miguel yatco sva sophomore portfolio

S O P H O M O R E P O R T F O L I O

M I G U E L Y A T C O

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I N T R O D U C T I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

B O O K S & P U B L I C A T I O N S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0

I D E N T I T I E S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 8

P O S T E R S & P O S T A G E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 6

T Y P O G R A P H Y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 2

P A C K A G I N G . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 2

A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 4

C O N T E N T S

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ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING THINGS ABOUT A

PERSON’S WORK IS WHERE THEY PRODUCE IT. ENTERING

SOMEONE’S WORKSPACE IS LIKE ENTERING THEIR MIND.

SKETCHES, MOCK UPS, INSPIRATION, AND THE LIKE.

THE SPACE REPRESENTS WHO WE ARE AS DESIGNERS.

F R O M M A N I L A T O M A N H A T T A N

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MY BEDROOM / WORKSPACEBACK HOME IN THE

PHILIPPINES.

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MY DESK HERE INNEW YORK.

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I F I N D M O S T O F M Y I N S P I R A T I O N F R O M M Y S U R R O U N D I N G S ,

W H I C H I S W H Y I T H I N K S E E I N G T H E W O R K S P A C E O F O T H E R

D E S I G N E R S P R O V I D E S A M O R E I N T E R E S T I N G P E R S P E C T I V E O N

T H E I R A C T U A L W O R K , A N D H O W T H E Y C O N C E I V E T H E S E I D E A S .

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S O I H O P E T O P R O V I D E I N S P I R A T I O N T H R O U G H M Y W O R K A N D S P A C E .

BOOKS &PUBLICATIONS

I WAS NEVER MUCH OF A READER, SO IT MADE SENSE THAT

I’D GRAVITATE TOWARD THE DESIGN ASPECT OF BOOKS AND

PUBLICATIONS. THE IDEA OF BEING ABLE TO SUMMARIZE OR

REPRESENT A STORY IN JUST ONE IMAGE IS PHENOMENAL.

WHETHER IT BE A DARK COMEDY OR A BOOK ABOUT MYSELF,

I APPROACH THE PROCESS WITH THE INTENTION OF HAVING

THE READER EXPERIENCE THAT ‘EUREKA’ MOMENT OF

REALIZING WHY THE COVER IS DESIGNED THE WAY IT IS.

.. E T H A N C O E N S E R I E S..

A vision of modernAmerican life

Tasked to create a mini book series derived from Ethan Coen’s “Gates of Eden”, I decided to embrace the Americana quality that the stories of Coen had. The color palette was a strong focal point for this piece, and as well as the idea of abstraction using vertical and horizontal lines to represent ideas from the book.

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PHOTOGRAPHIC SERIES

TYPOGRAPHIC SERIES

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TITLES BRUSHED IN WHITE PAINT ON SIGNIFICANT SUBJECTS FROM THE BOOK.

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.. T H E B I O G R A P H Y..

A six word memoir

For this project we had to base our biography cover on a six word memoir that we created about ourselves. I decided to emphasis the progression of my work as a designer. Coverage of the eyes represent what I don’t know yet as a designer, and the two-dimensional lines that wrap around myself symbolizes my progress.

My six word memoir:I’m not used to life, yet.

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.. M I L K M A G A Z I N E..

A source of contemporary culture

This publication revolves around my photography in the fashion industry. After having the opportunity to photograph numerous menswear shows and presentations for Milk Studios & Tumblr, I’ve decided to put these photos to use. The magazine caters to men interested in the collections shown at Milk Studios for New York Fashion Week. The design mimics the sleek style of Milk, known for their beautiful white studios.

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CARLOS CAMPOSSPRING/SUMMER 2013

COLLECTION AT MILK STUDIOS

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IDENTITIESI HAVE A LOVE-HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH IDENTITIES,

BUT IT’S ALWAYS BEEN ONE OF MY FAVORITE ASPECTS OF

DESIGN. THE WAY I SEE IT IS THAT I’M NOT DESIGNING SOLELY

TO HAVE IT LOOK GOOD, I’M DESIGNING WITH PURPOSE.

AN IDENTITY IS A REPRESENTATION OF THE OWNER AND WHO

THEY ARE AS A PERSON, AS WELL AS WHAT IT IS THAT

THEY HAVE TO OFFER. PERSONALITY MAKES THE IDENTITY.

