RACHEL OKUNGBOWA

I have always been a creative thinker, but my creative ideas occasionally lacked direction. During my Advertising and Public Relations degree, I have greatly sharpened my creative skill set to fit industry level. With this said, I have also improved my critical analytical skills when it comes to the work I have produced. Although writing has always been a key strength of mine, I have continuously challenged myself to focus on my creative side and produced work on various platforms such as Adobe Illustrator and InDesign. With access to industry knowledge and academic sources, I have gained a deeper understanding of how to interpret creative briefs and find innovative solutions.

 

For my portfolio, I have chosen to include my 5 best creative artwork which I completed over the course of a two year period. To ensure my selection was diverse as possible, I chose a range of print and motion pieces using the platform Final Cut Pro for video editing and Adobe Illustrator. I created a logo and a music video for my footwear startup business RaeVie. I selected these pieces in particular because I felt they explained what my brand is and how it is understood by the target audience. Speaking of the target audience, I included the influencers outreach strategy for the brand. This piece of work was applauded by industry professionals because of the input of creative thoughts that produced it. These 3 pieces of work fit into a narrative about my brand ‘RaeVie’ and the story behind it. Additionally, the logo, the video, and outreach strategy convey my diverse range of work I can present.

 

My interest in print work started two years ago when I began acquiring some skills and knowledge on Adobe Creative Cloud Suite. I focused primarily on InDesign and Illustrator as these design platforms vastly improved my graphics skills. I can say this skill, in particular, expanded my creative thinking, which pushed me further into the art direction role. I chose to exhibit the catalog brochure I created for my graduate showcase and the AMA brochure for an event I was promoting. This is not the first time I have created artwork for promotional use, my innovation and design skills tend to excel in the print department. The brochures in mention were able to present my understanding of such briefs and to be as creative as possible in graphic design. Through this, I was able to design professional pieces that can be acknowledged by industry professionals.

 

Overall, the process of selecting suitable work for my portfolio allowed me to become critical and look for errors in the chosen pieces. The work chosen conveys my interest in art direction and I have a short-term goal to join an advertising or creative agency as an experienced art director. One of my long-term goals includes progressing into creative direction as I believe I will have achieved the skills, knowledge, and experience from industry practice to oversee a project and lead a creative team.