Printers are the experts, so make friends with yours. They’ll be able to recommend the most suitable (and best value) stocks and print techniques, and will be able to send you samples of particular processes. Having access to cutting edge input and advice will give your folio a genuine edge.
For many jobs you won’t have samples available, or it might be impractical to bring them along to every meeting. In these cases, photography is an essential part of a good print portfolio. Make sure you photograph work in a clean, ambient space with excellent light (a few reflections can work wonders), and ensure the angles highlight the finishes you’ll want to talk about.
There’s been a resurgence in creative work in creative work and abstract work that’s able to co-exist with more corporate work. The abstract nature of psychedelic art lends itself to this and it’s the exact opposite of where a lot of brands were three or four years ago.
Everyone from big soft drink companies to wine festivals are interested in the flow, movement, freedom of mind and ornate lettering of psychedelic design. The context and the aims of psychedelic design are different now than they were in the 1960’s.
Many designers are trying to walk to the same path while trying to improve it a bit more, according to the possibilities that the present era brings us.
People are seduced by the graphics of the psychedelic era, which brings a lot of possibilities. They can be oriented to appeal to children, as well as be very sophisticated, but they always bring us a kind of mystic dreamlike feeling.
Psychedelic-infused art and design is taking on the mainstream. The heydey of psychedelic art and design spanned but a few years from the rump end of the 1960’s, and yet its influence continues to resonate strongly, with a new breed of artists and designers drawing on the classic works of genre in fresh and exciting ways.
Unlike psychedelic music – which has rolled into the mainstream – psychedelic art remained very much a part of the counter culture, never gaining true acceptance by the established art community of the day. It was frowned upon by the art establishment, in much the same way as freestyle graffiti was in the 1960s.
Artist such as Hurford, Gerald Scarfe, Alan Aldridge and Barney Bubbles came to encapsulate 1960’s psychedelia. Hurford was one of the main illustrators working on famed counter-culture magazine Oz.
In London around 1967 there were psychedelic posters on walls and for sale from street vendors in Oxford Street. They advertised clubs, groups and shops.
From the outset, a main outlet for psychedelic art was the music scene, and UK design group Hipgnosis was at the forefrom of this, designing cover art for outfits such as Pink Floyd, Wishbone Ash, Led Zeppelin and Genesis. In the US, meanwhile, famed designer Milton Glaser won recognition for his psychedelic Bob Dylan poster design.
While never scaling the same heights as it did during the late 1960’s, psychedelic art has maintained a strong relationship with music, but it is the realm of visual communication that it is currently currying unexpected favour. As businesses and orginizations begin to appreciate the genre’s ability to communicate rich and varied visual messages, a new generation of illustrators and designers is putting a fresh spin on the genre.
Think about it: what’s one of the first things people look for once they’ve clocked a masterpiece? The signature. Be discreet with it but try to do it whenever possible. by tying your name and work together, people will begin to get a better picture of what you do and therefore when they should call you for help.
If you can’t get there yourself, why not send a little something to keep your work fresh in people’s minds? First, think about who you’re trying to reach and what they might enjoy receiving, as the expense of producing and sending an item will be wasted if it’s inappropriate or feels like junk mail. With that proviso, people love getting stuff in the post. Plus sending out physical mailers is a good excuse to ring the person. maybe set up that face to face.
Publishers sometimes invite open submissions for their titles, so submitting work to these books and magazines is a great way of getting your work into people’s hands. This item then becomes a useful promotional tool in itself. And if your the kind of restless creative mind who produces all sorts of self-initiated work, it’s not even going to demand a great deal of extra graft.
Always be prepared to stand up for what you believe in, but make sure you’re the kind of person people enjoy hanging out with. Don’t just pick fights for the sake of it. If you are a pleasure to work with then your clients will enjoy the experience and they will recommend you. It’s as simple as that. Recommendation is a great way to get work and if you stick to your guns clients will also respect and trust you too. As long as your right that is.
You can’t just expect others to notice your inherent brilliance. No amount of social networking can replicate the power of human contact. Meet people face to face wherever possible and explain what makes you different. It’s impossible to convey your passion through the written world alone, so get yourself along to your favourite studios, press some flesh and put your face about.