Chris Stokes
Available

Chris Stokes

Graphic Designer / IllustratorManchester, United Kingdom
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JVG Studio
Jamie Brunskill
Shimmy Ahmed
Chris Stokes
Available

Chris Stokes

Graphic Designer / IllustratorManchester, United Kingdom
About me
Graphic designer and Fine Art graduate from the Wirral, now living in Manchester, UK. I am currently working full-time as a graphic designer and illustrator at branding and advertising agency Waggledance in Marple, with previous experience working at the Manchester-based agency Creative Spark. I also have experience working in the photography, publishing, retail and marketing industries and have worked in various roles for both classical and contemporary arts organisations. Outside of my full-time commitments I work as a freelance creative across art, design, illustration, photography and writing, and am always on the lookout for new projects, collaborations and exhibition opportunities. If you are interested in working with me on ideas big or small, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Projects
  • Fine Art Degree Show
    Fine Art Degree ShowA series of animated pencil drawings completed in my final year at Lancaster University, 2014.
  • MIF 2017
    MIF 2017Manchester International Festival is a biennial arts festival that plays host to original new work from the fields of art, music, theatre, dance and film. For this project I was asked to design an identity concept and responsive website for the upcoming 2017 edition of the festival, using the tagline ‘Experience Overload’ as a starting point. In response to this brief I developed a repeating pattern inspired by computer glitches that is used throughout the branding and which forms the basis of the event calendar.
  • Herman Miller
    Herman MillerDesign of an annual corporate report for the US furniture and interior products company Herman Miller.
  • Chain Gang
    Chain GangChain gang (noun) - a group of cyclists in a close knit formation. For this project I was asked to come up with a new, cycling focused E-magazine along with the branding, layout and a series of illustrations. As a way of unifying the many diverse categories of modern cycling culture the name was chosen to focus on the community aspect of the sport, whilst the logo focuses on a component (the chainring) that is present in bikes of all specialisations. The custom typography used is inspired by old motorcycle club jackets - organisations that have a strong sense of family and loyalty, along with a unifying shared interest.
  • Screenfields
    ScreenfieldsBranding, print and app design for the 2016 edition of Screenfields - an outdoor film festival located in Spinningfields, Manchester. In reference to the nautical-themed selection of films for the 2016 calendar, the branding of the festival is inspired by the imagery and colour palette associated with lifeguards, search & rescue and water safety infographics.
  • Pinnacle
    PinnacleFor this project I was asked to design the in-house newsletter of a large, international law firm - to be used as a template for future editions 3 times a year. The brief requested a clean and minimal design but one that would also draw attention to the important numbers and data. With this in mind I created a custom numerical typeface to be used throughout the newsletters, available in a variety of different colour options.
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Work history
    Graphic Designer
    Marple, United KingdomFull Time
    I am currently working as part of the creative team at branding and advertising agency Waggledance, where I have been working on projects for brands including Blacks Outdoor, upcoming online retailer British We Love and the UK double-glazing company Everest. Working in this small agency environment has meant that I have had full responsibility over projects from start to finish whilst I have also had the opportunity to use my creative writing skills for copy and script writing.
    Freelance Creative
    Manchester, United KingdomFreelance
    Since graduating from Shillington College I have begun working on various freelance design projects outside of my full-time commitments, giving me vital experience in dealing directly with clients. The two biggest projects I have worked on in this time have been for the UK-based air-freshener manufacturer NIA Fragrances and the Kenyan-based sports drink company Wired Energy Africa. The products I have developed with NIA are now on sale in Halfords and Sainsburys stores across the UK, whilst the Wired energy drink has now been launched in Kenya and is soon planned to be distributed across the continent.
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Skills
  • Visual Arts
  • Writing
  • Illustrator
  • Indesign
  • Photoshop
  • Photography
  • Photo Editing
  • Branding
  • Creative Artworking
  • Concept and Ideation
Education
    Certificate IV Graphic Design
     - Manchester, United Kingdom
    At Shillington I studied on an intensive three-month course where I developed professional skills using Adobe Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator whilst working on real life design briefs across both print and digital.
    BA(Hons) Fine Art
     - Lancaster, United Kingdom
    For my final year project I worked mainly with experimental techniques in drawing, photography and animation and was involved in the organisation and running of a number of different exhibitions. As part of my degree I also undertook optional modules in Creative Writing and Media Production (learning to use professional video equipment and Final Cut Pro software), whilst outside of my academic studies I was an active member of the university cycling club.
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Awards
    Outstanding Book Award
    For my short children's book 'Rose & the Cunning Fox' published by Hampton Bond International (ISBN: 1909555258).
    Duke of Edinburgh's Gold Award
    As part of this award I spent 3 years working as a volunteer at The Bank Youth Club in Upton, and received SMBLA training to become a mountain bike trail leader on the club's cycling trips.