the portfolio of justin ladia
DESCRIPTION
2013TRANSCRIPT
J U S T I N L A D I A
T H E P O R T F O L I O O F
HELLO!My name is Justin Ladia. I’m a freelance designer from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and I like making things and stuff. I’m particularly interested in the application of two-dimensional practices into three dimensions. Allow me to show you what I can do.
This portfolio contains 17 projects that span
various genres of design including illustration,
branding, and typography. Thanks for taking the
time to look through my work and I hope you
enjoy what you see in this document!
THE ALPHAbET SERIES
cURRIcULUm vITAE
wAREHOUSE xIx
PROJEcT vEcTOR
LA LIgUE DES RADIOS ScOLAIREF+S
03 07
19 21
39 43
cONTENTS
wHITEHILL
wHy NOT LAmP
THE 365 PROJEcT
EUckHOv
bUDDy bbQ: DENIm DILEmmA
SPRINgbOARD <11-12>
EybAybAy
wELcOmE bAck SymPOSIUm
gAS STATION vILLAgE mARkET...
PROJEcT 16-bIT
DITcHbALL 34
THE mANITObAN ILLUSTRATIONS
11 13 15 17
27 29 33 37
45 49 53 55
SUmmARy
Justin Roy LadiaNAME
August 31 1988D.O.B
ADDRESS
justinladia.comWEB
PHONE
@jrladiaTWITTER
cURRIcULUm vITAEI’m an energetic, enthusiastic, and unabashedly nerdy interdisciplinary designer formally educated in interior design with a [self-taught] passion for graphic and web
design. I’ve delved into the development of different types of work widely spanning
various scales, and I’m particularly interested in the application of two dimensional
practices into three dimensions. Besides my various technical assets, I fare well under
a collaborative environment whether that is between the client and myself, the team I
am a part of, or both. Practice, process, and learning are all very important to me,
and I constantly attempt to improve throughout each of my projects.
EDUcATION2008-2011 B. Env. D. [Environmental Design / Interior Design]
Faculty of Architecture,
University of Manitoba
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
2004-2006 Dakota Collegiate Institute
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
03
EDUcATION2002-2004 La Salle Green Hills
Mandaluyong, Manila, Philippines
wORk ExPERIENcEFreelance Graphic Designer
I’m currently working on smaller-scale graphic design projects for clients around the city of Winnipeg. Clients include
SkullSpace, the Gas Station Arts Centre, Envol ckxl, and the University of Manitoba.
The Manitoban – Volunteer Illustrator
Provided illustrations for various articles in the University of Manitoba’s weekly student
newspaper. Illustrations were drawn to specifications given by the various editors of the Manitoban.
October 2012 –
Gas Station Theatre Village Market
Designed an illustrative identity for The Gas Station Theatre’s annual summer farmer’s market event.
The farmer’s market hosts local fare and features bands from Winnipeg. The formed identity for the
2011 and 2012 seasons was translated into 11”x17” posters, flyers, newspaper advertisements, web
banners, and several transit shelter posters.
June 2011 +
June 2012
04
05
wORk ExPERIENcESpringboard: The University of Manitoba Faculty of Architecture Year-End Exhibition –
In collaboration with Shawn Stankewich
Developed an identity for annual year-end exhibition of student work from the Faculty of
Architecture. Deliverables included logos, posters, e-mail invites, wayfinding, a modeel of the
faculty and its buildings, and necessary signage.
April 2011 +
April 2012
Atmosphere 2011: Mediated Cities – In collaboration with Evan Burgess
Created an identity for the Faculty of Architecture University of Manitoba’s annual conference,
Atmosphere. A website, programs, various information posters, and maps were inspired by the imagery
of media and the city.
February 2011
Warehouse XIX – In collaboration with Sean Gallagher
Compiled, edited, and designed a 512-page journal of student work from the Faculty of Architecture.
We worked closely with Friesens Publishing, the students of the Faculty, and a few professors
to create a cohesive and collaborative book about the future of design, its beginnings, and its
inspirations.
March 2010 -
November 2011
Graphics Team, Students’ Architectural Society [S.A.S] –
In collaboration with Sophia Sengsuriya
Designed posters and other promotional print material for the events of the Faculty of
Architecture’s student council.
