How to keep your Smart car safe...

My entry for Smart Car's competition, where the brief was to come up with an idea for how to keep a Smart car safe, and create an animation to go with it. Here is my entry, which came second :) How to keep your Smart Car safe from Jennifer Bows on Vimeo

Indigo Bows

Hello again!

I have recently set myself up a little card/invitation/other design company to keep me occupied, and to allow my life-long passion for creating cards and gifts for loved ones to be shared with others.
It's called Indigo Bows- mainly because my surname is Bows, and because I love the colour purple. But also because I think it sounds quite nice on the ears.

Visit my (growing) website here: http://www.indigobowsdesign.co.uk/

And check out my latest progress here: http://www.facebook.com/IndigoBowsDesign?fref=ts

Colourful Cards...

A selection of cards created for Fathers Day and a birthday (my dad loves birds, my boyfriend's dad loves USBs, and my friend's mum frequently gets a visit from a cat who poos in her garden...)

White Stuff...

Last month I spent a week in the design department at White Stuff in London, and I had a great time!

I really liked the environment where everyone from different teams works together, and I think that within retail design might be where I fit best :)

I got to dabble in a variety of tasks, both analogue and digital, and I enjoyed all of it! I'm not sure what I can put online from my time there, so here is just a sample...

 

(concepts for Summer flyers, bounce backs etc...)

(cropped images for web pages...)

AuRA... Take one

The other week I spent the day in Screen Printing, trying out my design on a variety of tops. Although the gold definitely worked best on top of black, it also looked quite nice on this green...

I then printed onto black, adding gold stitching and beads to certain areas...

I then sewed in a sample of Japanese fabric as a tag...

 

I used left-over gold paint from the screens to coat some sheets of card, then printed my logo on top to create tags. These are hung with gold cord...

 

I'm hoping to get more t-shirts printed professionally (I didn't do a great job of screen printing!), so watch this space...

AuRA...

 

A tshirt line which I created, based on a mix of the beauty of Japanese nature and British lazy summer days. I wanted the tshirts to be printed in gold, hence the (Au) of the brand AuRA. Aura is also the name of the Goddess of sunlight and the breeze (fitting...). I wrote a 'poem' which would go on the reverse of the tags and give a greater sense of the brand:

Aura, Goddess of light and sun

Wake me when the day's begun,

So I may feel summer's glow

and watch how gently nature grows

And walk the earth with those I love

under the sky who smiles above

For perfect days don't have to shine

for gold to fill this heart of mine

 For the brand I created a logo and tags, as well as potential displays. The tags are designed '3D' do that the top can be ripped off to reveal a 'fortune' inside.

I have hand screen-printed a selection of t shirts (the designs have changed slightly), which I will photograph and post soon...

Whisky Business...

 

Another D&AD competition brief, although this one I approached in a light-hearted manner... To package a new brand of whisky, aimed at a female audience. 

If you can't read the description on the image, the idea is that a shot of whisky is sealed inside a 'slap/snap bracelet' (popular in the 90s), meaning drinkers can wear their drink for easy transportation, whilst looking extremely fashionable. Probably it's most notable feature is that it can be 'slapped' around a glass of ice/frozen item to cool the whisky without losing any of its punch when ice otherwise melts and dilutes the drink.

I think I'm onto something... 

Ministry of Sound...

 

This year's D&AD brief entry- to create a series of posters for Ministry of Sound's 'Saturday Sessions.' I wanted to use a more unusual hand drawn approach, and used the digital DJ decks as inspiration...

Cool Camping...

An old D&AD brief which I attempted to try my hand at Art Direction- the brief was to create a window display for Diesel clothing, on the theme of 'cool camping.' I had a lot of fun with this!

The End. (aka The Begining) ...

My three years of studying Graphic Design have finally come to an end! Therefore, I have updated by website (jenniferbows.com) so that I only display my best work (the guitar-playing pony has gone...). However, many more projects have been completed this past term, so I thought I would post a few on my blog so that they are not lost forever...

Have-a Jaffa...

My Easter gifts this year: Using this recipe and some mini chocolate molds, I created some mini jaffa cakes (and lemon cakes!). I then recycled my birthday cards that I have hoarded from the past 22 years and created some gift tags for the little bags...

My entry for Playstation's 'Access' magazine cover competition. The theme is "Gaming takes over the world." 

(The tedious method of public voting is the system they are using, so I have no chance of winning but it was a fun one-day brief...)

HAPPY MOTH3RS DAY...

Two cards for two mums, each mad using felt and a felting brush and..felting...shapes together...

My mum's card, based on a wooden 'jigsaw' penguin she has on the mantlepiece at home...

Pick and Mix fix...

The birthday cake I made for Claire, as we both love our trip to Wilkinson's for a bag of pick 'n' mix before a cinema trip...

To my Claire...

The birthday card/booklet that I made for Claire's birthday :)

Have a Croc-in' Birthday...

The card I made for my boyfriend's dad's birthday- a lover of Crocs and owner of numerous (genuine and faux) pairs...

Tray(n) of Thought...

I designed the tops of bean bag dinner trays (perfect for anti-social meals) for my dad and boyfriend's dad's birthdays. Although the designs are laminated for ease of clean, finding an appropriate adhesive was (and still is) a problem.. However, the scenario was overcome by suggesting that the tops can be interchangeable for the desired daily look... I think I got away with it.

Over the Hill...

To celebrate my dad's birthday I made him this 'hill scene' cake, due to his fondness for walking/hiking. The phrase 'over the hill' was not considered until after the cake was made.. Oops!

(Not Quite) Blind 60...

It was also my Dad's birthday this week, the big Six-O. However, he looks the same as I've always seen him (as depicted in this image...)

Happy Birthday Granny

It was my granny's birthday last week so I wanted to make her a card which showed how bright and cheerful she looks after being not so well last year...

Just wanted to say thank you...

My thank you postcards for the lovely gifts I received for my birthday and Christmas. Note the CBBC style 'photo flap'...

Alex Kidd..

A birthday card from my boyfriend, as I seem to talk about the game Alex Kidd a lot..
What impresses me most about this card is the fact that he produced it in Paintshop Pro..