Services
Illustration and visualization
Illustration is an effective way to stand out. Illustration style defined for a brand is a great tool for improving memorability in a world dominated by photos. Tailor made illustration for an article or publication cover can support your message in a relatable and inventive way making your statement more powerful.
Interesting illustration draws attention and tunes the atmosphere supporting the text associated with it. Illustrations break text masses and can be used to highlight content. They make the information more approachable and easier to read.
Infographical illustrations are very functional in explaining and instructing. They make the content easier to understand. Well made infographic changes the whole experience of absorbing information from tedious to effortless.
I have experience from illustrations from editorial cover illustrations to DNA Business to infographical images for Helsinki City. I have also created animated campaign illustrations and infographics for social media campaigns.
User experience and user interface design
User experience is crucial in any digital product. If users can’t find the information they are looking for or are not able to use your website or other interface, it has a significant impact on whatever you are aiming to achieve and may cost you a lot of money.
Evaluating and designing your site using the user experience tools and conventions is a good investment. Some of these methods include an analysis of a site, mapping its user personas and user paths. Usually it’s also very fruitful to conduct interviews with end users and other stakeholders or organise user tests.
Well constructed sprints in the form workshops can be eye opening experiences. They are based on the methods of participatory design inviting all stakeholders at the same table to innovate. Effective ways of sharing knowledge gives everyone a better understanding of the users and their needs and are useful for rapid generation of creative and well informed ideas.
Interface design usually benefits from rapid prototyping. With good skills and right tools making interactive mockups is easy and effective for testing and sharing ideas before coding. Coding is labour heavy and changes afterwards are difficult and expensive - modern design tools and methods are essential in testing in advance and avoiding high costs of fixing problems afterwards .
I can provide digital design services from UX background research through wireframing and prototyping to final layouts, interaction mockups and visual handoff plans to developers. I can facilitate design workshops and sprints and analyse the service in a form of rapport from usability perspective. I’m familiar with accessibility requirements and WCAG 2.1. If needed I can also offer coding services through my contacts. I worked as a design lead in renewing Waltti web store, offering public transport online products in several big cities in Finland. I was also a designer in Helsinki City’s website UI redesign in 2017-2018.
Graphic identities
Creating an unified graphic identity is useful for many things: companies, products, events or campaigns. Graphic identity is one of the corner stones of a brand. The best of the graphic identities manage to create a visual associations so strong, that the name of the company or product doesn’t even need to be mentioned. A great example from Finland is Fazer - you only need to see the deep blue colour and you remember their chocolate. Coca Cola and their red colour is a good international example.
Graphic identities help people remember your brand and helps to keep your company relevant. For an emerging company well executed identity is an effective tool to become one of the recognised agents in their fields. Visual world associated with brand or other content can be used to communicate what merely the name of a company can’t - such as
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the atmosphere (fun or elegant?)
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target group (night club party crowd or for tech professionals?)
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occasion (for kids birthday parties or for a romantic dinner?)
Graphic identities for companies and products usually consist at least from the logo, use of colour and the typography. Depending on the use it can also define other guidelines and graphic elements to be used in adverts, packages and websites just to name few. This can be anything from unique illustration style, image frames or reoccurring graphic shapes to specific use of photography.
Event and campaign identities are usually tied around a key image, or key image series carefully designed to communicate with the target audience using the right tone of voice. All the material created will then use the key image/images and other brand elements. The key image can be for an illustration, unique lettering, campaign logo, 3D rendering or a photograph to name few examples. All these things can also be animated. Photography and video services I can provide through my co-operation contact Saltrock Media.
Identity for video usage consist usually of logo reveal and animated name tags and other needed typography. It can also include intro animation, infographic animations and other animated materials if needed. I can create motion assets from scratch or based on existing graphic identity.
Layouts
I offer graphic design services with years experience for all use. I can put together adverts for print and digital use, brochures, social media banners, posters, cards, menus, publications and more. I can create the design products from scratch or use brand or campaign assets provided. I’m open commissions of all scales, from private event graphic materials such as weddings to commercial campaign execution.
Motion Design
Motion makes an image instantly more interesting and visible in the constant feed of information everyone is exposed to, online and on the streets. Kinetic images are a very useful tool in social media advertising. Animated campaigns can also be executed on displays in public transport or shopping centers. I can be your partner in creating attention drawing kinetic campaigns for online, in the form video, gifs or HTML5 banners. My expertise is animation, but I have good cooperation partners for video productions too, working with Saltrock Media.
Animated infographics can be very effective in passing information that would be difficult to understand otherwise. They work well in documentaries and factual content, product explainers, content marketing or instructions. I can help you create interesting infographics from working a script with you in an animation format, creating storyboard and visual assets and then executing it as a 2D animation.
I help you to create a kinetic graphic identity for video usage consisting typically at minimum of logo reveal and animated name tags and other typography. It can also include intro animation, infographic animations and other animated materials if needed.
I’m also open for other types of 2D animation work, as well as short 3D animation executions.
Interactive experiences
In the world saturated by advertising it may be useful to look into more inventive ways to be heard and seen. I work with experimental interactive media techniques and can create beautiful digital experiences for events, guerilla marketing or other use.
Using mediums such as motion sensors, skeleton trackers, light sensors, Arduino boards, projectors, Google Cardboard / Oculus VR headsets or augmented reality technologies I can help to create unique ways to communicate with your target audience. Working in the languages of gamification, media art and experience design I can help you to stand out wherever it is needed.
Contact me to talk more and we can plan a tailor made experience that will be remembered.
ASK MORE ABOUT SERVICES
juliasanddesign@gmail.com +358 (0) 44 57 00 427