23 May

Undercover Skatepark Project

SS_Skateboard_Landscape

Portsmouth has an abundance of cafes, events and businesses that are popping up all over the place right now. With the help of the guys at Strong Island who showcase anything Pompey related, it’s become a real trendy place to live.

Luckily, my best friend is from Portsmouth and since university I’ve spent some time staying with his family over the years to see him. Before that, I would only come to Portsmouth either to ride Southsea skatepark or play as a kid at Pirate Petes and the surrounding arcades at Clarence Pier. Clarence Pier then had a huge dinosaur head that moved as you walked under it. It was part of the Jurassic 3001 ride and all its mystery. Disappointingly I never plucked up the courage to see what it was all about.

In the last couple of years, a group of dedicated skaters have been campaigning to build an all weather skatepark. Whilst Southsea skatepark does wonders for the local community and has done for over 40 years, it has no roof which is tricky what with the British weather. With this in mind, the folks at Undercover Skatepark Project aim to repurpose land underneath the M275 flyover which is currently wasteland. The location is perfect.

Just think:

  • No noise complaints
  • Good for local business in an otherwise deprived area
  • Usable all year round
  • Easy to get to
  • Cheap because it’s not an indoor facility
  • Cheaper to maintain

I guess the only downside is will Southsea skatepark survive...

Several similar projects have proved successful in cities like London, Bristol, Manchester and Birmingham and whilst there are indoor parks on the south coast, the closest is an hours drive away (on a good day).

In a bid to raise awareness and do some fundraising, the project recently held a competition to design your own skateboard. The theme was “Portsmouth” which you could interpret anyway you liked. The winning design would then be printed and sold to raise money for the campaign alongside auctioned artwork from top local artists.

3001_resize

For my skateboard design, I chose to highlight a sign that read 'Wheel of Fortune' which sat next to Jurassic 3001 ride at Clarence pier as a nod to the nostalgic feeling I get when I think about Portsmouth. I've changed it to now say 'wheels of fortune' because skateboarding/bmx has gave me so much and continues to do so. And I feel grateful to be part of scene!

My entry was awarded as one of two runner ups and whilst my design won’t be printed on skateboards, they’ve decided to print T-shirt’s with it and sell them. I don’t think I they were expecting such a high turnout of entries! So watch this space.

SS_Skateboard_Closeup (1)

T-Shirt-Mockup-Template

21 Aug

Folk art

BECBC2C3-69D4-4B5D-A887-853561D5067C

My Nan has had a fascination with canal boats in recent years, she absolutely loves them! If she had the chance or the money, I expect she’d be quite happy living on one. Anytime we catch up we can’t help talking about Great Canal Journeys on channel 4 and the places they’ve been along with any mishaps. So when it came to thinking about what present I should get her for her 70th birthday this year, I thought it would be fitting to create a piece of traditional canal art to celebrate her life. Originally I wanted to commission a traditional sign writer to create something special and see the craft in all it’s glory. But following little planning, I found myself with a week to go until her birthday with little to no signwriting experience.

I had high hopes, a few ideas and little know how but I coughed up for everything on next day delivery just to be sure I had everything. Using my iPad I created an initial design to consider colour choices. At the end of the day I wanted to limit my colour palette and only buy the essentials for a good quality finish. I first decided on the medium - a metal watering can which is commonplace on most canal boats and perfect for my Nan who also enjoys gardening. In that case I needed enamel paint, paint thinner and a reasonably priced watering can. Ideally the can would be painted already to save myself a job and add depth to the art. I found a burgundy Molton Mill model for £20 which included next day delivery and got to work on the colours and design.

DC92EE87-949C-416D-9959-A50986468C96

Having shown an interest in sign painting whilst at university, I had a few books to hand for inspiration and adopting a lettering style. I then used Pinterest to source examples of canal boat art and techniques for painting flowers which proved really beneficial when it came to the day. Whilst painting the letters was really tricky as I had to do everything without guides,  I soon improved as time went on at how I controlled the brush and manipulated it’s weight with pressure.