September 2009 -
March 2010
06
wORk ExPERIENcEThe Illustrated Guide to Words
Illustrated a 13-episode comic called
“The Illustrated Guide to Words” for
the Manitoban. Comic series humorously
differentiated between two commonly
misspelled homonyms.
2007-2008 Software
Illustrator CS4
InDesign CS4
Photoshop CS4
Microsoft Office
Dreamweaver CS4
Flash CS4
AutoCAD 2012
SketchUp
Revit
Coding Languages
CSS
HTML
jQuery
PROFIcIENcIES
Sales Associate
Hudson’s Bay [St. Vital]
Provided customer service and fashion
expertise in both the menswear and the
footwear departments.
2006 -
INTERESTSInterior Design, Exhibition Design, Graphic Design,
Furniture Design, Web Design, Illustration, Typography,
Branding and Identity, Photography
2009 2010 2011SAS E
LEcT
SAS E
ND
2012 2013 2014 2015b.ENv
.DES
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PROJEcT vEcTORPortraits | 2009-11
I once came up with the naive idea to single-handedly create a yearbook for my first year
design class. Part of my ambitious plan was to create unique portraits of each student in
my year to accompany their assigned page in the publication. I photographed the majority of
people in my class, encouraging them to portray themselves in a way that was more expressive
than the typical highschool yearbook photograph pose. I managed to “vectorise” about fifty
of these photographs, and I later turned some of them into postcard-sized prints.
Amanda
Marcello
Blaise
Lindsey
Alex
Nathan
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2009 2010 2011SAS E
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wHITEHILLIllustration | 2009
One of my old co-workers approached me, asking me to make to make something for her then
boyfriend for his birthday. She described him to me as an avid snowboarder, and asked me to
turn one of his snowboarding pictures into an illustration that was more or less inspired by
pop art. The first version of the illustration was printed and framed, and several digital
variations were designed and included in this present as desktop wallpapers.
2009 2010 2011SAS E
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2012 2013 2014 2015b.ENv
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bUDDy bbQ: DENIm DILEmmAPrint | 2009 | Designed during a partnership with Sophia Sengsuriya
Sophia Sengsuriya and I were voted into the Graphics position of the Faculty of Architecture’s
student council, Students’ Architectural Society. One of my first assignments was to create a
poster for the annual party of first-year and second-year students called the Buddy BBQ. The
BBQ is themed, and all attendees are expected to come in costume. That year, the theme was
“Denim Dilemma”, and so I simply took two of my colleagues and asked them to dress up in all-
denim outfits and photographed them holding up the information in the building’s courtyard.
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2009 2010 2011SAS E
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wELcOmE bAck SymPOSIUmPrint | 2010 | Designed during a partnership with Sophia Sengsuriya
Students’ Architectural Society held a small get-together for the students of the Faculty of
Architecture right after getting back from winter break. The symposium was simple, and used
the student lounge as its venue. I created a poster that reflected the values of the event by
having my fellow students interact with each other and various objects, including hand-cut
letters naming the event. I also used the lounge as the backdrop of the poster, which was
photographed from atop a ladder.
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2009 2010 2011SAS E
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DITcHbALL 34Print | 2010 | Designed during a partnership with Sophia Sengsuriya
The Faculty of Architecture annually holds a quasi-sporting event invented by the students in
the late seventies eloquently called Ditchball. The winter sport can be best and succinctly
explained as a hybrid of football and wrestling, done in a ditch made of packed snow. The
game is brutally physical, so I designed a poster that illustrated the chaos of limbs that
one would see flying around in the ditch. The aesthetic was intentionally made to be lighter
than the intense nature of the game to represent how ridiculous the entire event is.
2009 2010 2011SAS E
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2012 2013 2014 2015b.ENv
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THE ALPHAbET SERIESIllustration Series | 2010
The Alphabet Series is an ongoing project with a simple premise: I take a letter, find an
adjective or verb that begins with that letter, and represent that word using the letter’s
structure as the framework for the illustration. The project currently has two letters
completed – B for break, and R for reverberate.
