Sophie Stuart

Graphic Design BDes (Hons)

I'm Sophie, a Scottish graphic designer interested in telling stories with design and finding new and creative solutions in my work.

About

Portrait of Sophie Stuart

The range of briefs I worked on this year has allowed me to consolidate the skills that I have learned throughout the course and put them into practice to create three outcomes which explore different areas of graphic design: packaging and branding, typographic publication design and motion design. I chose these three specific briefs as I wanted to create a varied portfolio of work from my final year, where I could both focus on areas of the discipline that I enjoy the most and push myself to try new things. Throughout my work this year I have found myself drawn to ideals which I feel strongly about, particularly sustainability and environmentalism which comes through in my choice of subject matter for the ISTD project and the direction I chose with the RSA motion project on sustainable cities.

THE RUMBLINGS OF AN AVALANCHE: A review of the social, cultural and political impact of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring.

An image of multiple open book spreads on a dark green background. They contain text and images relating to the book "Silent Spring". The pages are mostly combinations of monochrome text and images with highlights in green.
An image of two books on a dark green background. One is closed It has a green cover with a black title which says, "The Rumblings of an Avalanche: A review of the social, cultural and political impact of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring". The other book is open. One page contains text and the other contains a photo of a woman. This page is partially obscured by a brown paper insert, containing an interview transcript.
An image of two open books. The first contains black and white images and text talking about the history of pesticides. The other book contains an image of an atomic blast and a pesticide spray aeroplane on one page and text talking about nuclear radiation on the other.
An image of two open books. The first contains a deep green page with minimal text on it. The other contains the words "Chapter 02 A solemn obligation" Between these pages is an insert made of seed paper with a quotation engraved on it. The other book contains a black and white image of two women with text accompanying it talking about Rachel Carson's death.
An image of two open books. The first has a page which is designed to look like a government report with the words "DDT A review of scientific and economic aspects of the decision to ban its use as a pesticide." The other page contains an image of eggs damaged by DDT and text talking about how DDT affects eagles. The other book contains text about plastic pollution and a large image of a zooplankton digesting microplastics.
An image of two open books. The first has a dark blue/green page with a quote in the top left corner. The other page has a small block of text at the bottom. The other book contains two mostly blank pages with the words "In nature nothing exists alone" written on one.

'The Rumblings of an Avalanche' is a response to the ISTD brief: Shaping the World. The publication explores Rachel Carson’s 'Silent Spring', and its impact on the environmental movement and public attitudes towards pesticides. The document investigates the impact that 'Silent Spring' had on the world, from the date of its publication to the modern day. Published in 1962, Carson’s novel was one of the first of its kind, and invariably, the first book to successfully reach the general public to educate on environmental issues. The environmental crisis that the world faces today seems unfathomably daunting and there is a sense of disillusionment in the general public. People want to create a greener world, but the situation often seems hopeless. Through exploring the story and legacy of 'Silent Spring' and the choice of one person to make a difference, hopefully people will be reminded that it isn’t too late, and find themselves inspired by 'Silent Spring’s' message. To emphasise the ideas behind the publication, it has been made with sustainable, recycled papers, with the main paper stock being made entirely of recycled plastic cups.

Ambitious Cities: Discover The Doughnut

‘Ambitious Cities: Discover the Doughnut’ is a short piece of motion design created for the RSA brief “Moving Pictures”. The challenge was to create an animation based on an audio clip supplied by the RSA of economist, and creator of the doughnut economic theory, Kate Raworth, discussing sustainability in cities. The animation is built around the idea that we need to work to have our cities fit seamlessly within the world’s natural cycle. Cities should take from and contribute to the natural world in equal measure and people have a responsibility to ensure that there is balance between different cities, countries, and environments. The motif of the circle, and the idea of different cycles is used throughout the animation to illustrate Raworth’s words about being aware of the effects our lives and cities have on the rest of the world. The circular motif is also a reference to Raworth's idea of doughnut economics and to the circular economy model. The purpose of the animation is to spread Raworth’s message to and introduce people to her work and the doughnut theory. Additionally, it encourages younger people to think about economics and the ways in which our current economic model could be improved upon.

CHIVAS LOTIC

An image of a black whisky bottle at a diagonal angle. The bottle has a silver band round its neck and the words "Chivas Regal Lotic Blended scotch Whiskey " written at the top and "Aged 15 years" written at the bottom in silver foil. The black finish is cut out in the shape of a river revealing the colour of the whisky inside. Behind the bottle is a background of abstract shapes. The words "Lotic Celebrate the Journey" are written at the bottom of the image.
An image of a black whiskey bottle and a black whisky box against a dark background. Both the bottle and the box have the shape of a stylised river on them and each has silver accents. At the right of the image are the words "Chivas Regal Lotic Aged 15 Years" above a block of text talking about the whisky.

Chivas Lotic is my solution to the Chivas Regal D&AD brief. Chivas Regal is looking to broaden their target audience and create a new blend which will appeal to the future generation of young professionals and entrepreneurs. The product is positioned as an aspirational purchase as a show of success and status. As purchasing this whisky is seen to be a symbol of success, the branding and identity is centred around the idea of journeys. It is advertised as a celebratory drink that can be shared to commemorate success in the consumer’s own journey, be it social, professional or personal. To appeal to a younger, up and coming generation of whiskey drinkers Lotic takes the Chivas Regal brand in a more modern, minimalistic direction. The name and design of the bottle reference the flow of water, reinforcing the idea of travelling forward and embarking on a journey.

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