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From a simple assignment of taking photographs of typography around the city, blossomed into a clothing line based on New York. The task was to create a product for the big apple made solely from the photos we took. One particular sign of a bar caught my eye. The Growler was the name of this bar. I grew fond of the typeface immediately and knew that I had to

Made in and of New York

recreate it. After vectorizing, and performing typographic surgery, came the identity of Central. The whole idea of this brand is that each design placed on a shirt or jacket, originates from a real part of the city, whether it be a wooden sign, or the side of a train, which is why it is made in and of New York.

.. C E N T R A L C L O T H I N G C O M P A N Y..

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PACKAGINGSHIRTS CONTAINED IN A

SEE THROUGH PAINT BUCKET

SILK SCREENINGAT HOME

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THE BURGUNDYLETTERMANMOCK-UP

MODELTAYLOR BAKER

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.. W I T H I T C O ...

Are you Withit?

What’s great about designing a logo for someone’s company, is that you get to know the owner and what they’re like. What’s even better is when you have similar interests. That was the case for Withit Co. We were tasked to create a logo for a classmate, and I was paired with Jaesuk Huh. One of his hobbies is snowboarding, so the idea was to create a snowboarding company and have it heavily influenced by his interests. Minimalist, symmetry, architecture (mostly by Rem Koolhaus)

and cool colors, were some of his interests which I thought stuck out the most. After putting all the pieces together, I came up with the name Withit, which means “up-to-date: in accordance with style”. The logo on the other hand is made to look like a range of mountains as well as the letter ‘W’. Also, a very subtle hint to the design was the idea of the black diamond, which is an advanced run, known to be amongst the most difficult at a given mountain.

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WITHIT AUTUMN/WINTER12-13 LOOKBOOK

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.. T R E E H O U S E P I C T U R E S..

Rebranding a movie company

BEFORE

When we were given the task to rebrand any company we wanted, I caught myself in a bit of a problem with deciding what exactly I wanted to redesign. I thought of numerous companies that I liked which would need a new face, but nothing came to mind. Later that day I watched a movie, and as soon as the production companies appeared on the screen, I knew what I wanted to do. Fortunately, a friend of mine owns a production company which is fairly new, and I was a lot more comfortable with working on a company that I was familiar with and that was new to the industry.

Before the logo was created, I too pictured a classic treehouse nested on a beautiful tree found on a field. Lo and behold, the logo actually turn out to be just that, so I decided to approach it in a different way. I gathered numerous photos and came across two angular treehouses beside each other, one with a staircase and one without. I favored the treehouse without the staircase more than the other, so I decided to pull the two apart and combine them to make a new one. The result turned out to be a very contemporary styled treehouse.

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AFTER

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Woodie Eyewear is a new company founded by a friend of mine from back home in the Philippines. When they mentioned the inital idea, I took it as an opportunity to brand a company that would actually be materialized. The concept of the brand is that a pair of Woodies would be the only accessory you’d need. Meant to be paired with simple outfits such as

Follow the Grain

a plain tee and jeans. The other advantage of Woodie, is that they’re entirely made of recycled wood. After gathering enough information about the brand, I decided to keep it as simple as possible. The outcome is a container originating from the lens of a pair of shades, paired with a vintage-style script by Lost Type.

.. W O O D I E E Y E W E A R..

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THE MAKING OF A PAIR OF WOODIES

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MODELALEXANDRA STORM

IF IT’S ONE THING I’VE ALWAYS WANTED TO DO, IT’S TO

START COLLECTING POSTERS AND POSTAGE AS A SOURCE OF

INSPIRATION. MY FATHER IS ACTUALLY AN AVID COLLECTOR

OF TRAVEL POSTERS, WHICH RESULTS TO THE WALLS OF OUR

HOUSE BEING FILLED WITH THEM. IT’S ALWAYS NICE TO JUST

LOOK AT THEM AND BE REMINDED OF HOW BEAUTIFUL THE

PLACE WAS. SAME WAY I VIEW WELL DESIGNED POSTERS,

BEING REMINDED OF THE WORK AND THOUGHT PUT INTO IT.

POSTERS &POSTAGE

Visual Rhetoric

We were tasked to create a poster that visually summarizes a complex idea of a chosen theme. I thought coming up with ideas for Gambling Addiction would seem to be pretty easy, but often times can be very cliche. I had originally pitched two ideas to my teacher, but both were nothing new, until I hesitantly showed my back up idea. An addiction so severe that everyday items turn into the addiction itself. So I went and bought several fruits, sodas, and junk food and replicated a slot machine right in my kitchen.

