This part of my Creative Futures module took place over the course of 1 week. It involved people from the creative industry to come in to our university and give talks about different aspects of their work
Introduction
Before the week filled with interesting and extraordinary designers ahead commenced, the event was introduced by Dr Susan Ligget and a panel of people, which consisted of Sid Mage (founder of the Meee Program), Liam Evans Ford (executive director at Theatr Clwyd), Bethan Williams (head of centre, North, for BBC Cymru Wales), Joanna Stephenson (managing director at PHD marketing and strategy), and Jo Marsh (creative director at Ty Pawb).
There were many interesting points brought up by the panel, it particular it was mentioned that the World Economic Forum listed that ‘designers are an important job’, and also said “creativity will become one of the top three skills workers will need”. This last quote was satisfying to hear, as many people in the world seem to think a job must require one to have been to college and must be something very practical like an engineer or teacher. However, with an ever changing world taking advertising a lot more seriously and more critically, designers from all around the industry are now in high demand and seem critical for companies to succeed.
The panel gave a lot more insightful knowledge for beginners starting off in the design industry, which was quite inspiring for myself; and made my mind rest at ease to know everyone goes through learning curves, and it offers them a chance to not only teach others, but to teach themselves. There was a lot of talk about uncertainty, meaning sometimes clients might not be totally clear of what they want done, so as a designer, you must realise that your hours must be flexible, and be prepared to work when you’re not supposed to in order to fix things. Getting into the industry may not be easy either. The panel advised that working loads of jobs can get you experience, and get you ahead of the game when it comes to competition. There is nothing wrong with working some jobs for free or creating briefs for yourself if it is going to generate more work and attract more clients further down the line. The final point they wanted to mention was that it isn’t anything new to be constantly adapting to new work and change. One must understand that the technological and creative industry is forever changing, and learning these new skills as they arrive will allow for a better understanding in times to come.
The main lesson I learnt from the panel of guests was that being brave and just asking questions can help you to become a better designer. If there is something you may not understand, just asking will benefit you more than saying nothing. After all, it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.
Working it Out
Exposure is a big part of a designer’s journey, according to Megan Broadmeadow. Just getting out and about into the industry allows for other designers to see your face and understand the skills and work you are capable of. It seems like obvious advice, but many designers don’t realise that sometimes it really is as simple as this. Collaborating with other artists not only lets you introduce yourself to other designers within the industry, but also the designers you work with can go on to pass your name on to other companies who may be looking for designers; referral can be a designers best friend. Creating different things was another point mentioned by Broadmeadow. Though I agree that learning new things can broaden the knowledge of a designer, it could be argued that instead focusing on what you are good at and continuing to improve your skills in your respected area can lead you to become one of the leading people in that area.
Ben Seas: Starting your own Design Business
One of the talks we had was from Ben Seas of SEAS Design. As an ex student of the university, it was interesting to see what he had to say about life after university.
He introduced his talk by first telling us about him and his business and what he does. Ben is a freelance graphic designer, and is quite popular as a graphic designer. It was nice to see this, as freelancing is one of my options for when I leave university, so seeing how I'm on the same path as Ben currently, it was nice to get this encouragement.
He then went on to talk about his final projects of university and how he started to brand himself. One piece of advice he kept stressing was how important it was to have a stellar and in depth portfolio. Seas also mentioned that if your portfolio doesn't have a lot of work in it, or you are lacking with the amount of projects t put in the portfolio, then make up some briefs and projects. HEaring this helped me a lot, as before this talk my portfolio was lacking in terms of workload, but it is nice to know that I can make up some projects, and use these to fill up the pages within the portfolio.
Ben went on to talk about his work experience and placements when he left university. He worked alongside a lot of different people, and it was interesting to see his views on work experience. He mentioned it is important to get a paid internship if possible; never work for free. I didn't understand this at first, as I thought experience would be enough, but he made a good point of if we are working for someone, we should get paid. I will definitely bare this in mind when it comes time for me to get work experience. He also mentioned that it can be very beneficial to get the people you are working with to review your portfolio, and mention how it can be improved for future interviews and work related events.
