Axongarside is situated in Disley not far from Lime Park. I saw a lovely lady called Caroline wright. The company specializes in Advertising, Exploring Technology's and Web Design. There are eight members of the team at Axongarside they self promote via emails mainly but there latest promotion really impressed me, they have used the Classic game Guess Who and slightly changed the packaging to show what there company can do, They also included a free toy inside, they haven't yet launched this design so unfortunately i can not add an example of this.
Caroline was very inspirational explaining to me the different routes of Graphic Design she explained that there was the design side of things, which is self explanatory then there's the accounts side in which you deal more with the client rather than the design. She also explained some of the terminology they use including Business to Business and business to consumer she said that once in the design industry i will get a better understanding of these terms. She also explained the different stages of a designer explaining that you normally start as an Art worker, Junior into Senior then moving onto Junior Designer, middle weight designer, Senior designer then creative designer.
I asked Caroline how does she get her inspiration? her response was that she mainly looks at research she explained that a silly idea can lead to a brilliant idea, she also said that with 14 years of experience she finds it a lot easier to sit with a pad a draw.
I also asked what she thought about today's climate and getting a job in the industry, she explained that in her opinion she would of thought that students would be at an advantage as there cheaper to higher and also they can be useful with work experience she said that if anything students are at an advantage.
Caroline had a look through my portfolio she gave me some useful tips and explained that they like to see a range of work including drawing skills, she said that many companies still like to see the black zip folders at no more than an A3 size. She said that a nice idea was to have something to leave behind like a book with a few examples in to let the interviewer remember you. She also explained that been chatty and outspoken can also get you noticed, having a good personality that shines through in an interview can work to your advantage. Caroline also said to try and prepare a small speech in your head about each piece of work as some companies expect you to talk about them. She then went on to talk about the CV she said that although your a designer we don't want to see over the top designed CV's, she went on to explain that the CV should be plain but sell yourself in the first few sentences but when sending examples of work make this quirky and exciting. Caroline went on to say "always remember if you get a second interview your on to a winner".
When speaking to previous designers from college visits and designers i have visited they warn you of the divide between male and female in the graphic design industry, this is something that has interested me so i asked carolines experiences of this she found it a very interesting question and explained that in all the years she has been in the industry she has never experienced this, the only thing she has experienced was a company being concerned about females starting a family before hiring them and she tends to find that there are more women on accounts and more men designers.
caroline Wright was very friendly and has really inspired me she explained to me that getting as much work experience as i can will look better on my CV, she then went on to offer me Work experience in the summer, which i was really pleased about .
axongarside http://www.axongarside.com/