.. G A M B L I N G A D D I C T I O N..

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.. W O O D T Y P E P O S T E R S..

A concert series

For this project, the wonderful Gail Anderson provided us with a set of wood type vectors to play with. It was an interesting process of individually selecting letters to construct words, rather than typing it out very easily. I find that this type of project lets you focus a lot more on kerning and leading. I chose to create several concert posters for some of my favorite bands: Incubus, The Xx, and Edward Sharp & the Magnetic Zeroes.

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.. M 8 3 L Y R I C P O S T E R..

Now and forever,I’m your king

Hand drawn and later digitalized, I created three dominant words in a line taken from a song by M83. The inspiration for this poster mainly has to do with the association of the band and a soundtrack they had done for a snowboarding movie. The song is entitled ‘Outro’, and was played along with beautiful time-lapses of the slopes against a star-filled sky.

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.. S H I T N E W Y O R K E R S S A Y..

What it’s like to bea New Yorker

The task was to make postcards inspired by what you love or hate about New York. In this case, I feel like it’s a representation of a love-hate relationship. Based off of the viral video, “Shit New Yorkers Say” found on Youtube, these postcards convey a short message of what it’s like to be a New Yorker.

COMICS FROM BUNKY BROTHERS,VECTORIZED & RE-COLORED.

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TYPOGRAPHYIT’S INCREDIBLY FASCINATING WHAT ONE CAN DO

TO THE APPEARANCE OF LANGUAGE. I SEE TYPOGRAPHY AS

MORE THAN JUST A TWO-DIMENSIONAL PIECE OF WORK.

IT’S MORE LIKE AN EXPERIENCE, BOTH FOR THE READER

AND THE DESIGNER. AS THE DESIGNER, CREATING TYPE

HAS ALWAYS BEEN A TEDIOUS PROCESS, BUT I ALWAYS SEE

TO IT THAT IT’S MORE OF A BLESSING THAN A BURDEN.

IT’S ABSOLUTELY FULFILLING TO BE ABLE TO CONSTRUCT

A COHESIVE SET OF LETTERS THAT WOULD HOPEFULLY BE

APPRECIATED BY READERS AND FELLOW DESIGNERS ALIKE.

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.. C A E L U M..

A personal typeface

Caelum is a decorative script typeface that’s based on Jessica Hische’s first typeface, Buttermilk. I was inspired by the idea of the structures in Monument Valley and Canada, as well as the constellations found in the sky. A combination of the two ideas brings forth a unique typeface with a three-dimensional look. The name ‘Caelum’ is in fact a constellation, which means ‘The Chisel’ in Latin.

INSPIRATIONPHOTOS FROM MY VISIT

TO MONUMENT VALLEY, UTAH

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THE ATHABASCA GLACIER IN CANADA

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PACKAGINGTO BE HONEST, WHATEVER I BUY IS VERY HEAVILY

INFLUENCED BY THE PACKAGING OF THE PRODUCT.

PACKAGING IS LIKE HOW YOU PRESENT YOURSELF TO

OTHERS, CONSIDERING THAT FIRST IMPRESSIONS ALWAYS

LAST. BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN THAT YOU COULD DESIGN

A GREAT EXTERIOR AND FORGET ABOUT THE INTERIOR.

WITH PACKAGING, THERE ARE MANY OPPORTUNITIES FOR US

DESIGNERS TO INCLUDE SIMPLE SURPRISES INSIDE THAT TIE

BACK TO THE PRODUCT. I ALSO BELIEVE THAT PRACTICALITY

NEEDS TO PLAY A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN PACKAGING. THE

LAST THING YOU WANT TO DO IS TO FRUSTRATE THE BUYER.

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.. P A R I S I S B U R N I N G..

Having a ball,wish you were here

Paris is Burning, was a film I’ve never heard of until I was assigned to redesign the dvd package. After watching the movie, I knew this dvd had to be glamorous and dark at the same time. I focused on all the energy and motion in the film and channeled it into the typography, as well as settled on the combination of pink and black.

PHOTOS TAKEN FROM THE FILM,AND PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL ONLINE.

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.. A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S..

Huge thank you to all my teachers, for being a constant source of

inspiration and motivation.

Richard Wilde

Scott Buschkuhl

Gail Anderson

Laina Leckie

Irina Lee

Carl Titolo

Adrienne Leban

& Jimmy Diresta

Sincerely,

P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y M I G U E L Y A T C OU N L E S S S T A T E D O T H E R W I S E