B is for Break
R is for Reverberate
2009 2010 2011SAS E
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2012 2013 2014 2015b.ENv
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wAREHOUSE xIxEditorial | 2010 | In collaboration with Sean Gallagher
Warehouse Journal is the annual student-run publication of the Faculty of Architecture University
of Manitoba, which features student work in the departments of Architecture, Interior Design,
Landscape and Urbanism, Landscape Architecture, City Planning, and Environmental Design. In
2009, Sean Gallagher and I were given the opportunity to edit the nineteenth volume of the
journal, and we endeavored to create a dynamic and energetic publication.
That year, in addition to featuring student work, we wanted to touch on what inspired each
featured project as we felt it added a different perspective to the understanding of the work.
The projects are sectioned in three different chapters – Locus, Evenire, and Theorea (Latin
for places, events, and theories) – which pertain to the main inspiration of the projects.
In addition to that, the book contains four different interstitial sections relating to the
origins of the journal, the Faculty, and the future of design. Warehouse XIX features 243
students in 287 projects in 512 pages.
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Each project’s main inspirations are listed on the top corner of each spread, which is accompanied by information about the designer and the project below.
Page numbers where one would find their other projects made by the same designer are listed next to the designer’s name.
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Locus chapter divider.
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wHy NOT LAmPLighting | 2011
Born out of the desire to design something that was truly self-expressive, the Why Not
Lamp combines three-dimensional functionality with the more two-dimensional sensibility of
typography. There were many shifts in this project’s conceptual evolution, starting from an
attempt to make something extremely mundane seem humorous, to a side-tracked exploration of
kitsch, then furthermore to the impact of words (especially curse words). In the end, the
final incarnation of the project took all of the smaller inquiries and mashed them together
to create a surprisingly positive product. This lamp summarizes a great personal lesson
learned throughout the three years spent Environmental Design program, which includes shifts
in perspectives, enlightenment, and optimism. The lamp consists of 24 laser-cut pieces which,
when bonded in order, show the physical transformation of the word “why” to “not”. The inner
structure of the letters was advantageously used to house the bulb and the other required
electrical components.
2009 2010 2011SAS E
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2012 2013 2014 2015b.ENv
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EUckHOvTypography | 2011
This first foray into typography was inspired by old marquee signage from classic American
cities like Chicago, and by a Chekhovian attitude towards the idea of the machine. I origi-
nally intended to make a no-frills, sturdy and structured three-dimensional typeface until I
found that I enjoyed the geometry of the construction lines I used to make the letters better
than whatever it was I was attempting. So, whatever it was I was working on was ditched, and
I designed a font which hopefully pictures the complexity of the alphabet’s construction.
This typeface was brought together by geometry and rigor, method and structure, and I felt
that it needed a name that married the ideas I was trying to portray. I settled on creat-
ing a portmanteau from the previously mentioned Anton Chekhov – one of the greatest, most
headstrong Russian writers of all time, who happened to also be a doctor – and Euclid – the
“Father of Geometry”.
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2009 2010 2011SAS E
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EybAybAyTypography | 2011
Before the Spanish colonization of the Philippines, Baybayin was the writing system used by
ancient Filipino peoples. I learned about the glyphs early in my elementary years, introduced
both by my Art and Philippine History teachers. Even then, I found that there was something
special about the lost script and I held on to the knowledge of it ever since.
I wondered what it would have been like if the country didn’t adapt the Roman alphabet forced
upon us by the Spaniards. I asked myself what Baybayin would look like if it were still used
today in this modern, post-war world. So, after researching and re-introducing myself to the
ancient alphabet, I experimented with the forms of each phonetic symbol until I felt like
they would be able to sit next to a typeface like Helvetica or DIN without looking like it’s
from a different era.
2009 2010 2011SAS E
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PROJEcT 16-bITPortraits | 2011
Project 16-Bit started out as a little Facebook project called Project 8-Bit. That original
project carries the same premise as Project Vector in which I turn a person’s portrait into
a particular visual style. The intention of 8-Bit was to develop a new technique or style
for myself. After practicing and developing the technique with a few portraits, the process
evolved from its basic 8-bit roots to a more detailed visual style. I couldn’t justify calling
the latest portraits as “8-Bit”, so I changed it, the act almost alluding to the historical
progression in video game history.
