Back in May, not just a shop ran an opportunity to commission students to design gift wrap that would be sold exclusively on our online shop. Having selected and worked with six successful students, we are pleased to announce the range of exclusive gift wraps is now available to buy!
We spoke with the six students about the inspiration behind their designs and asked them if they had any advice for applying to product commission opportunities. Keep reading to find out more.
Costanza Thom
What was the inspiration behind your gift wrap design?
I’m largely inspired by styles that combine realistic sketches with more simplified, icon-like ones, which is how I decided to construct this gift wrap. In addition, I love artistic movements such as pop art and maximalism because of their bright colours, which I also included in the wrap.
What advice would you give to other students who wish to submit their portfolios to a commission opportunity?
Just go for it! The worst that can happen is to receive a no for an answer, so might as well apply for every opportunity that might interest you.
How did you approach the abstract theme assigned to you?
I tackled the abstract theme by making all realistically drawn elements of the wrap, as unrealistically coloured as possible. This is the reason why all of the animals are neon.
Palak Garg
What was the inspiration behind your gift wrap design?
The inspiration behind my gift wrap design came from drawing in galleries and museums which is a great way to fill a sketchbook. I like how there’s so much to see on a gallery wall. The idea of a gift wrap designed as a wall of paintings came from there.
What advice would you give to other students who wish to submit their portfolios to a commission opportunity?
These are great opportunities for students to show their best work and be creative. Showing the work that relates to the commission opportunity and being selective is important. Also, having good presentation skills in a portfolio is a plus.
How did you approach the abstract theme assigned to you?
I was assigned the ‘abstract’ theme. I wanted it to be visually interesting and colourful—something an art lover would like. Using paint and collage in the design, I was able to be more playful and create a gallery of fun little paintings.
Duo Xu
What was the inspiration behind your gift wrap design?
I chose to use confetti since it is a part of many celebrations and events that people have throughout their lives. I wanted to include it in my design, hoping that it can resonate and convey the idea of celebration and excitement to as many people as possible, whilst still keeping the gift wrap versatile.
What advice would you give to other students who wish to submit their portfolios to a commission opportunity?
I would encourage everyone to read the brief carefully and learn from existing examples of successful designs, but also not get too tied up feeling like you need to do things a certain way. Feel free to explore different disciplines, tools and programs, and aim to show something refreshing and new.
How did you approach the celebratory theme assigned to you?
I wanted to keep the forms simple so that the gift wrap can be used for a variety of different occasions, and had lots of fun exploring a bold, playful but still versatile color scheme. I liked exploring how the different colored sequins overlapped with each other to make different combinations.
Xiangze Liu
What was the inspiration behind your gift wrap design?
I have to admit the timing is essential. When I was looking for inspiration on social media I discovered videos of cute pets. Some
owners would DIY clothes for their pet dogs and cats, forming the idea of me creating a birdie party.
What advice would you give to other students who wish to submit their portfolios to a commission opportunity?
You can organise your portfolio in monochrome, colour, and art media lists. Demonstrate your concept next to your work and typography in a style appropriate to your theme. That way, when you give it to the commissioner, they can immediately see the work that appeals to them. It makes your work readable.
How did you approach the celebratory theme assigned to you?
After being assigned the ‘Happy Birthday’ theme, I started combining cheerful elements with animals. Parrots of various species have different fur colours, which matches my ideal chromatogram
perfectly. I let these lovely creatures play around on my canvas. They will create the happiest vibe for the person whose birthday is being celebrated
Karina Cooppen
What was the inspiration behind your gift wrap design?
In my practice I like to use fun and bright colours to make everyday objects more interesting. I took this approach to imply that feeling of excitement you feel when giving or receiving a gift.
What advice would you give to other students who wish to submit their portfolios to a commission opportunity?
Show the work that you really loved working on because that’s the stuff that will show the most passion and excitement which makes for the best work!
How did you approach the celebratory theme assigned to you?
The theme celebratory was quite broad so I took the approach of gift wrap quite literally illustrating gifts that I like to give or receive myself. For colour scheme I tried to illustrate confetti as that’s what I think of when I think celebration.
Justine Brandt
What was the inspiration behind your gift wrap design?
For the ‘Pansy Party’ design I was particularly inspired by the different overlapping effects you can achieve with riso printing. I was also inspired by wild flowers and how they grown in an organic free-flowing pattern. The bright yellow colour I chose was not only inspired by the friendly faced buttercups you see growing at the side of the road but also by the happy warmth of sun rays that you many observe on a forest walk.
What advice would you give to other students who wish to submit their portfolios to a commission opportunity?
Just go for it, you have nothing to loose by doing so, in fact you can only gain, whether you get the commission or not. You may gain a couple of pieces of work for your main portfolio or have a
nice mini portfolio for future use. Also make sure you read the brief properly, take it easy and enjoy the creating process.
How did you approach the abstract theme assigned to you?
When I think of abstract I think of fluid asymmetrical shapes, so keeping that in mind I thought about how I might take elements of nature such as flowers which are typically highly symmetrical, break it down into different elements e.g. leaves, pollen and petals. Then warp, simplify or displace them elsewhere in the
design for a graphical abstract effect