nicola stephen design
INTEGRATED DESIGNER
Hello, I’m Nicola, I have worked in agencies for the last ten years predominantly in advertising agencies focussing on integrated campaigns, product launches, and branding. Before that, I worked in-house with projects that would begin with print and possibly branch out to digital assets, with this background I developed a passion for all aspects of design. Throughout my career, I have always tried to be agile and learn new programs or techniques that best fit the projects at hand. I think at this point I have done most of the roles a designer possibly could! From art directing and assisting photoshoots, artworking, and pitch decks through to conceptual work (which I love!). I have excellent communication skills and build solid relationships with my colleagues easily and after a decade in agencies, I am used to working to tight deadlines for high-profile clients. As you can see in my testimonials I am resilient, enthusiastic, and creative, as well as a versatile problem solver.
Below are my favourite projects so far!
when I grow up I would like to be an artist in france
KEITH HARING
courtney love's women
A PODCAST HOSTED BY COURTNEY LOVE
BBC Sounds approached me to create the artwork for a new podcast and when they told me the host was Courtney Love I had to pick up my jaw! I couldn't believe I had this opportunity, my teenage self was so excited but I tried to stay cool (but didn't achieve that!). It was a great honour to create this and I loved every minute of this project, blasting Hole the entire time. Courtney Love is a legend and hit the scene with a big riot girl aesthetic so I decided to recreate a digital zine style, I tried to emanate Love's fierce vocal style with the treatment of the text.
subfun
PROMOTIONAL ASSETS
SubFun is a comedy night run by women, celebrating women, non-binary & queer comedy, I created the identity for this in 2019 & now in 2023, I have updated it. They wanted a bold aesthetic that steered clear of any cliché queer iconography, I decided on bright colours that clash but in a good way in 2019. In the revamp I thought I would mix geographical shapes with a luxuriously textured background communicating the fun open atmosphere the night offers.
red bull
TOTTENHAM FLY TOOLKIT
We put together a toolkit for Red Bull to make an impact in the creative sector, we showed how they could use limited branding for ultimate impact and credibility. Tottenham was selected as it has such a vibrant creative scene and therefore we could demonstrate how it would work amongst multiple creative fields. Along with POS for venues, we developed promotional tools for a weekender that would drive a younger demographic to selected venues in that area, we also used social media to galvanize that group and help bring together creatives in the area to help run events.
university of liverpool
ONLINE ENROLMENT PUSH
University of Liverpool wanted to increase the click-through for their online programs, so we thought the best route would be through ads on public transport between London & Liverpool. Using both print & digital we took inspirational phrases such as 'Set an example to your kids' to evoke a warm & personal connection then teamed it with a jarring counterpart, like 'Spend more time online' which is usually the opposite of what we are told. We felt this was an elegant way of demonstrating how these courses can improve your life; in this case, illustrating that there are a wide range of courses online. We used their secondary colour palette as it had a more engaging range which we felt married well with the overall aesthetic of the project.
