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Purlfrost ltd. (Web design, UI design, UX design, Pattern Design,)

For 3 years, Ive been working for Purlfrost Limited (window and mural film company) as head graphic designer, in charge of redesigning the web site, in order to improve the way customers navigate, experience, and order products from the web site. I was also in charge of creating new designs, patterns and products, to revive the company. I sometimes had to take care of the print station, working with printers and plotters such as Mimaki JV33 and Mimaki CG-160 FX II. The work I have done for Purlfrost limited in those 3 years increased sales by 300% and Purlfrost ltd is now n1 in the uk window and mural film industry.

One of many things I was in charge of, while working for Purlfrost ltd, was the redesign of the web site. I had to make it user friendly, fresh and sleek, without losing the corporate feeling. It had to be easy to navigate and give customers the feeling of a safe environment to place an order. Trying to make it more interactive with mouse overs that allow a preview without having to load a new page, or interactive color palettes, that live change the color of the final products .

Purlfrost LTD includes 7 branches all specialized in different aspects of window and mural film industry. Each one has its own web site and all of them are interconnected for an easier navigation while keeping the same look and functionalities.

As web designer, my task was to create interfaces, looks and fonctions, and explain them as simply and clear as possible for the developers to understand and create the perfect coding. The communication between the designer and developer is essential to work fast and efficiently.

Part of my job was, as well, to create designs and patterns, to be printed on film. Then I would superimpose those designs on pictures, to create a mock up and allow customers to have a preview, of the final product, in situation. A lot of these images were saved in high resolution and used for press releases.

Pattern Designs based on pictures

Big part of my job was to create patterns, based on pictures, so we would be able to print full rolls of wallpapers and window film, that would speed up the order process and enrich the quality of the designs.

Vector Pattern Designs

Other patterns were made directly in vectors, mainly for the same reasons, but this process allowed us to plot the design directly from the window film such as the frosted window film, that gives the film the needed privacy, while increasing the amount of light entering the room.

Working for a company, the biggest part of my job was to understand and match the spirit and expectations of the management, as I would do for any client, and use it to produce a design that would express it, with just the needed edge.

UX / UI Design
The part that I maybe enjoyed the most was the User Experience design. Indeed, no matter the quality of the designs, the mock ups, or even the patterns, the way that customers navigate through the web site, and experience it, is of the utmost importance. If the web site is too intricate or doesnt inspire confidence, we lose the customer, which is unacceptable specially for an e-commerce company. And when a web site has got plenty of different products to present, the simplicity of navigation and the feeling inspired by the web site are of the essence. And of course making it accessible through new technologies, such as mobiles and tablets, is not only a bonus but a must nowadays.

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3 Pirates Art Collective. (2013)

After my 3 years working for purlfrost, I felt that it was time to move a step forward, and use the experience and skills learned during this time, and use it to a more creative purpose. Putting toghether a certain philosophy, a certain spirituality... and skills in art direction, illustration, painting and graphic design, I decided to assemble a team of artists, selected for their skills and their vision of life. Toghether we will try to bring art and joy back to the lives of people. The goal here isnt to make any profit out of it, but to create just for the pleasure of it.
This is the first steps, of the collective. Before we start anything we have got to give it a spirit, a soul, and branding is mainly just about that. Typography and Logo creation are the main tools that will help us achieve this goal. Here is a sample of the first steps of this process.

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Typography
Typography is a big part of the branding process not only it gives a spirit to the brand but it also shows the quality of a designer. Nowadays a designer must be able to use properly a font but also to create one from scratch in order to step out the box, and propose a unique design.

Here are some more examples of typography, showing different spirits. The first one was made for an association that organizes event in summer in the portuguese village Pinelo. The second one was made for Eliptik Corporation a collective of french DJs. Their music is a mix between minimal and experimental electro. The aim was to show the diversity and singularity of each project.

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Chico de Barrio Award winning Clothing Brand. (2013)

In the process of finding young talents to help me out with the collective, I had the chance to meet spanish fashion designer Jamal Calle who was creating his own clothing brand. I end up helping him instead, designing his collection for the fashion week 2013. I sometimes had to create designs from scratches and help him bring diversity to his collection, other times redraw his designs so the manufacturer could understand and produce them. In November 2013, Fashion Finest rewarded Chico de Barrio with the prestigious award menswear designer of the year 2013, and with that valued our hard work.

Those month spent working on this clothing line were actually very instructive. I learnt a lot about the fashion industry, the trends and the clothing production. How to be efficient, how to give the important informations to the manufacturers to avoid going back and forward with the prototypes. I didnt only learn about fashion but also common design. How to match shape and colors in order to produce a refined product.

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This Project allowed me to see the process of a brand creation from beginig to the end. From the very first sketch to the distribution sell, going through all stages (photoshoot, lookbook, catalog and pricing). It has been an unvaluable experience.

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Other Fashion Projects (T-Shirt Design)

For many years Ive been doing also some t-shirt designs for web sites such as Threadless and La Fraise. I really like doing those, it allows me to produce very different kind of visuals that I usually do. This process is always very free, contraintless, and creative.

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Some of those have been hand printed. I trained myself at screenprinting going through the whole process, sometimes up to tree colors. I find it very interesting, it requires a big load of patience and precision, but the result is impressive.

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Logo Design
Logo design is maybe the most important part in branding. It requires a good understanding of human psychology, how people react to shapes and colors, a good knowledge in symbols to be able to send powerful messages with simple shapes, and a keen eye, to be able to merge all that into a beautiful product. A designer must also be aware of what is happening around so he can keep up with the trends.

Naquala (logo design)

This is the logo I have done for myself, for my artist alter ego. It represents footprints, the mark humain beings leave behind themselves. And the surrounding circle represents the ouroboros, the snake that bites its tail, that is a symbol of life. Both of those, combined, represents my will to leave my mark in this life.

CIBC (cote divoire business connection)

This logo was designed for an investment advise company. The main goal here was to inspire confidence and professionalism. It had to be sleek, sobre and up to trends. But the real goal, when it comes working to for someone, is to be able to create a wide variety of choises, for the customer to be able to choose the most suitable among them all.

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Showcase Cities
This was a logo ordered for an event company that organizes exhibitions for emerging artists. The goal here was to find a good balance between a certain dirtiness for the artist side, and an elegance and sobriety to give the feeling of a respectable company.

Javali
This was a logo made for a youth association, Javali which means wild boar in portuguese. I had to give it a graphic spirit, try to make it funny looking, and a bit provocative. This association is non profitable and all the money is reused to organise events for the youngsters , such as parties, football tournaments, print t-shirt and pay for other expenses. It was a pro bono job because I am part of the association. I also made the t-shirts with hand made screen printing stencils.

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Mural 2010 (Camden Town, London)

Mural Painting done for the Camden Council, in the Stables Market. (Acrylic on wall) (3m x 1,5m)

Painting HYGEIA
Painting inspired by Klimts mural Hygeia (Coffee and Wine on cardboard) (25cm x70cm). Still in progress...

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Painting Wassup Jo
Painting Made for private buyer (Water color on cardboard) (70cm x 25cm)

Drawing Flowers
Drawing inspired by Nujabess song Flowers. Visual translation (Ball point pen on paper) (42cm x 29,7cm)

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