Back from the big city, and I'm happy to say I've gained so much more scope for the industry. Experiencing first hand the different areas and possibilities, we as budding designers can break into; from large corporate advertising agencies to slip into, to self driven ventures that allow room to dive into diverse projects- pushing your creativity to the edge!
Moreover, from first hand industry advice, I have also gained insight and inspiration to push myself, and by bringing enthusiasm and passion to the equation it is much easier get ahead.
Cosmopolitan
Visiting such a considerably huge editorial institution, seemed a little daunting at first, but once we had been brought through, shown around and introduced to the inner-workings of things, it seems gaining position into industry is more possible than one might think, however it is all up to you and applying yourself; putting yourself out there above and beyond, as always, is key!
We sat down with the almighty creative director himself(Stewart), and previous Newcastle College student, Vicky, now a long-standing valued senior designer at Cosmo!
Introduced into the editorial side of things, the director bluntly told us that the industry of print is seeing a decline, within our current fast moving age of new,
digital and onscreen media, which ultimately
will take over.
Another thing to take into account, is the restriction within editorial design at such magazines as Cosmo; as you are mainly limited to supplied photography, layouts and set typography. It's worth thinking this about when exploring which areas of design I would like to apply myself to.
Stewart who has practically hit the top of his game, having been director at Elle, Marie Claire, 17 magazine(New York) and Arena previous to Cosmo, gave us invaluable advice into gaining recognition, but also how to deal with everyday situations and progress within the industry..
To work within large editorial institutions you can expect a democratic, loud and boisterous atmosphere where you will get to work with an array of people such as fashion designers, photographers and writers. - Whilst knowing where you fit into in the hectic equation and at a low level as an intern, by helping out with errands and jobs, it is also important to make yourself invaluable and remembered. Offer to help, to make tea, ask questions about the briefs you are given, be inquisitive and join in as much as you can without stepping out of place or getting in the way.
It is possible to prove yourself by being spot on brief and sticking within guidelines whilst interning, but also it will prove intuition and capability to diverse, by producing a few different layouts for the brief given, whilst asking for feedback to progress and provide the best possible piece of work you can.
Within the fast moving editorial industry the work you produce both as an intern/junior or senior designer, is considered quite disposable at the rate it's produced, put to print and replaced with the next edition. Therefore you can't be too precious with each brief; it forces you to deal with the problem presented to you, leaving
no room for hesitation, and
take criticism directly to progress the piece more efficiently.
In consideration to gaining an internship or junior position he explained that it takes talent, hard work, lucky breaks and the right people to get places..
>Points of Contact - Start with the magazines/agencies you are interested in, email as many places as you can, but it is important to follow up because your email will be the least important thing in a director's inbox. Phone calls are harder to say no to, but emails could be less irritating. More obviously, make sure you know who it is you're wishing to address, their name is of most importance, it expresses you know who they are and what they could be looking for.
>
Confidence&Personality - Like in any interview or communication with a possible employer confidence leads on to much more opportunity than holding back ever could. Be passionate and enthusiastic whilst talking about your work and the industry you wish to approach. Personality counts for so much, a little blagging at the right time and place could gain you likability and ensure the employer that you are willing to whole heartedly throw yourself into your work. It is important to consider that there is always room to learn on the job and be trained up a little more, but no room for apathetic or unlikable personalities.
>Do your homework! - Know the place inside out, what it is they do, who their clients are, what they are all about, and iterate this whilst contacting them. Flattery is appropriate, show that you are passionate about their work and how you would feel privileged to be a part of it.
Know your discipline, and the skills base that is necessary and desirable. Web skills/motion graphics are very desirable these days.
So in summary, I need to- PUSH myself, not only into the industry and internship, but to re-energise my passions, learn from every experience and increase my indispensable assets; by learning new skills and increasing my versatility.
M&C Saatchi
M&C Saatchi the extensive and prestigious global advertising agency has a couple large office buildings within London. We were brought to one of the impressive, innovating creative agency specific office spaces, where we could see the many different departments hard at work and collaborating excitedly with eachother.
We had a similar intimate meeting with one of the directors accompanied by an inspiringly talented junior; for a closer insight onto a designer's place within such a large advertising corporation, but also about getting your foot in the door..
First off, the creative director gave us some insight about the creative industry today, explaining that design and different media are becoming more broken down. Thus versatility with the ability to approach an array of disciplines is most desirable, whilst also possessing the competence to develop concepts and creative directions is also an invaluable quality to bring to a position. As creative teams are becoming more so obsolete, people progress and push themselves into more loosely labelled positions which knock out the reason to have both a concept developer coupled with the art-worker.
