DESIGNPORTFOLIO

HENRYDAVIES

THECONTENT

PROJECT #1BUMBLE

PROJECT #2TINDER

PROJECT #3BIRDSEYE

PROJECT #4GOOD BOOK

PROJECT #5LIM

PROJECT #6VIKEN

PROFESSIONAL PRACTICEJ-ME

ABOUT ME.HENRY

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PAGES09-14

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PAGES49-53

THECONTENT

01

GIFT OF THE YEAR

A PRODUCT I DESIGNED WHEN I WAS WORKING FOR J-ME AS A DESIGN ASSISTANT. I HOPE YOU ENJOY THE REST OF MY WORK.

02

A PRODUCT I DESIGNED WHEN I WAS WORKING FOR J-ME AS A DESIGN ASSISTANT. I HOPE YOU ENJOY THE REST OF MY WORK.

PROJECT #1BUMBLE

03

“a buoy that deploys

from a manhole when

floods remove its cover

and communicates to

the public that an open

hole is beneath them”

bumble was a product I developed in my second year of university, where the james dyson foundation gave our class of 150 a brief to design a product to help the public in severe weather. I later went onto present the concept to Dyson, and then win the competition and the £1500 prize.

I discovered that when roads flood, the water is collected within the sewers below, and as the sewers fill, the capacity to contain all of it decreases, therefore manhole covers are lifted off and swept away. I later found out that there were many cases involving people who had fallen through open manholes and perished.

this project was hugely benefitial in many ways, as I got the chance to present to designers at dysons headquarters and have a well renowned design company applaud my work, but the best thing about this project was realising how much I loved problem solving and translating that into design concepts.

skills developed:solidworkspresentingmodelingsketching

photoshop04

PROCESS

05

EMPATHISE DEFINE

DESIGN

CREATE EVOLVE

WHERE ARE THE HIDDEN

DANGERS THEY MIGHT

MISS?

NO PROBLEM IS TOO

SMALL AND ALL MUST BE

FIXED!

MANHOLECOVERS

GET SWEPT AWAY IN A

FLOOD

IS THERE A SIMPLE WAY OF MAKING THIS CLEAR TO PEOPLE?

THE DESIGNNEEDS TO BE SIMPLE AND EFFECTIVE

COLOURS AND SHAPE SHOULD BE

EYE-CATCH-ING

POWERED BY THE WATER

THAT ITS FLOATING

ON

CREATE A CHEAPER VERSION FOR 3RD WORLD

COUNTRIES

IT MUST WORK

WITHOUT ANYONE

HELPING IT

REFLECTIVEMATERIALS

COULD MEAN USING

POWER IS POINTLESS

DEFINE

06

within bumbles shell, there is a small waterturbine that powers the electrical components bumble needs to signal to people that there is an open manhole beneath them

the hardest part to this brief was trying to discover a problem you could solve, so research was a huge element. I really enjoy the research aspect to all my briefs, as this is were you need to translate problems and situations that are occuring and solve the issue. I like to think of myself as very pragmatic, which is why I enjoy this area so much.

CREATE

a variety of prototying techniques was used, including foam modeling and solidworks to try and understand its technical and physical capabilties

bumble needed to be simple, robust and above all else, eye-catch-ing. the design was based on traffic cones as I wanted the design to reflect something that we already associate with potential danger, so the colouring and dome like structure was inspired with this in mind. an important aspect to bumble was ensuring people wouldn’t mistake it for something else that was floating near them, so forms and elements were included to ensure this would not happen, for instance rotating leds.

07

a deployment system was also designed for bumble, which features above in the newspaper

08

PROJECT #2TINDER

09

“a concept that would

re-energise sex

education and better

enable future

generations to create

mature relationships”

tinder are a dating app aimed at a young generation, they essentially made the idea of ‘online dating’ socially acceptable, and in turn massively reduced the stigma that surrounded it. as part of a group, we had to choose a company, and then develop a brand report on how we believe this company could expand in 10-20 years.we thought that tinder would not be able to simply dive right into this market of relationship education and strengthening. so we decided to create the need for tinders products by targeting children aged 4-10 initially, then as they grow, so do the products, therefore creating a personal relationship between product and user.

this project really helped develop my ability to work in a team, as we each had to develop our own concept seperately, whilst ensuring they all coincided with eachother, in terms of it’s form, colour and overall message being communicated.

skills developed:modelingillustratorforecastinggroup workuser experience10

PROCESS

11

EMPATHISE DEFINE

DESIGN

CREATE EVOLVE

ONLINE

DATING IS

SHROWDED

WITH BAD

STIGMA

CAN WE

TEACH

PEOPLE TO

BE BETTER

USERS?

