crown for the layout grid. Clean, simple breakdowns at the top/bottom of pages make it clear for hiring managers to see what exactly I did in each project.

As my main motion project is this film (though hopefully this changes over the next couple of months), I’ve cut a short sizzle to show off my cinematography. This is in place of a showreel for now.

CV / Cover Letter(s)

The CV brand came as a reference to the brand of my portfolio. I made it on a tight grid that felt super sharp and considered, following some references.

It’s definitely had a bit of an upgrade since my last CV, with 2 years now at Crown Creative and a degree (nearly) completed. I wrote simple descriptions for all of my past jobs, as well as clear indicators of my skillset, be it general, soft, or software skills.

I’m not a big fan of ranking skills or putting a level to them. After experiencing going in at Crown, I think a good agency or studio at this stage sees these as more of a “what I want to learn” more than “what I’m great at”. So, I’m happy to leave those specifics a little ambiguous.

I wrote the following Cover Letter for ILM’s intern program. I got a response noting I was unsuccessful due to not having 1-2 years in industry VFX experience. I had expected this to be honest, but I went for it anyway out of practice. I still think it’s a good cover letter, and one I could use to frame other letters.

Business Cards

I wanted the business cards to be minimal and clean, to allow for the work that comes after to shine. A bit like the CV. That being said, I did want to make something a little standout in terms of colour, font, and layout.

I looked back at my exercise at the beginning about what my niche is, and how I realised that it was where film meets design. As a nod to typography, and the crossroads imagery, I put four key words together: Adam, Bell, Film and Design. I then took the intersection, modified it and used it as a background for my name.

Below is my proposed design. I am going to get them printed at Plus Print soon, to arrive well before the EOYS.

Digital Strategies

I was contemplating when to post about my Final Year work, but it didn’t feel quite right to do so until I hit submit. I wrote the following copy to emphasise that design/film split as part of my niche, and it’s been great to see all the positive reactions. I’ve had a few studios reach out to me offering work or asking to meet for coffee.

I have also been sharing stories teasing the project and connecting with people on my Instagram, @adaambell.