Kevin Watson

Kevin Watson works for Kellogg's design team and is a Art Director, he studied at Stockport College. I met Kevin for a portfolio visit and found the whole experience extremely helpful.

Kevin firstly went through my portfolio which he was impressed by he said that i should pick my best pieces from College and University and combine them into one black folder A4-A3 size as he felt this would have a professional look to it he said that showing as many different styles of work would show my skills and what I'm capable of at an interview, he also said that when he did interviews some companies can be rough with your portfolio and having it in a black case will protect it more. Kevin also explained that i should always have sample work ready because if i applied for a job the agency could contact me asking for samples before an interview if there not completely sure.

I also took my final major project along with me as i felt the more feedback i can receive the better my final project will develop. When i showed Kevin my project and explained the thought behind it he said the idea was clever and strong and makes a very good campaign and especially liked the grass and gravel poster saying it was a strong visual. When i explained that the brief was to promote Go Outdoor he said it wasn't fully working as an advertisement campaign for a shop and seemed more like a public information advert, he suggested changing my brief to promote the National Trust he felt that putting there logo onto a poster would give them a better purpose and is more in keeping with the posters.

Kevin talked about the divide down the centre of the posters he said instead of having an invisible line i could make it more interesting by trying a zip as a divide or a chevron, i felt this was a really good idea and will be trying this idea out. Kevin also talked about my logo been like a Levi Jeans tag on the corner of the page as i explained to him that a previous designer had talked about putting the logo in a box, i think the Levi tag sounds like a good idea and would possibly give the poster a more professional finish to it. I mentioned to Kevin that i wasn't completely happy with some of the imagery on the other posters which he agreed with he said i needed something that is more in keeping with the grass and gravel so the posters look more related he gave me some really good ideas to look into so i look forward to testing them.

Overall Kevin said he liked my work and i had a good eye for Graphic Design he explained after seeing my portfolio then seeing my final show pieces he said he could see the change and development in my work. Kevin said he would be interested in seeing my work again before i exhibit it and has offered as much help as i need over the next few weeks.

I feel this portfolio visit went well and have gained alot from it including confidence.

Paul Pavlou

Paul Pavlou is a freelance Graphic Designer who is based in Walkden and is currently doing a small project for a roofing company.

I arranged to meet with Paul so he could have a look over my portfolio. He gave me some pointers about my portfolio and seemed to be more impressed by my College work than my University work he said it would be a good idea to combine the two in one big portfolio preferably in a black folder than a book.

Paul said i seem to explain myself clearly but there was a sense of lack of confidence which i agreed with, he explained that in the industry i need to have confidence in my work because if i didn't believe in it i would struggle to make others believe. After talking with him about this i did realise that if i came across unsure or my lack of confidence came through people in the design industry would see this as a weakness so this is something i need to build on.

Paul explained how he enjoyed the freedom of freelancing "your your own boss" he said but he also explained that you have to be double hard on yourself to stick to a strict routine. When he first started freelancing he explained its never as easy as you think because the first few months are spent sending mail and trying to get your work noticed in local magazines so you can gather a client list which he also added is an never ending process as some companies only want one off designs where as some companies are more regular.

Overal i found my portfolio visit with Paul to be extremely helpful and getting the knowledge of a freelance designer and how he started out is also very interesting.

I feel from the feedback i have i really need to think about a traditional portfolio but at a A4 size, which includes taking pictures of all college and university work.

Contact: Paul.pavlou@mr-wolfs.com

Website: www.decimal81.com

Visit to Axongarside

I visited Axongarside on Tuesday 9Th February.

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/

Lynsey Buckley-Ratcliff

Lynsey Buckley-Ratcliff is a freelance designer based in Manchester and specialises in Web Design. I contacted Lynsey via phone and spoke to her direct, Lynsey was extremely helpful and agreed to see my portfolio on a day that suited me.
After arranging with Lynsey a time and place we finally met up, she spoke a little about herself explaining how she enjoys freelance work and working from home mainly, she also explained how she does mainly Web Design and is trained in XHTML and CSS. Lynsey has worked for many big design agencies but feels she is progressing more as a freelance designer.