I’m really pleased with how it turned out, if I’m honest I didn’t expect it to turn out quite as well as it did. After making a whole load of mistakes, I was able to adapt the lettering style to suit what I felt at least looked right. Going on to add detail and a shadow to the lettering as well as add depth by placing flowers both in front and behind was a further delight. Thankfully she liked it too.

1604DC28-B3EB-457C-BC9A-38487775C9FC

12 Aug

Know your Easter Eggs

At Six, I finally put myself forward to talk in what’s known as a 6 in 60. Basically its 6 speakers in 60 minutes that talk about something they’re passionate about but with some relevancy to what we do on a daily basis. Whilst I participate in and conduct formal reviews/presentations with clients as part of my job, I’m not a natural leader or like to boast about my work so having 10 mins all to myself seemed a little daunting but a goal to aim for nonetheless. For example, in the past designers have spoken about how skateboarding has shaped their attitude and way of learning along with account handlers talking about their favourite brand. Because it’s internal, it’s the perfect setting for anyone looking to practice their presenting skills such as time keeping or improving their confidence. Every employee has tried to do at least one in their lifetime so there’s tons of support too.

I missed the first 6 in 60 earlier in the year on purpose so I could get a sense of what they entail and how people chose to present. I knew that I should volunteer for the next one even if I felt really uncomfortable about it at the time. I’m not naturally outspoken or egocentric so I felt this would be a good opportunity to put me out of my comfort zone. It’s far too easy to sit there and not say much but with it coming up to a year since I first started at Six, I needed some of those first day nerves again.

For my 6 in 60, I chose to speak about Easter eggs. I could have easily bored people to death by mumbling on about my favourite the chocolate but instead I chose to talk about a different kind of Easter egg.

421BF843-26E5-4800-A1CA-3F83FF72370E

The kind that is littered in our industry. The kind where makers like to sneak a hidden feature or secret message into their work.

I first discovered them when my life revolved around 3 things. And when life was pretty damn simple.

  1. Beano comics - the way illustrators would add extra details and inside jokes to every nook and cranny of a comic strip like Calamity James was incredible.
  2. Wheres Wally? - the books even made a game out of finding hidden artefacts in plain sight.
  3. PlayStation games - lastly I was a bit of perfectionist when it came to collecting things in games like Spyro. More than often designers had intentionally created secret parts of a level for you to find and discover the remaining collectibles hidden there.

652229A8-9A73-47BB-90B2-4AA8681E8923

I then went on to showcase a handful of my favourite Easter eggs in amongst every type of medium (even though it was pretty difficult to shortlist) and filed them under 4 categories to make things as easy as possible to understand. I think generally everyone was really surprised and interested in the examples I showed. To wrap the presentation up I provided a few pointers for people to take away and demonstrate how Easter eggs aren’t just for fun but there to flex brand values and connect with users. For example, how Google can turn an annoying experience into a slightly more enjoyable one by distracting users with a mini game when they have a poor internet connection.

9oO7aQ9

What I learnt

  • Practice is your friend - throughout the course of putting a presentation together and preparing what I might say I took advantage of talking with my mentor, Dan, who offered quick and honest feedback at every stage. I also timed it which scarily showed just how short 10 minutes is. Once I had cut down my patter, I ran through it with him with the same setup I’d have on the day. This helped me to relax and get any pre-match nerves out of the way.
  • Cut out the small talk - in an early draft I realised I was trying to say everything and anything on each slide. It’s not about painting the full picture, just say what you need to with enough context and move on.
  • Do it your way - I know myself it’s too easy to get stuck into the aesthetics of a presentation being the designer that I am, so this time I used the app Keynote to focus on content and limit my tools. I also chose to use a minimal amount of text that acted as prompts and varied the graphics to add pace and interest. To keep the audience on their toes, I hid a few of my own Easter eggs in there too.
  • Listen for timings - I found staying aware and gauging how the audience responded really useful. If you feel like your confusing people the more and more you say, don’t dwell on it, take a breather, speak more slowly and don’t be afraid to move on. This is where practicising your words beforehand goes a long way in helping others quickly grasp what your talking about. Also it helped me stick to my timings and not overrun.

