Marketing Myself - Updating Vimeo

I hadn't really thought about my Vimeo until I saw other folks talk about updating theirs. In hindsight, I think the reason I hadn't touched it in forever is because I don't really see my practice as being heavily animation-based, as I'm more interested in pre-production and illustration. That being said, I can recognise the importance of having some kind of online portfolio of my best animation work.

I've added some more recent videos and updated the thumbnails, as well as putting my signature little logo on and adding a looping portion of my showreel as the banner. Though I know that most of my focus won't be on Vimeo, I still want to have somewhere that I can direct people to see my work. When we finish the final film for Extended, I will put it up privately with a password, so that it can do the festival circuit. 

Marketing Myself - To creative CV or not to creative CV?

I've spent a little time considering whether or not I should make myself a creative CV or not. I looked at a few online, but most of them just look like a regular CV with a bit of colour slapped on there.

Consider our good friend, Name Surname, for example

While I think this looks fine, I'm not very interested in making my own CV like this. For one, I think it's a little pointless to have both a creative CV and a normal one - they seem to function pretty much the same to me. As long as my regular CV is legible and concise, I don't think a creative CV like this is for me.

There are also CVs I found that fit more into my idea of what a "creative" CV might look like. They incorporate the artists' practice a little more into the aesthetic, while still communicating the key points.

I think I would be more inclined to put together a creative CV like this, as it incorporates a little more personality. However, I feel that I have my portfolio for that, so again it feels a little redundant to make my CV in this style too. I can see myself leaning towards this more if I fall towards the illustration side of my career, but while I am still working in different mediums (stop-motion and illustration), I want to keep my CV as clean as possible, while having my work stand out in my portfolio. 

Marketing Myself - Website

I spent the last couple of days putting together a website through Wix, and was also able to get the domain of my whole name. I found that while putting it together, I had to to consider what was my best personal work, and ended up putting less university work on the website, focusing instead on my personal projects.

I want to focus next on creating a page for my illustration portfolio, and having my animation showreel uploaded there as well for any potential clients who may be interested in my work. It's difficult to choose what is best to show, and what to deliberately exclude. Ultimately I know it is about showcasing my strongest work, but the portfolio also has to be cohesive and flow visually. It will be a case of choosing pieces and curating an order for them, in order to show off my strongest skills. Additionally I know there is some work I won't be able to include due to the inappropriate nature of it (specifically, some of the development I did for Durex), which is a shame as I know some of my strongest work is in that.

The website looks really professional, which helps my personal marketing as I won't seem inexperienced to potential clients. When I run out of business cards I'll add the address onto them, but I have about 100 left that I need to get rid of first. Ideally I'd like to reprint new ones before Annecy though, as that will be a huge networking opportunity and I'd like to be able to direct people towards the site.

Marketing Myself - Personal Brand

This year I've focused on developing my personal brand as a creative, using certain iconography throughout all of my "products", such as my website and Etsy store, as well as on business cards and packaging my earrings and badges.

I can never dye my hair any other colour now

I've found this branding has worked as a memorable way of identifying myself. My business cards stand out, as the design is simple and works from a distance, or up close. 

Business Cards

Etsy Store

Website

Instagram

What was really important for me here was to have cohesive branding across all my different areas. Since I have lots of different ventures (illustration, model-making, animation, making pins and earrings), I wanted something to unite all of them under the umbrella of my brand. It also ties into my appearance, so people are likely to remember what I look like, which could be useful at networking events.