Together trust

This is an agency that I visited this time last year with my portfolio. This year they were looking for volunteers to do placements so I filled out an application form and sent it off. I heard back straight away and Helen Bee who is the design and print co-coordinator of the company asked me to come in for an interview and to bring my portfolio along with me. I felt that it would be good to get her opinion on what she would think of my portfolio now to what it was like a year ago.
Again I felt more nervous on this visit than I did when I went to Absolute Media. Especially as its an interview and apart this one I have only ever had one other interview in my life so I was very anxious.
The interview started with the question 'What would I get out of volunteering at together trust' I said the experience, as I have never been on a design placement before. I thought it would be good to get a feel of what it would be like working in a office. Then I talked through my portfolio and she discussed with me what worked she had to offer based on the work that I had in my portfolio.
The feedback I was given was a mixture of good and bad. This time I felt the visit didn't go as well as I thought it could of. Helen said I had some good work, she was really impressed with the Body Shop work I did with Stacey but she felt I could have made more of the project in my portfolio (spreading it over 3-4 pages), which I intend to do before I finish the course. Also as a packaging brief I should have taken a picture of each product at different angles because that is what any designer would what to see. Helen also liked some of my poster designs and layouts. She said to me that I should sell my work better. To be honest I agree with her I felt so nervous and I let it get the better of me. I think I did explain my work, but I could of explained it better and clearer. Even though I felt the visit didn't go to well I still appreciated all the advice she gave me. She interviews quite a few people so she knows what she is talking about. I will take this advice on board and this will help me with future visits.
Overall the process of getting in contact with agencies has been quite difficult. I contacted so many agencies some didn't get back to me some asked me to send a pdf. They just didn't seem to have the time for me to go and visit them.
My plan for before May 13th was to get at least six visits, and I didn't reach the target which I'm disappointed with. I still intend to keep trying after I leave I'm going to be persistent with agencies. Getting in contacting with absolute media was really good but when I was sort of arranging times to meet with them a few of my emails got missed by them so I rang up and they were happy and i arranged the visit over the phone. So i feel its good to be persistent, not to just leave it at an email, because in the past that is what I would have done and if they hadn't got back to to me I would have just left it. Again this is all about my confidence if I would have been asked in the first year of the course to ring up several agencies I would have struggled or I would have put it off. So I think my confidence has grown to some extent.

Absolute Media

On the 21st April 2011 I went down to Absolute Media which in Bolton. I had a chat with Chris Hodgeon I talked him through my portfolio. He thought that I had some good work in my portfolio, he particularly liked the Body Shop work me and Stacey had done. As my portfolio is more typography based he passed me on to Wayne who is very into his typography. I briefly talked him through my portfolio and he gave me some really good advice on my work. He told me to think of different ways to execute my work e.g taking pictures (photography) make mock ups of for the Body Shop packaging. He liked some of the posters I did for The Language Show project I'm currently doing he said that he really liked the English poster I did for culture. He said even though the type is placed in different directions you can still understand what it is saying. He told me to look at designer Wim Crouwel for inspiration. He also told me that when I get a typography briefs in the future, it doesn't just have to be about type, images and pictures can be a major part in them. At the end of the visit I told Wayne what I was planning to do after I finish I mentioned doing a Master's degree because I felt that I still wanted to learn more about about graphic design and told me that you would learn more doing a placement for a few months than doing a master for a year.The reason being when doing a placement you get the feel of what it will be like working in the industry and will be working closely with other designers.
Before this visit I was very nervous about going seen as I hadn't visited a design agency in a while. If I'm honest I did sort of put off contacting agencies for a while, because I felt my work wasn't as complete as I wanted it to be. I also feared that designers would say that it isn't strong enough, especially as I'm coming to the end of my degree. The work in my portfolio will be the work that gets me a job.
I think this visit was quite successful I think I got good and bad feedback. More good than bad which I was pleased with. I appreciate the bad feedback because it will help me improve my work and make me stand out from the crowd. I feel this visit has given me more confidence in my work. What I also liked about this visit was that both Chris and Wayne were both honest about what they thought of my work which again I appreciated.