TARGET

YOUTH AND

TEACH THEN

SEX

EDUCATION

COULD

CREATE

FUTURE

USERS FOR

TINDER APP

NEEDS TO BE

ENGAGING

FOR AGES

UNDER 10

AN APP AND

PRODUCT

THAT WORK

IN UNISON

PRODUCTS

NEED TO

MIRROR THE

TINDER

BRAND

WORK INTO

FAMILY

RELATION-

SHIPS TO

HELP THEM

GROW

AESTHETIC

MUST

MIRROR

WHAT THEY

LIKE

LINE OF

PROUCTS

THAT GROW

WITH THE

USER AS

THEY DO

DEFINEwe found many

problems with

sex education

in the uk,

because it’s

outdated and

stale. the uk has

one the highest

teen pregnancy

rates in europe,

and many

believe this is

the reason

12

the brief asked us to work as a group, defining the purpose and design for our brand, this meant that we all had to develop ideas that complimented eachother, as well as being technologically sound in the next 5-20 years. as this brief asked us to develop products for the future, we had to analyse what people might want in the future, and how technology might advance by researching into patterns and articles that could give us an idea about what the future might hold.

CREATE

the hub to the left rocks back and forth as weight is distributed over it, giving it a more interactive and personal experience for the user

the hub is used to store the physical rewards tinder would give to the child for completing a task or exercise. these rewards come in a vareity of sizes depending on the nature and magnitude of the exer-cise. these rewards would then earn the child points on the app, where they can play games, customise their account, and show their friends how well they’ve progressed. this product was created in the hope that it would make sex ed fun, and in turn make suitable users for my team mates products.

13

an app was also developed to work along side the prod-uct which would teach them sex ed in a fun way

14

PROJECT #3BIRDSEYE

15

“re-invent fish finger

packaging and

modernise it, whilst

solving issues like

retaining freshness and

sealing”

birds eye approached the university with a brief, I like many others applied but I won the opportunity to take on this fantastic brief. working with birds eye, I developed a packaging prototype, which would decrease in size as the quantity of food decreases, therefore giving the consumer more space in the freezer. the overall form of the carton looks very similar to the old method, therefore new graphics were needed to give it a fresh new look, and stand out accordingly when stacked side by side, to form a school of fish.

I really got to understand this project from a professional perspective as Birds Eye were always consulting me. this opportunity really allowed me to work on the professionalism of my work, as it was being presented to Birds Eye employees very often, so this enabled me to work on my presenting skills as well. this project really opened my eyes to the prospects of a design communication future, and it really excited me.

skills developed:illustratorpresentingmodelingproblem solving

testing16

17

PROCESS

EMPATHISE DEFINE

DESIGN

CREATE EVOLVE

WHAT DOES THE BRAND REPRESENT

AND HOW CAN I MIMIC

THAT

WHAT DOES THE CON-

SUMER WANT ME TO

CHANGE?

RE-WRITE THE ERRORS

AND DO IT COST

EFFECTIVELY

GIVE THE CUSTOMER AN EXPERI-ENCE THEY WILL LOVE

NEEDS TO STILL BE ON POINT WITH

BIRDSEYE BRAND

ASSEMBLY NEEDS TO BE

FAST AND EFFICIENT

STACKING IS A MUST FOR

EASE OF DISTRIBU-

TION

COULD PUSH INTO OTHER

MEAT OR VEG

PRODUCTS

MATERIAL AND MANU-

FACTURE NEEDS TO BE

CHEAP

THERMOME-TER COULD BE USED IN

OTHER RANGES LIKE

BBQ

18

DEFINEbirdseye have a strong heritage in the uk, and so I needed to produce something that stayed on point with their brand, and didn’t try to push the boundaries of who their prod-ucts appeal to

the brief was very straight-forward, solve the issues with the packaging and create extra value, whilst ensuring the manufacturing and material costs still stay low enough so that the retail price does not increase. I too had brief requirements, and that was to ensure that whatever I designed still represented who birdseye are, and try not to do anything to drastic, as the packaging has been the same for over 40 years, so I tried to keep the same form of the original pack so people could still recognise it in a shop and say “buy the birdseye one”.

