Interview: 2nd year graphic design student

Can you tell me what your current situation is due to
Covid19 precautions?

My course has moved entirely online/to remote learning for the remainder of the year, and all facilities and specialist workshops, libraries etc have been closed for the foreseeable future. I have chosen to move back home for at least the next 6 weeks and we are required to complete the year with limited online resources and no physical hand-in.

Do you have access to tutors and your peers in an online space?

I do, at the moment we have been using a mixture of Whereby.com, Padlet and Microsoft Teams to share and upload work, give each other feedback, and have group discussions.

How are you feeling about the next 3 months?

There is a lot of uncertainty about whether we will even be able to go back into university this year. I’m worried I might become isolated and detached from the design world and be left feeling unsure about how to progress as a designer and move forward with my career. We had a few visits to studios planned which are now cancelled. I don’t want to imagine that it might be three months of me sitting at my computer in my bedroom trying to finish projects and getting discouraged.

Is there anything in particular that you are worried about?

I am apprehensive about the quality of work I will be able to produce; for me it is very important that I am able to realise my work to a very high standard and show not only ideas behind the work but consideration of materials and context i.e. show how it looks and feels in the real world. I don’t think I will be able to do this as well as I would like without access to university workshops and being creative student’s I’m sure we will come up with creative ways around this, but it only adds a further strain on the work.

What could the creative community do to help you?

Studios could put out some more material directed towards students to keep us updated; maybe tell us about their career paths or talk us through some projects so we are able to stay in the loop. Especially with bigger agencies I would love to know the day to day tasks of an individual; I don’t feel I know enough about the separate roles in a larger studio. The Nicer Tuesdays talks (on YouTube) run by It’s Nice That have been helping me recently; I feel like I can get a sense of how each company works and how they approach briefs, so I’m getting a sense of who I might like to work for in the future.

What would be your dream job or internship?

My dream job would be to start my own studio that produces all kinds of work appropriate to the client, so an internship at an agency that has a broad output and is all about solving creative challenges would be brilliant!

What companies you would like to work with?

I really like Studio Lowrie’s bold concept-based approach, and Buck’s flexibility with how they support the client’s needs but also add their own creative expression into anything they produce. Studio Makgill’s work is also amazing.

Do you have a plan for future job applications?

I plan to start building my portfolio this summer and to use the initial version for internships, and then over my 3rd year, continually update it until it is ready for job applications after I graduate. I will try the usual approach of emailing studio’s, but I am also thinking of sending them a mailer or something physical that they can keep and then contact me if they have a position available.

Are there any specific problems or frustrations you have come up against when considering, finding and applying for internships or jobs?

The biggest problem I think is that I just don’t know who is out there working on what jobs. I get a snippet of exposure to this when industry professionals come in to talk at Uni but I’m sure there’s so many more companies producing all sorts of work, that I just don’t get to see because I might not come across it on Instagram or wherever. It’s hard to find the thing you’re looking for if you’re not sure what’s out there at the moment!