Lewis Tonge

This is my first self portrait made using Adobe Illustrator. For this portrait, I used a photograph of myself as a reference. The photo I used is an ID photo, which is serious and true to life, which I decided to convey in the portrait itself. The reason why I did this is because I wanted the viewer to have an accurate representation of me, like how I am in person.

For this design, I took a more realistic approach with the tones and shapes used. I used the colour picker to get the tones within the image as close as I could in the illustration, matching the tones of my skin, hair and eyes. This is so that people can recognise me and place a face to the designer. It creates more of a personal feeling and a connection between the viewer of my work and myself, making them feel more at ease and familiar as to who I am .

Although I used true to life colours, I wasn’t precise with my shapes, choosing to create a general suggestion with more basic shapes. This creates a more lifelike appearance but also has an illustrative feeling to it, so it doesn’t look 100% exactly like the photograph it is based off of, which would defeat the purpose of it being an illustration. We can see this on the nose, where I used a thin stroke to create a general idea of the shadows – it still looks like my own nose, but it doesn’t show every intricate detail and shadow. I chose to create a semi-stylised portrait which kept enough basic features for it to look realistic enough and recognisable.

This is my second self portrait made in Illustrator. I based this illustration off of another photograph of myself, this time at a more tilted angle for an interesting composition. The photo is a selfie that I took, which is why I decided to take a more fun, unserious approach to match the casualness of a selfie, as opposed to the more serious ID picture. I went for more impressionistic shapes and decided to use a monochromatic grey colour palette to create dramatic contrasts between light and dark.

The choice to use grey was to get across that I am calm and cool-headed, that I am serious and that I manage to remain at ease under pressure. Grey can also vary from being a light ashy tone, to a more moody dark tone, I think it can create a multitude of feelings so I wanted to use it as a way to add depth and some drama to my portrait.

The shapes used are a lot more jagged and imperfect. I was less precise and instead created a fragmented appearance, which I have furthered by separating elements such as the hair, the neck and the eyebrows. The negative space adds more contrast and looks like bits of a puzzle being put together.

My intention for this portrait was to show myself as different pieces being put together, all of which make up who I am. It represents all my ideas and traits being put together to form who I am as a person.

For my first self-promotional image poster, I designed an abstracted, almost psychedelic retro-looking poster. I had the idea of using my last name to create an impactful feeling, placing it in the central-upper third. I used a tall, condensed typeface and manipulated it so it appeared to be melting. The elongated text worked well for this as it looks to be pulling downwards. The melting represents all my creativity and ideas ‘bleeding out’ onto the page, almost as if there is too much and it is spilling out. My full name is on the top of the poster too, but I have used it more as a frame since my last name is already really pronounced and is a big focal point in the poster.

I wanted to fill out the upper third of the design, so I brought in an image of my eyes. The eyes are supposed to be a window to the soul, and this creates a more personal aspect to the poster, as if the eyes are looking directly at the viewer and connecting with them. The type is the strongest element in this poster, so I made the eyes a lighter blue tone for lower contrast, as not to take away focus from the text and have the elements clashing.

Blue is my favourite colour, which is why I used it. The poster is monochromatic but contrast is formed through the different shades used. Darker shades of blue are used for the areas I want to be pronounced, such as my surname. I added grain onto the poster for some texture, and to create a more ‘worn’ and imperfect appearance, which adds more depth to the design.

My second poster is a landscape one. I wanted to try out a different format. This poster is more structural, using sharp lines and shapes to divide the composition. I started by splitting the composition diagonally, creating leading lines. Half of the frame is light green, and the other is dark green – my second favourite colour following blue. In the upper left corner is my full name underlined for emphasis. Underneath it is graphic designer, which is what I am advertising myself as in this poster. I then made two image boxes, with a black border. The images are from my trip to London, which shows I enjoy travelling and having fun experiences. One of the photos shows a hot chocolate I had in London, which I included as it is one of my favourite drinks.

In this poster, I decided to show myself. I used a photograph of myself, placing it in the lower right corner to balance out the rest of the elements. I colourized the image to green to match the rest of the design. I cropped my eyes and brought them outwards to create a more interesting look to the image. The cropping of the eyes adds more shape and forms a more surreal appearance.

This is my first Photoshop self portrait. I have created a low-poly style portrait, which forms lots of flat toned, triangular shapes on my face. The shapes create a more three-dimensional appearance and add depth and tone to the image.

I purposely left out some areas to create a combination of digital art and photography. I left my eyes, nose and lips so it didn’t look too uncanny and unrealistic as I wanted it to still look like a photograph at first glance. The result is almost futuristic and artificial, which represents how technology is quickly progressing and it is getting harder and harder to differentiate between what is real and what is fake. I am interested to see how technology developing will affect graphic design in the future and I am excited to incorporate it into my work.

