JUNE '24 Portfolio Brief: a sticker set
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Hi, I’m Libby, and I’m stepping out into the world of illustration, like a kid in a sweet shop, I want to try everything 🤩 This blog provides me (and perhaps you) with monthly accountability to goals and details all the things that are helping me reach them. I’m so happy you could join me for the bumpy ride…
Hi there!
It has been exactly one month since the first illo there! brief went out and the last month has been the most structured in my illustrator journey.
I still have a long way to getting the ideal working routine but I’m super proud of where I’m heading and working to a brief is certainly helping.
I’ve got a confession to make….
I haven’t finalised my output from the MAY brief (not the best start!)
It’s a long story but after my raster vs vector headaches, I trialled Serif Affinity.
When I went to purchase it after the trial, the license didn’t come through.
I had to contact customer service and I’m still waiting.
So I’ve decided to push ahead and release the June brief on time. At the end of June, I’ll share both outputs.
I thought I’d pair back the complexity this month (hopefully) and design some stickers!
The (believable*) brief
Well-being charity Young Minds is looking to raise awareness of the benefits of mindfulness as a practical way to combat mental health issues alongside talk therapy and other mental health support services.
The team is looking to develop a sticker set to go inside tote bags that will be handed out at an upcoming campaign event that will feature a mindfulness workshop.
The colour palette and style are open.
The target audience is young people aged 15-18 years old who may be sitting exams or attending college.
The team is open to different sticker sizes but having something scaleable would be helpful so that the designs can be adjusted.
The charity would like to see 3 set design ideas and are aiming for between 5 and 12 stickers in the final set.
The set doesn’t need to be Young Minds branded.
*This is a believable brief that has been made up to enable the creation of an illustration suitable for a portfolio and isn’t associated or affiliated with Young Minds but you can find out more about their great work here.
Things to think about
Colour palette. What’s going to be appealing to the age group
How to convey the concept of mindfulness without too much text
Switch-up options
Here are some things you could change to make the brief fit your personal portfolio better:
A sticker set for a younger audience perhaps 7-10 age group
A sticker set with a different theme - pets / flowers / holidays
Confession Time - As usual I have never designed a sticker set! So I’m going to be learning as I go. I’m assuming that might be the case for you too. Here are some resources I will be considering using:
Resources
It’s hard to find in-depth advice on sticker design specifically but here are some resources I found that I’ll be looking through.
FREE Blogs
FREE Youtube videos
How I design and make stickers from home! ✿ no cricut, step by step for beginners - Sketches By Shay
How to Design Stickers in Illustrator - Megan Weeks
How to make Stickers in Procreate - Brave The Woods
Skillshare courses
Paid-for courses you may want to try with a Skillshare subscription:
Project Timeline
There will be 3 stages of the project:
Week 1: Research & initial sketches (pencil sketch) 1st-7th
Week 2: 3x concepts for the client (black line) 8th-14th
Week 3: Final (colour in any medium) 15th-21st
There will be a separate Substack chat thread for each stage where you can share your progress if you are interested in joining.
Access the illo there! chat thread here.
If you are subscribing via email, chat is a feature on the Substack website (and app) where all subscribers to a specific publication can chat with each other.
This time, once I finish my concepts, I’m going to post my designs into Substack Notes and Instagram Stories to get feedback on which design people like best.
This will help me to decide on the ones to take to final. I'll also be using a Google calendar to keep me right with the deadlines which you are welcome to subscribe to here.
Report-out
You can follow along in the Substack chat as the month progresses. I’ll then aim to provide a summary of the project work shared in the chat in next month’s (July) portfolio brief email.
I’m really open to questions and ideas to make these briefs better so feel free to comment or reply with anything that comes to mind!
Do you have experience designing stickers? Feel free to share any tips or resources you found helpful.
Don’t forget I’ll also be posting my usual monthly blog of what I’ve been up to around the 21st of the month here. You can catch up on my previous posts in the meantime.
Enjoy June and I hope to see you in the chat!
Libby