We had a great talk from designer Craig Oldham today who graduated 3 years ago and has since worked at The Chase and now Music in Manchester. Craig made the talk very interesting, was very honest and made it a bit of fun and also gave us a brilliant fold out document to take away with us.
"12 lessons in 12 months. 12 things you might learn in your first year as a designer."
It was simply a talk about Craig's first 12 months as a graphic designer, stuff he's learnt along the way, ideas, facts and opinions. So this was his advice....
- Understand what graphic design is to you - am I Bunch A (logical) or Bunch B (emotional) - Thinking about it I am probably more of Bunch A creating layouts and type that have a reason behind them and are quite logical, I enjoy creating the final piece more than the ideas stage.
- Be honest with yourself about your strengths and weaknesses - I think I am quite honest with myself in terms of my strengths and weaknesses as I know after trying it that I am not very good at producing digital work ie: flash as is just something I find difficult to understand and don't really enjoy working with it. I have a basic knowledge of what can be done on the digital side of things but would much rather leave that side of things to someone else! I think this is what team work and being in an agency will be all about....playing to your strengths and creating a good idea that can work in any medium.
- A portfolio is for life, not just for an interview - a portfolio is never finished, treat it like an ongoing project and update it everytime you do something new.
- Placements matter - "Get stuck in and give em' all a go." - think about contacts who you know and who they know etc etc. Getting your foot in the door is priceless!
- The design industry is small - everyone knows everyone else
- Participate with other people and share your ideas - participate with other people and share your ideas: two heads really are better than one. Discussing ideas gives you more direction and better judgement of an idea, working with others can take you down a different path - try something new. Ask people their opinion it might help!
- Graphic design is just a job, but being a designer is different - design is just a 9-5 job like any other, but you're a designer and your love for design is in every aspect of your life - do you keep stuff that others would throw away? The answer to that is yes - I have a lot of stuff (images, booklets, photos etc) I've found or seen and think "that might come in useful for something," it might not but its worth keeping anyway just in case!
- If you don't fail then you aren't trying - making mistakes is the only way that you will learn
- Life and work exist outside of London - the world is a big place!
- Designing is only about 20% of your job - the rest is spent doing this, meeting with them and answering that.
- Have a life outside of design - let your life inspire your design
and finally....
- Work hard and be nice to people!
and of course...always make tea!
A few images of Craig's work...
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