CREATE

the packag-

ing decreases in size as the amount of food reduces, meaning space is being better utilised, and the

consumer can

store more food

birdseye were in constant contact with me about the developments because they thought the packaging idea was very strong, but also because this new concept was cheaper then the current method, because it was using thinner, cheaper card, and using less ink to print on. the thermometer idea was a promotional concept to entice consumer to try out the new birdseye packaging and see what they thought. I took the idea to birdseye headquarters in uxbridge where we undertook user testing with a varied group of people, where the results were very positive.

19

this is a thermometer

you would cook

with that turns red when the food is perfect-ly cooked

20

PROJECT #4GOODBOOK

21

“good book are a

crowdfunding company

who help generate

funds to allow anyone

to publish their book

with us at good book”

as part of my masters degree in communication design, I had to create and brand a business. good book was created when I discovered that sales in printed books were overtaking the sales of electronic books.

for this project we had to design a brand book that would outline every detail about the business, including the finances, the location, the employees and most importantly the brand guidelines. I had to create a visual identity for my business that would have a lasting effect on the public and make them want to find out more about good book.

this was my first professional branding project and I really enjoyed focusing on a purely graphics based project for a change. this project really helped develop my communication skills and the ability to make various elements work seamlessly, and create a well-rounded identity that is original and succinct.

skills developed:brandingillustratorindesigncommunication

business 22

CREATE

I wanted to

develop a brand

that encour-

aged creativi-

ty and did this

in a friendly

way, which is

why I called it

good book as

the name rolls

off the tongue

nicely and is

memorable

the project asked for us to create a brand book that would outline the details of the business and why decisions were made. the entire book needed to give the reader a genuine feel for the business, as if it actually existed, so I created mock ups of potential adverts, stationary and even book-lets that showed the customers our variety of paper and inks we pro-vide. doing a solely graphics based project really made me appreciate the value of a good brand identity and everything that goes into one.

23

good book

would encour-

age people who

have been

declined by

big publishers

and to get their

ideas out there

24

davinci1993Tue 2 JunHelpWindowGoViewEditFileFinder

PROJECT #5LIM

25

“ lim (less is more) is a

design charity that

creates and ships

concepts all over the

world to help those who

really need it”

a project for my masters asked us to look at the royal society of arts student competition briefs and base our project on that. I chose a project entitled ‘africa pack’, which asked us to develop a product, app or system that helped people to use or transport medicines in sub-saharan africa.

I developed a charity called lim, who would function as a design agency creating concepts for real world problems. I created 2 concepts for the brief, a new method of weighing children, and a bag which helps children to stay on course with their medicines. for this project, I also developed a distribution technique which basically hitches a ride with other products going into the country to help reduce the costs of getting it to the person who really needs it.

similar to the dyson project, this allowed me to solve problems, but these problems were not in my back garden, so research was key to solving these issues.

skills developed:

research

illustrator

user experience

communication

problem solving26

27

PROCESS

EMPATHISE DEFINE

DESIGN

CREATE EVOLVE

WHAT DO THEY HAVE OUT THERE FOR THEM

NOW?

HOW MUCH MONEY DO

THESE PEOPLE EARN?

WORK OFF OF WHAT IS

ALREADY OUT THEREE.G. BAGS

TRY AND SIMPLIFY

SOMETHING THAT CAN’T COPE OUT

THERE

THE TARGET IS CHILDREN, SO NEEDS TO

BE APPRO-PRIATE

COST EFFECTIVE MANUFAC-

TURING METHODS

MAKE THEM REUSABLE SO THEY HAVE A

LONG LIFE

LIM COULD PUSH INTO A VARIETY OF

OTHER CHARITIES

TO HELP

MAKE IT SIMPLE TO

UNDER-STAND AND READ FROM

COULD CREATE

VERSIONS FOR ALL

OVER THE WORLD

28

DEFINEmy concepts needed to cope with the harsh environment they were in, but also com-pliment what already existed in africa, so the people using them felt they were familiar

for this project I needed to create a brand that supported my concepts, so I made a design charity called lim, which is all based around us receiving less, and giving more to someone who really needs it. the hsbc tower to the right is an example of how the symbol of lim can be replicated onto multiple platforms to communicate to a variety of people, as by simply taking the corner off of anything would simply and effectively communicate to the consumer that this product supports the design charity called lim.