Throughout his presentation, Ben showed us all the work he has completed for clients and who he has worked alongside as well. He brought up a good point of even if you are a self employed freelancer, it never hurts to work with someone else, as more ideas can be generated and clientele can expand. Social media was another big point Ben brought up, saying how it is important to have an active social media account, and upload work there whenever possible.
It was really interesting to see Ben's development from a student to professional graphic designer, and if I am to follow his advice closely, it will be interesting to see where my career is headed in the future. I found that Ben Seas presented his work well, and was able to go in depth with a lot of his work and how he got to where he is now. He was able to answer questions anyone had, and considering he is still starting somewhat, I can see how he will become even bigger in the design industry if he keeps up how he currently does.
The Blind Photographer: David KAtz
David KAtz gave a very interesting talk about how he coped with taking photographs while being a blind man. He showed us a lot pf the photogrphs he had taken. A few of my favourites were the ones he took at the olympics, and the ones he took of the Queen. He talked about how getting your name out there is really important, as he said that he would never have expected to be where he is now if he hadn't put himself out there.
It was amazing and inspiring to see all the work he has done over his lifetime, and him saying it all started from his parents buying him a camera when he was young goes to show that everyone in your family and friend group is an important influence on you and your career. This was one of my favourite talks, as it reminded me that there are no excuses to prevent someone from doing the work if they are committed and dedicated, and are determined to finish what they started. It is truly inspiring.
Adlard Armitage: Graphic Novelist
This was definitely one of my favourite talks of the week. I am a huge fan of graphic novels, and seeing someone who works on these talk about their job was eye opening for me. Armitage talked about many aspects of his job, one of them being working with others. Though they might not all have similar roles within graphic novelism, he mentioned that there are different tasks for different people to complete, and working together and communication is key to success. No matter what the work place, working well with others and communicating the work efficiently is what makes the final product that little bit better. It reminded me of how I work alongside my collegues here at university, and how we help each other and give constant feedback.
One other thing that Adlard Armitage mentioned was getting into his role. It wasn't easy starting off how he did, but through hard work he was able to make it work. This talk was very inspiring to me, and went on to show that no matter what job area one is in, it is always important to remain focused and determined, never letting anyone distract you and working well wiht others.
The Man from Mograph
This talk was an interesting talk, as it again featured someone who used to be a student from Wrexham Glyndwr University. While a grpahic designer, he mainly specialises in motion graphics. Even though I do not intend to go into this area of graphic design, it was extremely interesting to see his work and just how important motion graphics is in the design industry.
He went through his work which he has done since leaving university, and seeing his development from where he started to where he is now was truly inspirational. It goes to show that adding that extra bit of hard work and putting detail and dedication into ones work can make an outstanding difference, and makes yo stand out.
He went through a step-by-step guide of how he became as big as he is now First, he started to build various channels for his portfolio. Not only did he have a printed version, but his main portfolio was animated, about 1 minute long. This was amazing to see, as usually when someone shows there portfolio, it is either printed or in PDF form online. Here however, it was a fresh take on showing off his work. It definitely made more of an impact, and is something I will bare in kind when creating my portfolio. His second piece of information was that he uploaded his graduate reel to VImeo. What this did was it allowed him to share his work easily, and also with the amount of people on Vimeo, his work was able to be spread to more and more people, allowing for more opportunities. I will definitely need to create some sort of online presence after seeing this, as it goes to show how well it works in your favour.
FInally, he talked about setting up an official online presence in the form of a website. HE said it was important to have somewhere to upload work to which everyone had access to, and a website was the best platform for this. He did mention as well that Instagram hadn't started back then, but considering it has now, it would be a good idea to upload work to social media too.
Overall, I learned a lot from this talk, especially when it comes to creating an online presence. He presented his work well, and it was easy to follow what he was saying and understand him completely. It seems that so far it is the smaller and lesser known graphic designers know more about what they are talking about.