For the background, I have created a gradient from dark to light blue, the colours are chromatic looking and add to the strange, futuristic feeling in the portrait. I have added such an emphasis on the future in this design because I am optimistic and excited to explore new technology and techniques, evolving as a designer and adapting to new trends.

My second self portrait is more anonymous, with an air of mystery surrounding it.

I decided it would be interesting to show my silhouette, therefore creating somewhat of a representation of myself, but not showing myself entirely. The image used was a photo taken at a 3/4 angle. I felt that a side view would work better as you can distinguish features more than a straight ahead image. Here, you can see areas of my hood, my neck, and my hair, which create an interesting shape to work in.

I masked another image within the outline of myself. This is a photograph that I took at Victoria Dock. I added a blue hue to the image, my favourite colour, and intensified the shadows in the image. The result was duskish and slightly haunting since it made the scene look like apocalyptic. The eerie tone intensifies the whole mysterious feel.

For more contrast, I placed the mask onto a black background. The trees blend into the background too, so the transition between the background and the image is seamless. The contrast between black and blue works effectively, creating a twilight atmosphere.

My first conceptually designed logo uses the idea of two hands placed together to form my initials. I based the illustration off of my own hands, which adds a personal touch rather than using a photograph of someone else’s hands. My initials are LT, so I used my thumb and index finger to form the two letters, with the bar of the T emphasised by the faint wrinkle which runs along from my thumb horizontally.

The space between my hands creates a frame effect, so I would be able to overlay this logo over other images to create points of interest, whilst adding my own personal effect. The frame aspect represents how I take careful consideration to make sure that all details of my work are on point and effective.

I chose to keep colours more subdued. I didn’t go for a variety of tones because whilst I wanted it to be obvious that the illustration is of hands, I didn’t want to distract from the shapes of the L and the T. I did use simple lines of a darker beige to add detailing between fingers, and I illustrated my fingernails to create more of an impression of hands.

I’ve also included part of my jumper sleeves within the composition, which form leading lines coming inwards and centralising the main area of the design (my hands). To have just the hands on their own wouldn’t really lead the eye anywhere and the hands would look strange since they’d just be floating in the frame.

To make it more clear who I am, I’ve also added in my full name, bending the text to fit around the corners of my hands. This helps to make the shapes more visible, and also fill out some of the excess space in the middle, so the gap isn’t too spacious and empty.

This is my second conceptually designed logo. I wanted to show more of my interests and information about me in this design. I had the idea of creating a badge icon, similar to that of a football club badge, as I enjoy watching and playing football and it is one of my main hobbies.

I chose quite a simple format, which is almost like an arrow pointing down. This way, the logo can be applied to other designs but not look too complex and distracting.

For the main image on the crest, I have illustrated the Humber Bridge at sunset. I am from Hull, so it made sense to show this somehow – and the Humber Bridge is one of the most iconic parts of the city. As soon as you see the bridge you know you are home again. I used various line weights to create distinction between the beams and the joints of the bridge, making the design look more intricate and varied.

I used blue tones, as they are my favourite colour. Blue is also the main colour for Chelsea, who are my favourite football team. I used multiple shades of blue for depth and contrast. The blue and orange tones work particularly well as they’re complimentary colours.

I included my initials as well as my full name to fill up the middle and lower thirds of the design. My full name forms the point at the lower portion, leading the appealingly, where it descends down and then ascends back up to the other side of the design, creating symmetry also.

I have made two name logos. I used the same serif typeface for both. I chose a serif typeface because they look more serious and professional and also since they seem more traditional. My first logo shows my full name within an oval. I have used an oval to frame the design and so that it can be placed onto other things like posters or websites without fading into the background. I placed my first name over my last to keep the logo from being too long. A shorter design means it takes up less space and fits better. I created a curved line to follow the edge of the oval to create a break in the design so it wasn’t too flat. I then made another logo, this time I just took the first letters from my first and last name to create a more simple logo. I used a circle instead of an oval since this design will be more condensed and won’t need extending as much as the previous logo. I placed the letters really close so the serifs almost met, bringing the eye from one letter to the other. I made another curved line to go within this design, helping to make the design less boring. Although simple, the curved lines fill some of the extra space up and make the logos slightly more interesting and appealing to look at. I didn’t overcomplicate the logos since the aim is to tell the viewer who I am, so it was important that the logo was clear and readable. The two logos compliment each other and could both be used alongside each other depending on the purpose.