CREATE

medicines in sub-saharan africa are currently distributed to patients in regular brown bags with no instructions which causes problems

the brown bag concept is all about giving the patient a cost effective way of understanding the medicine they are consuming, whilst also taking their mind off of the severity of what they are going through, which is where icons come in, as these icons can be pushed out and the user can create a body out of them, which also encourages them to return to the hospital and continue the course of their drugs. The second concept is about weighing children. an adult would ask the child to raise their arms out, and one of these would be placed under each arm where they are then lifted up, and depending on how much the elastic bends, this would then show to the adult how much they weigh, eradi-cating the current problem of weigh-ing scales which is that sand gets in the mechanisms and breaks them.

29

our products are stored within stacks of paper which keeps them safe, but also reduces the overall cost

30

4000 pieces

of paper

2 pairs of the

weighing scales

8000 pieces

of paper

50 labels

and 50 bags

31

“I was designing for a child who was over 4000

miles away, but that wasn’t the hardest part, the

hardest part was trying to create something that

would take their mind off of what was

happening to them, for instance taking a pill,

whilst also trying to make it cost effective”

EVOLVE

32

PROJECT #6VIKENS

33

“a kit that aims to

encourage people to be

more accepting of

human diversity, using

an alien species as the

protagonist”

for a project entitled ‘design authorship’, where we had to design and print a document about whatever we felt passionate about, led me to create a book called ‘vikens’, an alien species I created who have come from mars to coexist with us here on earth. the kit looks to educate humans about who these people are, and hopefully with this information, we would then be able to comfortably coexist peacefully together. the book goes into intricate detail about how they live, what they do and how they communicate, and how their existance has helped shape the world we live in today.

towards the end of the book, it outlines that if this was really to happen, would humans accept an alien race into our society if we can’t even accept different types of our own people? the point is to show people that by educating yourself about something that might confuse or scare you, suddenly becomes easier to process. this project taught me that you should do things differently and always challenge the norm.

skills developed:illustratorbook layoutideationphotography

communication34

35

PROCESS

EMPATHISE DEFINE

DESIGN

CREATE EVOLVE

HOW SHOULD I

COMMUNI-CATE EVERY-

THING?

WHAT WILL GET THE

ATTENTION OF THE

AUDIENCE?

BE BOLD AND BRAVE, AND CREATE YOUR OWN ALIEN RACE

TEACH THE USER ABOUT

A NEW PEOPLE

THEY DON’T KNOW

NEEDS TO BE SPACEY BUT SIMPLE AS IT IS A MANUAL

IT A KIT WITH LOTS OF

ELEMENTS TO KEEP

THEM KEEN

MIX WORK

WITH PLAY. CREATE

EXTRA BITS

TO MAKE IT FUN

CREATE MORE

DETAILED BOOKS ABOUT THEM

EXERCISES ABOUT HOW TO TALK TO THE ALIEN

SPECIES

ADAPT IT INTO AN

AMATEUR TELEVISION PROGRAM

36

DEFINE people will always bescared or dismissive of what they don’t know, but with education, we can learn why people are different, and then personaly rationalise and live with diversity

people for many years have been told to be more accepting of diverse people, but it’s difficult to do that for some who don’t understand why they are different. I could have simply created a book about why we should be more accepting of different people, but that wouldn’t have grabbed the attention of the audience, so I decided to create a new type of people to be the protagonist, hoping that if someone reads this and found it interesting, it might entice them to further their understanding of other types of people, but real ones instead.

CREATE

would an alien

race want to

coexist with a

society of

people who

can’t even

accept differ-

ences between

themselves?

I certainly

wouldn’t!

the book goes into great detail about these people, how they’ve helped shape the world we live in today and that if we coexist peacefully, we can create a better society that could prosper in every way. I wanted the reader to truly believe this might be real, so I tried to tie in our history to explain why things are the way they are, for instance the viken people contacted h.g.wells before he wrote war of the worlds, and that this contact scared him and inspired him to write the book. the kit is made up of lots of elements, includng stencils for spray painting, glasses to show the reader how the vikens see, and other pieces that make the experience of reading the book very interactive and enjoyable.

