One Year Ago.

Above is a screencap of my individual page on the 2009 Sheridan Illustration Grad Show website.

About a year ago, I was most likely getting down to preparing for the year-end show around this time of year. It's really kind of amazing how much can change in a year. This year, I've found myself embarking (Haha, epic?) on a new chapter. With a degree in Applied Arts (Illustration) under my belt, I am now in school for graphic design. While I do enjoy the program in general, it has definitely taken a bit of adjusting.

There are still days I miss being surrounded by illustrators, and getting my hands dirty (with graphite!) late at night while working on a new illustration piece. Now, my days largely consist of typeface talk, and working with Adobe Illustrator and InDesign. It's completely different in some ways, and very similar in others. Hopefully by the end of this program, I will be a force to be reckoned with in the illustration & design world. Haha. Two years to go, and then we'll see!

Records!

(Click to Enlarge)

Over the past week, I completed one of the most trying but also one of the most enjoyable design projects I have done to date. The above record sleeves were done for a school project where the goal was to design two record sleeves that shared the same grid. One sleeve was to be designed for a band/artist whose music you like, and the other was for one you didn't like. The catch was that you had to design both as though you love them equally.

I have been a fan of Tegan and Sara's music for awhile, and so, I chose to create a new design for their latest (2009) album 'Sainthood'. Seeing as I am not the biggest fan of Avril Lavigne's music, I chose her as the other end of the deal, and designed a record sleeve for her 2007 album 'The Best Damn Thing'.

I ran into quite a few hiccups when printing and assembling the albums... But in the end, all worked out and I am happy with the end product, and looking forward to what comes next.

Interwebs.

Is it time for a new website? ...Possibly! I've had my current website design (at rachelleletain.com) for over 6 months now. Taking into account my turn into the world graphic design, I have been thinking about updating my website to more accurately reflect my dual background in both illustration and design. While I still enjoy the layout of my current design, I think it'd be nice to freshen things up a little and create something that mirrors my current taste in web design.

Above are two pages of a rough website re-design that I came up with a few nights ago... It's was looking to create a portfolio website that was clean, modern, and wouldn't distract too much from my work itself. Feel free to let me know if you think it's working or not. Any and all feedback will be very much appreciated.