UCD Authors and UCD Archives pull up banners

UCD Authors was an initiative set up to highlight the many alumni and academic staff who have published work. The first author to kick off this series was Roddy Doyle who hosted a Q&A session in the Library Hub of James Joyce Library. For about an hour on Thursday the 12th November 2015, Roddy interacted with and answered questions from students about his working life and his many books including The Commitments, The Woman who Walked into Doors and The Giggler Treatment.

In store promotions for One Oh Nine

I love ladies' fashion so I was thrilled to work with independent retailer One Oh Nine in Autumn 2015. One Oh Nine is located on the main street in Bray, Ireland and we worked together to create in store promotional banners. The model used here is Ciara Bardon who is managed by the Andrea Roche Model Agency (you can find her here: http://armodelagency.com/2012/03/29/female-18-25/?nggpage=3). The location for the shoot is along Bray's fantastic Victorian promenade. I felt strongly about showcasing somewhere familiar to One Oh Nine's customers as this emphasises that the shop is an independent retailer. I feel we produced commercial photography of an extremely high standard.

Branding for the Irish Poetry Reading Archive: The Voice of Irish Poets

“No poet will ever take the written word as a substitute for the spoken word; he knows that it is on the spoken word, and the spoken word only, that his art is founded.”

Lascelles Abercrombie

Head of Development and Strategic Programmes for UCD Library, Ursula Byrne and UCD Digital Library went about curating an archive of the spoken word. As Mr. Abercrombie states above, poetry is intended for the ear and not just for paper. This archive allows audiences to experience the authors’ own interpretation audibly. This archive is the first of its kind in Ireland and features Irish and English language poets.

Finding Inspiration, Canva & Getting Hipster

Recently I posted this tweet:

In the midsts of redesigning a new header image for my website http://t.co/CnBgj68SgN #exciting #webdesign #WatchThisSpace #GraphicDesign

— Melanie Simpson (@WhoIsMelanieS) May 28, 2015

I wanted to redesign my header image for my website. I wanted something more modern than what I had. I played around in Illustrator - but nothing came. I was out of ideas and had little inspiration!

The back and forth of Graphic Design - LIBQUAL Case Study

Designing for clients is a process. Through communication and brainstorming, ideas evolve and grow. This was something I wasn't used to when I got my first job in UCD in August 2013. I had come straight from college and if I was happy with a concept and design then it was to be put forward and graded. It took time to get used to designing for others. 

How to convert paths into shapes in Illustrator

Here's something I learnt recently that I got REALLY excited about! So many times I have struggled with paths in Illustrator and just didn't know how to make them into shapes. Until now!

Take the below image as an example. I was trying to make a laptop icon. I wanted to use the Shape Builder tool to cut out the laptop and have the white circle as the icon. I made the laptop using the Rounded Rectangle shape tool and used the Pen tool to draw the cord.

How to select all text in Illustrator

Here's something I thought I wouldn't need to know in Illustrator. A little while ago I was working on an illustration for a document. This diagram had numerous individual pieces of text. I eventually needed to select all. Here's how to do it without choosing each individually.