37

this project

showed me that the obvious way

of doing some-thing is not

always the right way to do it

38

39

“from start to finish with this project, I was able

to be very experimental in terms of how I was

communicating to the user, as I was trying to

create a total sense of mystery to try and

reinforce the theme of the book, whilst also

considering that this is an educational kit”

EVOLVE

40

41

PROFESSIONALPRACTICEJ-ME

“I designed a range of toothbrush holders based on my own original ideas, which are now j-me’s bestselling products”

between may 2013 and september 2014, I worked for a product designer called j-me, who design gifts and living products. they are a small team of 5 designers and 2 sales people, so I was able to really dive into the business and understand it from all aspects.

at j-me, a design assistant is apart of the entire design process, from concepting right through to marketing visuals and packaging, this allowed me to get a good understanding of what areas I most enjoyed, and begin to better enhance my understanding of that area.

this placement undoubtedly became a defining element in my design path, as it helped me to properly understand a full design process in a professional environment, whilst understanding the limitations behind decision making as well. whilst on my placement I was able to ideate and develop 5 of my own concepts, the most any placement has ever designed, and they are now selling all over the world.

skills developed:

project management

ideation

packaging

solidworks

industrial knowledge42

PROFESSIONALPRACTICEJ-ME

43

PROCESS

EMPATHISE DEFINE

DESIGN

CREATE EVOLVE

WHAT DOES THE CUS-

TOMER WANT TO

BUY FROM US?

HOW SHOULD

THIS PROD-UCT BE

THEMED OR STYLED?

A PRODUCT THAT HAS

SIMPLE FORM AND FUNCTION

A PRODUCT THAT IS

SUITABLE FOR MOST

HOMES AND STYLES

MAKE SURE THE FORM

MIMICS THE BRANDS

IMAGE

NEEDS TO BE CHEAP TO MAKE, TO

HELP REDUCE RRP

PACKAGING SHOULD

HELP BRING THE PROD-

UCT TO LIFE

CAN WE STRETCH

THIS PRODUCT

INTO A RANGE?

MAKE SURE THE PEOPLE ARE WILLING TO BUY THE

CONCEPT

ADD AN EXTRA

COLOUR OR LIMITED EDITION VERSION

44

DEFINEat j-me I was exposed to the entire design and business processes that go into making a successful product, from using solid-works through to selling prod-ucts at exhibi-tions and fairs

the team at j-me was very small, and 2 of the 4 designers were also the owners, so decisions and alterations were fast, and working for this company taught me many things, mostly that attention to detail is key to the success of a good design, which is why we would only release 6-10 products a year, as we would spend months working on a curve here or a gradient increase there. working in such a small team, meant I could watch and learn from professionals and try and take on their qualities and skills.

CREATE

being a part of

every step of a

products

development,

meant I could

understand

those aspects

of the design

process I liked

the most

because the team is so small, I was given alot of responsibility, including designing manufacturing ready cad files to be sent to our contacts in china, and also print ready files of my packaging designs. being thrown in the deep end like that meant I had to adapt fast, work to strict deadlines and make sensible design decisions on my own. concepting at j-me was always tricky, as we would have to undertake lengthy research sessions to under-stand what already exists out there, so we knew we were designing a unique product that people would be excited about, as every product needed to sell well because the company was very small and any investment was always a risk, so this taught me about creating cost effective packaging and design solutions that still didn’t sacrifice good design.

45

these are pen-

cil sharpeners

I designed that

fit perfectly in

your hand and

rock back and

forth

46

47

“at j-me, every detail mattered. for a single product we would create at least 50 models to try and perfect the product, so when it went into production we knew it was exactly what we wanted. this ethos of attention to detail is something I always strive for with all of my work”

EVOLVE

48

ABOUTME.HENRY

49

“my passion for the arts stems right back to when I was 7, and I would sketch the front covers of the harry potter books”

I’m a very active and adventurous person, who has been very fortunate to have travelled a lot so far in my life, from cycling Pisa to Rome, and even dancing with an african tribe, the massai mara. I believe travel truly broadens your mind and gives you better perspective on what’s going on around you. I’m a very well organised individual, who isn’t afraid to wear my heart on my sleeve. I like to think of myself as friendly and easy to get along with, but I’ll let you be the judge of that. I recently graduated from brunel university, where I studied industrial design and technology ba. the beauty of this course was that we were taught a fantastic variation of design practices, but I felt I needed another string to my bow, so I am currently doing a masters in design communication to help define and develop my skills. I love what I do because I carry it with me whereever I go, constantly assessing how things could be better, I honestly couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

personal attributes:organisedfriendlycuriousadventurous

open-book50

51

me aged 7

building a

dragon to place

over my remote

control car

tough mudder

with j-me which

I organised and

raised money

for charity

52

charity cycle

ride from pisa

to rome which I

organised with

my dad

me cooking

for my team

mates at j-me

WHAT’SNEXT?CONTACT

I really appreciate you taking the time to read my portfolio and hope that you enjoyed it. please feel free to contact me whenever you like.

mobile:07800975202email:hfdavies@gmail.comblog:

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