Casual Art
I’ve always drawn a lot when I was a kid, but as I grew older, I was finding less time for personal work and needed a creative outlet. I started sketching out on paper and pencil, then vectorized it digitally on a drawing tablet. One of the first things I had printed was a holiday card which I sent out to friends. Later, I made stickers and gave those away as well. I’ve been a fan of other artists’ stickers and thought it would be fun to make my own. Maybe when I have enough ideas I'll open up a shop, but at the moment, it's a fun little side project.
Freelance Logos
A couple of logos I was commissioned to do, for clients ranging from tech companies, service industries, to friends starting a podcast. Working with such a variety taught me the importance of asking the right questions and identifying key points in the brief to guide the design process. It also helped me develop patience and organizational skills to keep projects on track and delivered on time.
Motion Graphics
During the pandemic, I had a lot of free time to try new things. I took the opportunity to practice After Effects and become more familiar with it. While I’m still learning the software, I’ve gotten more comfortable with the system and not be as intimidated by it. In a way, it opened up more opportunities to explore creative ideas that wouldn’t have the same impact as a static image.
Namka Soul Music Project
I’m a huge music lover and I used to put songs together like it was a soundtrack to a movie. Back in high school, I would make playlists of songs (before streaming was a thing) and burn them onto CDs (omg) to listen to. Later, I would download a DJ mixing software to make music mixes and post them online. I would come up with the visual designs for this DJ persona as well as creating the mix covers. If interested, you can check out my soundcloud here: https://soundcloud.com/namkasoul.
Mix Covers
Probably my earliest design work started from making these music mix covers. I would create the mix, figure out the theme or story of it, then conceptualize the cover. It was a really creative period where I experimented a lot with Photoshop, photo collaging, and typography. While I find these rough now, I can’t deny making these played a part in me becoming a designer today.
Merch Concepts
With the mixes done, I played around with merch concepts for fun. The designs had a strong 2010’s influence and I was fascinated by all over print pattern on clothing. I would later learn how difficult and expensive those patterns would be to manufacture in real life. However, it got me interested in fashion and create a personal style I feel comfortable in and allow me to express who I am.
