Work Influences

The following is a compulsory element of my Reflective Journal and Professional Practice module.

In terms of work experience while at university I have been lucky enough to undertake three placements, two in the 2009 summer break and one in Easter 2010.
The first placement was with ‘See What You Mean’ a digital creative communications agency based in Cardiff bay. I was given this opportunity by one of See What You mean’s designers Matt Joyce who spoke to me after viewing my animation in my second year show. It was fantastic to have some praise from a professional in the in the industry. A few days later I went down to their studio with my portfolio to show Matt the rest of my work and thankfully he fixed up a weeks work experience for a few weeks later.

See What You Mean are a small company of only five designers and their work has found a real niche, working exclusively in digital, they mainly create slick customisable corporate presentations which often contain a strong element of animation and motion graphics. My week was spent sketching concepts, working on rich pictures in flash and in the times when there was little to I worked on creating my own online portfolio. During the week I began to realise that the work see what you mean do though primarily requires an ability to come up with good ideas, a certain level of software knowledge were needed, and my knowledge was not up to that level, particularly in Flash and After Effects. So this sometimes limited my involvement. None the less the week was a great opportunity and one I learned a lot from.

My second work experience was with Brand Union in London, a placement I had also fortunately gained through my second year exhibition. This time it was for two weeks and also included the exciting prospect of living in London for a fortnight. Brand Union was a totally different experience to See What You Mean; instead of 5 employees there were 80. My first brief was with the packaging team on a project to totally re-brand the face wash Clearasil. Packaging was something I hadn’t tackled before but was a curious and exciting prospect. The concepts I produced I was really happy with and one of the designers Lauren said that while they not use them, the designs would make a good addition to my portfolio. Other projects I worked on included a research project for Vodafone, staff wall calendars, client PDF presentations, blog headers, an identity for an eastern European bank and inevitably lots of cups of tea. The experience was fantastic and one that taught me a lot about what it’s like to work in a large fast paced company. In the future I would like to work in a smaller studio as sometimes due to the size of the clients, creative freedom was hard to come by. The experience left me with a sense of professionalism including a faster pace of working and greater resourcefulness, which I believe I have carried through the third year.

My third placement was with Burning Red in April 2010, a design agency in Cardiff bay that covers a broad spectrum of design. From branding and print to web design and animation. It was something I thought I needed after being a student for the previous eight months as I knew it would give me a sense of what’s to come after graduation and what I’m on this path for. The week was very enjoyable and the five staff were very friendly. The initial thing that struck me as it had in the previous placements was the pace required. Suddenly your not working for your own portfolio in a sense but for a client who’s paying for an outcome, and time means money. Therefore a level cooperation and selflessness is required. I spent a large part of the week working on projects for CLIC, an organisation providing information for young people in Wales. This is an age group I had never designed for previously and this was at times a challenge, often conflicting with my preconceptions of what is aesthetically pleasing design. However this experience taught me to see more through the eyes of others and not just my own, and I think this is one of the most important skills a designer can have.

I have found that in all the placements I have undertaken there are times when there is little to do and a level of patience is required. You are not actually on their pay-roll, and that’s why it’s called ‘work experience’. However I feel it is invaluable to design students as it gives us glimpses into what the future could be like and essentially why you’re doing a Graphic Communication course. It has helped me realise the sort of company I want to work for, where I want to work and the type of work I want to do.