Right! - I realise this blog post is becoming a little tedious, so I will continue to briefly outline the important points of development to draw upon:
>>D&AD New Blood exhibition - A good place to get involved and exhibit to gain jobs and internships.
>>With 40 applicants a week it is those who bring forwards the most thought, creativity, quality, persistence and politeness that will gain recognition. Again, follow the agencies recent involvements and work, showing passion for what they do.
>>Presenting portfolio- Photographed mock ups, variation, cleanly structured, innovative and tactile ways to present is always a plus.
Ziggurat Brands
Brought into the award winning, largely packaging based company, quite a range of things were covered; we were brought through the design process of a couple impressive projects, which I found particularly helpful in realising approaches, the amount of work put into each concept, and successful development.
First we were brought through the progression of the renowned packaging and branding of Walker's posh crisps range
Red Sky..
>> Naming session- thesaurus, throwing ideas around - dont hesitate, be collaborative, bounce off eachother!
>>Important to include consumer research into demographics and specific cultural competences. Mood-board intended audience and refer back to, keep focus!
>>Created sky/earth/farm mood-boards for a feel of things and refer back to- keeping a focus on the direction they were headed.
>> Scribbles and scamps around ideas+boards and in reference to; all bashed out within the working day- time is money! - Final idea all turned around within the week!
>>Ziggurat team always try to keep some sort of witty concept or idea behind the production, to drive it forwards and create a more exciting and stronger, viable solution. - In this instance it was based around the 'Red Sky, Shepard's Delight' concept, implying the all natural, farm sourced, fine produce.
>>Style reference is important to clarify ideas, however it is advisable not to go straight to style reference before concept and idea generation, otherwise there is no originality!
>>Pull off stronger ideas for a client, and then mock up to present the directions it could take, and show it beside inspiration reference as back up, so the client feels confident in the approach you are taking.
>> Useful to critique competitors and note what works well with their designs
>>Show a variety of ideas and be clear and concise within the range
>>Research into possible influences, and could also out source for a collaborative fully realised piece - in this case an expert typographer was used to create the identity type.
>> Products must be brand ethos led to reiterate the strong brand characteristics and appeal to the consumer; consumers must be kept in mind at all times- because there is a lot of the client's money resting on your work if it doesn't sell!! - Look into research stats, focus groups etc. to test out product.
Diverging completely away from packaging design, the company have been tackling accounts such as property developers which are much more corporate led. In this case we were take through the project approached for the
Commercial Estates Group..
>>Project led by the aim of increasing brand awareness, -marketing the brand values as a selling point, communicating them to an audience..
>>Different mood-boards were produced for each development point - i.e each brand value or provision they wished to communicate to a mass audience.
>> Clearly led routes were developed, referring to brand literature and fundamentals- pinning idea development to core thoughts and phrases
>> Ideas are shown to client across a range of media, getting a client excited- enabling them to picture how the idea could be expanded and transferred successfully. - Again creating a feel of confidence from the client for your work.
Hawaii
Paul McAnelly the one man agency, driving force and entrepreneur was a previous Newcastle College attendee. He started off his career in the creative field as a junior storyboard artist for a year and a half, within an advertising agency called Demon, where he found he was mostly carrying out someone else's ideas. The only full time job Paul embarked on was the head of graphics at Liberty for three years, carrying through freelance building up an impressive contact and client list; being heavily involved with retail and interior design.
He also caught onto a lucky break realising that new media was on the rise, he took it upon himself to learn the processes of motion graphics. With all of this experience and first hand involvement with an impressive array of disciplines gave Paul adequate footing to embark on his own venture.
Here are some of the profound nuggets Paul shared with us..
>>Projects, accounts,work and recognition are largely gained through word of mouth - meeting people and networking is vital!
>>Consider how things will look on screen more than paper, as we must be conscious of the digital age, although print will always be around, it will see a mass decline.
>>It is easier and more beneficial to start out within agencies to gain experience and contacts, learning the ropes before venturing into freelance or setting up a design firm on your own.
>>Push yourself, into new media and fields you are not familiar with, venture out into geographical areas that are prevalent in the industry if finance allows so.
>>Only include work that has strong talking points in your portfolio
>> Look you client in the eye when going through work, really sell the concept - it is important to have the conviction to do so; clients need to see that you are driven and confident, so that they can place trust within you and your work, most need reassuring as they are naive to design.
>>Success within freelancing is up to good breaks, keeping at it within struggle, putting yourself out there and thinking out of the box.