When going through my portfolio she seemed very impressed with my Futura work, She explained how she thought it was nice clean and tidy, which is a perfect mix of white space and text, which helps emphasise the font. She felt by displaying the font in a larger text and showing how the font changes when italicised or emboldened gives more of an insight into the font. Lynsey was confused as to why i felt the need to use "st" an "op" she felt there was no connection with the article. One thing she said she really liked was the use of hands to represent the work on each page she felt it emphases the creativity shown in each piece.
The second piece she looked at was the Observer page i explained the purpose of the brief to her, she felt i had shown good understanding and said that the front cover really grabs your attention and makes you want to know why there faces are blanked out all kinds of thoughts go through your mind.
The third piece was Hemisphere in which we had to create a logo she felt the logo was very modern and traditional and felt the text was striking and bold. Lynsey felt i show a clear understanding and ability to satisfy a project brief and show a wide range of skills.

On meeting Lynsey i got a more clearer understanding of how the industry really works although its a scary thought speaking with Lynsey gave me some much needed confidence.

Lynsey Buckley-Ratcliff Contact - www.lynseybuckley.me.uk

Out Of The Box Creative

When researching into design company's i came across Out Of The Box Creative, which is a small based Manchester agency run by Martyn Hammond.
I contacted Martyn threw email and he agreed to view my portfolio, Martyn was very friendly and professional and even suggested if it was easier for me that he would do a home visit.
Martyn's clients include-

• Aga
• Leisure
• Diadora
• Sandersons
• Bailey Dyson Architects
• Studio Catalogues

When Martyn arrived he firstly viewed my university portfolio, he was rather surprised as to the style of it he said he expected it to be in a black folder case but liked the idea of the brochure style. Martyn had a look through at the work, the first thing he picked up on was hyphenating he explained that all text should be hyphenated with no widows he explained how important this was when in the work place as it looks more professional. When looking through the individual pieces in the book he picked up on the Futura piece he explained how lucky i was to have Futura as my font to research as its a interesting font and you can use it in many different ways as it has a huge family, he explained how interesting the pieces were he preferred the "St" page because of the contrast he explained that the other page needed more attention to detail.

The second piece he looked at was Memory work, he really liked this piece but was slightly confused he explained that in book i did i have spread the work over three double page spreads and he didn't realise that all the pieces were connected because i hadn't explained myself very clearly but overall he liked the pieces he explained how i had used the white space really well .

The third piece he looked at was the Bolton Branding he was rather excited by this as he has done some work for Manchester City Council himself. When looking at the logo he said how interesting the logo was he said it worked a lot better than the current one. In my portfolio i have set four logos out in different colours, Martyn suggested that the four colours could represent the different branches for example, social services, benefits office etc and for the community he liked the idea of having a city scape background for the city and a countryside background for the county and so on. Although he was impressed with the initial ideas he felt i hadn't shown enough in the portfolio and hadn't explained myself enough, he felt i had a really good piece but needed an extra push with it.

When talking with Martyn he wanted to know more about how i had arrived at University, i explained to him that i had been to college and studied Btec Graphic Design he was really interested in this and wondered if i had my portfolio that i used for my interview to university, which luckily i did he explained that the reason he likes doing home visits for students and interviews is because sometimes you leave the best bits behind without realising and by then its to late.

Martyn went through my college work and really liked some of my old work in there he said if i developed some of my old work to suit the skills i have learnt through University i could combine this with my new work and i would have a really strong portfolio, which was a real confidence boost. I sat through some of the old work and listened and made notes on some of the tips and advice he had, Martyn said " key to good design is simplicity".

After looking through my portfolios Martyn had brought one of his portfolios that he keeps updated with him as a chance for me to see exactly what it is he does and how effective it can look. After seeing his portfolio it really gave me inspiration to take his advice and combine the two portfolios to create a stronger one keeping in mind simplicity.

Martyn's visit was a real eye opener and has boosted my confidence with design i feel i just need to push myself that little harder to achieve my goals.

Contact - www.outoftheboxcreative.co.uk

Email Martyn.hammond1@ntlworld.com