Emma Allen
Graphics
Final year project
'C U Soon' - an Illustrated Story in Comic Format Depicting… [Read more]
Double Page Spread from 'C U Soon' Comic
This spread shows two characters, posting the highlights of their exhausting lives and then feeling inadequate when comparing themselves to each other. These scenes seek to highlight the comedy and irony behind the 'rose-tinted' filters we are all guilty of placing on our lives before sharing them on social media without realising the effect this may have on our friends.
Double Page Spread From An Illustrated Story 'A Moment in Time - Gramps' Story'
This double-page spread is from an illustrative story depicting how memories may fade for people with dementia. The story aims to highlight the value of those memories and create comfort, understanding and empathy for family members of dementia patients. The message of the story is that dementia patients still have a story to tell and that their friends and family are the continuations of their stories.
Aquastic Logo - Sustainable Design Brief
The sustainable design brief asks for an idealistic creative solution to an environmental problem. Aquastic is a brand for a hypothetical solution to the problem of excessive plastic ending up in the ocean. Aquastic is a brand of plastic that would be ocean-friendly as it could be made to degrade after use. The main function of the brand is to be marine life-friendly. The logo directly relates to marine life not only with the imagery but also with the colour tones and rounded wavy curvature of the typography.
Drowning in Drink - Drug Campaign Project
This is an illustration for a drug campaign project, aiming to reach out to women who may be feeling overwhelmed in relation to addiction to alcohol.
Illustration for the Poem Algernon
I created this illustration as a part of a group project to design an interpretation of Hilaire Belloc’s Cautionary Tales for Children. The group used the same illustration style for all of the poems in this collection and each individual poem had a feature colour to distinguish it from the rest. The poem Algernon is about a child who mistakenly decides to play with a gun. The illustrations all reach across the double-page spreads and include black backgrounds to make them bolder.
S.P.H Fitness Logo
This logo is for a personal trainer who has a mantra that encourages people to 'fast forward' their lives to something better. Therefore this logo is a play on this wording as it resembles the fast forward symbol.
Lime Green Lamborghini Commission
I created this vector illustration using adobe illustrator for a commission that I undertook during my placement year as a freelancer. It was a 4k image to be used as a desktop screensaver.
Bushcraft Badge Designs
These are a series of fun bushcraft related designs to be printed on small badges for the children in an outdoor activity club to collect. They needed to be simple designs with vibrant colours so that they appeal to children, the target audience and so that it is clear what they are even when printed in a really small size.
Emma Allen
I am a passionate illustrator with a cartoon-like style who loves emphasising humour, and irony through emotional storytelling.
My main project aims to relate to excessive social media users who may find themselves sharing only the highlights of their lives but also experiencing inadequacy when comparing themselves to others online who do the same. The project tells the story of two characters leading very different lives, but struggling with feeling envious of each other, both believing they would be happier with the other life. The comic depicts the difference between their reality and their social media using comedy to relate to its audience. I undertook this project to create a comical and heartwarming story that is relatable to many people in our ever digital society, and to highlight the role that each of us may unwittingly have in the unattainability of social media.
I love creating beautiful, uplifting and entertaining stories which have a simple yet colourful, vibrant aesthetic which is eye-catching and engaging. One of my biggest strengths is time management as I am good at planning ahead of time so that I can work at a steady pace throughout projects.
After graduating I plan to work as a freelance Illustrator/Designer so that I can take on a large variety of projects in the future.
Final year project
'C U Soon' - an Illustrated Story in Comic Format Depicting Problems Facing Social Media Users.
Work Experience
During my placement year, I was a part of the programme run by Loughborough University called the 'Year in Enterprise Scheme.' This programme enables students to build their own businesses and provides them with training and support to do so. As a part of this placement, I formed a business called Emma Burn Designs, which had two branches of business, each incorporating my creative skills.
The first branch was a freelancing service of vector-based graphic design and illustration work. In this branch, I offered a vast range of creative services (including, but not limited to; logos, packaging designs, portraits and digital illustrations). Offering these services as a freelancer enabled me to have direct contact with clients and provide them with more efficient design work that tailored to their specific requirements. With the graphic design work, I was able to enable developing businesses to create visual representations for their company. With my illustration work, I created bespoke designs that captured the ideas of my clients.
The second branch of my business was a childcare service, run through a local primary school, in the format of an after-school arts and crafts activities club entitled ‘Crafty Kids Club’. Art-based subjects are becoming less funded within primary schools, so the club provided another way to encourage children’s creativity.
This year of self-employment had many challenges to overcome such as gaining new clients, learning how to advertise and adjusting to Covid-19 causing the schools to close. I learned better ways of negotiating with potential clients and how to cultivate positive working relationships so that commissioners become repeated customers. I discovered effective ways of advertising my services through social media and websites such as Fiverr. I also strengthened my time management skills so that I was able to efficiently manage and run two branches of business.
For the past five years, during the school holidays, I take part in running a bushcraft activity club for kids, called the Outdoor Cooking School. As a part of this club, I run sports, crafts and campfire activities and assist with the general running with the club. This club gave me lots of experience in management and multitasking as I would oversee up to thirty children at once who due to their range in age, need a varied level of assistance. This experience strengthened my ability to remain calm and positive in stressful situations and to manage time effectively to ensure each of the children has an engaging and positive experience. I also learned how to delegate and work in a team with other staff members as well as training new members to do this too.