Cree and Katherine take the top prizes in Flora design challenge
Album covers were Cree Lottimore's thing but she couldn’t resist the challenge of designing her own wrapping paper.
As the competition demanded, her print was a tribute to Flora Duffy, Bermuda's first ever Olympic gold medal champion. The last-minute submission to Gosling's and the Bermuda National Gallery for judging was a winner.
"I knew of last year's competition but I never submitted anything," she said. "I think this year I was more intrigued because it was related to Flora and her win. So I knew from the day that I saw the poster that I wanted to submit something.
"I think anyone who knows me with design and my process knows that I like to overthink things but surprisingly, for this design I actually did it the night before. I knew I wanted it to be simple but I didn’t know in what way."
In the end she submitted "a one-line hand drawing" of Ms Duffy on her bike. She then used another drawing of the athlete, running with raised hands, to represent the letter L in the word gold.
Ms Lottimore admitted she had not been tracking Duffy's accomplishments until recently, but is now a fan.
"I think seeing Flora win, her coming from Bermuda which is such a small island in comparison to other populations, I think I speak for everyone when I say that I'm extremely proud. It shows that hard work will pay off – seeing her photos from when she was a little girl running and then, almost like that, it manifested to what has happened."
Always creative, Ms Lottimore had "a small introduction to Photoshop" in a course in high school and "kind of ran with it".
"It suits my way of thinking – creative problem solving and things like that," she said.
Immediately after high school she went off to York University in Toronto, Canada. Last year she graduated with a bachelor's degree in design and joined the Bermuda Monetary Authority as an in-house graphic designer.
"I never had a formal graduation," Ms Lottimore said, explaining how the ceremony fell victim to the coronavirus pandemic. "I kind of started working before the day that my graduation would have been."
Open to professional and amateur designers, the BNG and Gosling's second Annual Holiday Design Competition caught her eye. She took home the prize in the 18 to 25 age category; Katherine Summerville won in the group of designers aged 26 and older. Their wrapping paper will be sold at Gosling's Dundonald and Front Street stores and also at the BNG.
"I was super proud with what I did and especially it being a single line drawing," Ms Lottimore said. "I normally put a ton of thought in my work where this was kind of simple. I kind of played it off the design of the [bottles of limited release rum] that Gosling's did in collaboration with Flora."
Her "face just lit up" on receiving the e-mail notifying her of her win, she said. Her decision now is who to take with her to the BNG for the private rum tasting that is part of her prize.
The experience has introduced her to the possibly of one day making physical products but at the moment she is focused on her full-time job and the cover art she does for local rappers and singers such as Sinead the Flower and Derek G.
"It really started in 2017. I did one cover for a rapper that goes by the name of Cabana Earl that got a lot of attention and then, I think through word of mouth, I picked up more work.
"So it's kind of become something that I specialise in even though I didn’t intend for it to happen. But I am a really big lover of music."
Most people send a song to give her "a feel for it" before she sits down to work.
"I normally choose one lyric out of the song that I kind of base the entire cover off of,“ Ms Lottimore said. ”The majority of the time I'm given full creative freedom to just make what I feel is a good image of the song.
"I'm slowly getting into the motion design side of it so, designing the cover but also having key elements move. I think that’s what most people through social media know me for. "
As winners of the Bermuda National Gallery and Gosling’s second Annual Holiday Design Competition, Cree Lottimore and Katherine Summerville will each receive $500, a private tour and rum tasting for up to ten friends at the BNG, a BNG membership and ten sheets of wrapping paper. Follow Cree on Instagram: @thecreeway. Visit www.creelottimore.com
Q: How did you come up with the design? Are you a huge Flora Duffy fan?
A: The idea for the design came to me quite quickly. I drew a little character of Flora as a cheetah to celebrate Flora Duffy Day, which spurred the idea of the Gosling’s seal doing a triathlon. Yes I'm a huge Flora Duffy fan!
Q: Ever done anything like this before? If not, what type of art do you usually do?
A: I entered the wrapping paper contest last year, that was the first time I had ever created a seamless pattern. This year I used my iPad to draw and create the pattern which really helped me step up my design. But my true love is drawing and painting with inks onto paper, nothing beats a hand-drawn illustration.
Q: Surprised to win?
A: I was shocked I won. I think this is the first art contest I've ever won!
Q: Whose presents will you use the wrapping paper for?
A: Everyone's presents this year are going to be in this paper! Can't wait to start wrapping!
Follow @summervillekatherine on Instagram. Visit www.katherinesummerville.com
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