2009 2010 2011SAS E
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2012 2013 2014 2015b.ENv
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F+SWedding Invitation | 2012
One of the people I went to school with approached me, asking my help to make a wedding
invitation. The limitation, with her being a young adult in university, was that it must
be very, very budget conscious, while still maintaining a vintage, earthly, and whimsical
aesthetic. All the materials for this project were found within the university’s bookstore,
and the print jobs were done within campus.
Envelopes with three different designs were made for the event.
Map component.
Info component.
RSVP card.
The logo appears on each of the cards.
2009 2010 2011SAS E
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2012 2013 2014 2015b.ENv
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LA LIgUE DES RADIOS ScOLAIREIdentity | 2012
Local French-Canadian radio station Envol 91.1 asked me to come up with a logo for their
K-12 school radio league La Ligue Des Radios Scolaire. The challenge of this brief was to
design an energetic logo that would be visually appropriate for both elementary and secondary
school children, which exuded the feeling of competition. The initial ideas suggested for
the logo included incorporating a microphone, or using sport imagery like hockey sticks or
boxing gloves. While I did play with these suggestions and submitted a few sketches involving
sports equipment, the final incarnation was a departure from both of the initial ideas. The
logo was instead inspired by electricity and radio waves, a reference back to the roots of
the competition.
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2009 2010 2011SAS E
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THE 365 PROJEcTIllustration Series | 2012
Early in 2012, I was feeling listless and I was needing a creative outlet to pretty much
say or do whatever I want. To remedy that, I decided to make an anonymous Tumblr blog where
every day I posted a new image or illustration. So far, the experiment is going well – I’ve
developed a few new techniques for myself, and I’ve surprised myself with what I have done
and what I’ve figured out.
034/365 005/365
003/365007/365
030/365 038/365
2009 2010 2011SAS E
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SPRINgbOARD 11-12Exhibition Identity | 2012 | In collaboration with Shawn Stankewich
My fellow collaborator and I were tasked by the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Architecture
to come up with a cohesive identity for their annual year-end exhibition, showcasing student
work from the departments of Architecture, Interior Design, Landscape and Urbanism, Landscape
Architecture, City Planning and Environmental Design. We had to come up with an identity that
would completely represent the multi-faceted and complex nature of these departments, the
design process, and the potential future represented by the collective of upcoming designers
from the Faculty.
Several products were envisioned for this identity including e-mail invites, event posters,
maps, a simple model of the Faculty, studio description posters, and signs for way-finding.
Wayfinding
Studio poster
Studio poster
Laser-etched model/map of the Faculty.
Map-holder with maps.
2009 2010 2011SAS E
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2012 2013 2014 2015b.ENv
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gAS STATION vILLAgE mARkET + PATIO SERIESPrint Advertisement | 2011 + 2012
The Gas Station Village Market is an annual summer–long farmer’s market hosted every week by
The Gas Station Theatre in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The challenge of this brief was to marry the
imageries of locally-grown food and music, while displaying a bit of tongue-in-cheek humour.
The process of making this poster was an extremely enjoyable one; I had to do a bunch of
different things to achieve what was asked.
In the summer of 2011, I was asked to turn this final concept into an 11”x17” poster, a flyer,
and a couple of newspaper ads. The next year, the concept was re-applied into small posters,
advertisements in festival programs, newspaper ads, web banners, and – most exciting of all
– large bus shelter ads.
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THE mANITObAN ILLUSTRATIONSIllustration Series | 2012 – 2013
The Manitoban is the weekly campus newspaper produced by students of the University of
Manitoba. One of these student editors, Silvana Moran, was responsible for the graphics of
the publication and she would regularly ask her graphic design and illustration friends if
they could help her draw accompanying illustrations for various articles in the upcoming
issues. I’ve taken on these volunteer illustration requests on a semi-regular weekly basis
since the beginning of October 2012, for the purposes of exercising my illustration muscle,
to develop new techniques, and to just have a bit of fun drawing things for this young,
energetic publication.
October 17 2012 | Don’t diss the commish
October 10 2012 | Not your father’s Oldsmobile
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November 28 2012 | Feeling lonely?
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January 9 2013 | Giving your evergreens a home
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January 23 2013 | The video gaming feature
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February 6 2013 | Student group Praxis calling for gown donations
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February 13 2013 | Trust issues
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