All in all, it was a brilliant experience that I can utilise for future meetings and presentations.

16 Oct

The Battle of Hastings 2017

HastingsBMX

Last year, I remember watching the highlights from the very first competition held at the (then) new Source bmx park and kicking myself I wasn't physically there to watch it. I used to go to the Etnies Backyard Jams in Brighton and Bournemouth, along with NASS, Sprite Urban Games, The King of Southsea and BMX Masters in Cologne. Basically, wherever there was a descent competition on. The road trip part is often as much fun as the event to be honest, listening to great tunes and being up at the crack of dawn. So after securing a couple of tickets to this years Battle of Hastings event, I couldn't wait get down there from Bristol.

To say thanks for all the times my uncle had driven me to such events when I was younger, I drove us this time. 40 of the worlds best riders were in Hastings, a pretty dreary yet fantastically Victorian setting for a bike competition. It couldn't be any more British and I couldn't help but get a bit childish as I kept spotting the riders you only ever saw videos of. Gary Young, Van Homan, Chris Doyle, Chase Hawk, most are living legends and continue to release great video parts time and time again.

We got there on the Saturday to watch the qualifiers. The finals tickets were snapped up before we could even look for them. Typically, qualifier stages are ok, maybe a bit safe and in the realms of other Bmx events like FISE, Simple Sessions, NASS, they can feel a bit bland. That said, I don't tend to watch those types of competitions listed because they largely attract riders who are 'trick monkeys' and show little spontaneity. The main draw of this event is that you get teams of riders that go big, fast and effortlessly around any park transition with far less focus on how many tailwhips you can cramn into a run.

The building is accessed from the top along the promenade but from the outset it doesn't look like theres much on offer. As you scale the battered staircase, you discover that the entire park is in fact underground. The walls adorned with swimming pool mosaics - a hint to it's past. The further you descend it becomes apparent that you're not in a mere dingy basement but a colosseum of epic acoustics and proportions.

Saturday was a display of Bmx at it's rawest. The atmosphere was electric and being part of it felt pretty special. Even after riding for more than 13 years or so, with friends that have since fell out of interest with it, my passion feels stronger than ever. I think from seeing the interviews and write-ups from that weekend, its clear that Source Bmx hosted one hell of an event. Well done and bring on 2018!

4 Aug

End of the line

After finishing my last day at The Signal Box, I thought it would be a good opportunity to write a short summary of my time at Strawberrysoup.

17879879_10213046456861174_1683660506384025930_o

In the three and a half years I've worked here, I've learnt a tremendous amount and enjoyed collaborating with so many talented designers and developers. It's been tricky and I stayed late way too many times to finish working something out but fundamentally I was solely responsible for designing every aspect of a website for a given project I was assigned to. This meant I did the user journeys/persona's, the sitemap, the research, the concepts, the presentation, thoughts about animation style, the branding, the image searching etc. I was lucky enough to experience all of the things that go into a website as well as any marketing used to drive traffic to the site such as display ads, social media campaigns and print collateral. 

As an employer, they've been incredibly generous by paying for any kind of training, equipment and getting in the rounds at social gatherings. Originally when I started at Strawberrysoup, I had very little practical experience let alone a portfolio of real clients having just interned and graduated 8 months before. So I was really lucky in the sense they gave me a permanent job with a wage to get my hands dirty. They were really patient and just from asking developers dumb questions and making various mistakes I began to understand more about the medium I was designing for let alone the lingo.

I've always been someone who enjoys learning new things either on the job or in my spare time but nothing helps more than talking something through with another designer or developer. You get a real mix of opinions and experience thrown in, sometimes a discussion can feel quite heated but it's good to thrash some things out particularly when you're working on a project you feel really passionate about. Also, working in such a subjective medium, having different opinions and understanding other people's perspective can be really helpful in rationalising a concept. From my time, I have a couple favourite projects which stand out for me just because of how well design and development collaborated on a brief. 

So here's to those good times! And the few cheeky ping pong games squeezed in between!

All work enquiries

hello@samstanistreet.com