..yesterday we had a lecture on "Visual Identity" by Kari Ojapelto, the head of graphic design at the Lahti Institute of Design in Finland. In his lecture Mr. Ojapelto spoke about the importance of intelligent self-branding and of strategic and deliberate self promotion. In short, the main point of the lecture was to make us consider the attributes and effectiveness of several products and services, and with this in mind, to consider how we -as illustrators- want to be perceived (through our "branding") by our target audience.
Whilst the presentation was more geared towards graphic designers and visual communicators, there were several constructive suggestions that it brought fourth that I felt were equally useful for illustrators. Things that stuck out to me were:
- the need to make business cards and consider making a personal logo
- asking questions such as "who am I as an illustrator?" "who do I want to be?" and "what do i need to do to become that person?"
He also suggested taking more of a considered look at our vision and values as illustrators and the ways in which we can/already do/want to incorporate these in and through the work that we make "operationally and visually".
Despite being a little meandering, all-in-all i found that the lecture encouraged a different perspective on personal work, and has left me with a lot of constructive thinking and activities to do. It was at times slightly bewildering, but overall a positive experience.
