The task of gaining a valuable work placement has been a thought drummed into us as students since the beginning of our under graduate experience. To achieve an insight into the industry in which we study and work towards everyday is a great benefit to our personal and professional development, however the laborious assignment of having to contact employers and studios in the hope of a positive response can sometimes be a daunting and somewhat discouraging effort.

I was lucky enough to skip the hurdle of application with my first work experience opportunity when I was gratefully awarded a two week summer placement at the global branding agency The Brand Union in London.

My initial expectations of such an opportunity were that I was not going to be able to cope with the quick shift into such a fast pasted environment, alongside the fact that I would be living and entertaining myself independently in The Big City. However, my expectations were calmed a little when I finally arrived on my first day and stepped foot into the Farringdon studio along with Falmouth design student Tom Ambrose. We were both quickly welcomed and introduced to the teams of designers and were kindly offered a guided tour of the studio and offices before a pleasant cup of tea. Apart from my expectations of not being able to cope, I really had no idea of what to expect in terms of a working environment which, as it turned out was a whole lot different to what I was used to. There was a definite office feel to the place rather than a studio aesthetic.

It soon became apparent that the studio itself was split in half, one end abundant with busy heads working on packaging whilst the other was lively with corporate designers. To say the least this alarmed me, more specifically the thought of being placed with the packaging team, a discipline of design which I am least familiar with and one which has been sparsely, or perhaps never touched upon on my degree course. I am not sure what made me more anxious, my unfamiliarity with that specific area of design or the fact that my design course was lacking in such real world client based design briefs as an alternative to the somewhat choosey and self indulgent briefs that we are all used to. It would be this part of my experience that would be most valuable.

The striking reality is that in the real world we are no longer able to pick and chose through an ample supply of briefs, nor have we the freedom that is available to us whilst participating in university based projects. This became very clear once I had been assigned a live brief for AirWick. I was asked to design a simple sticker which would be placed on refill packs with the intent to promote AirWick’s ‘Odour Stop Technology’. Simple…right?

Due to the shear mundane reality of such packaging and the need for such material to appeal to a specific demographic, this was probably one of the hardest design problems I have encountered. As silly as this may sound it was tough. My university experiences have taught me to take great care and consideration into the form of outcomes often resulting in me rarely considering the everyday design that we seem to take for granted, more often than not shrugging it off with remarks of disgust and an unwillingness to recognise its importance within a world of consumers who place trust in the brands we see on shelves daily. It was my experience gained with the packaging team which I value most, more so than that of the corporate team whose nature I feel more at home with. The skills attained from my week working on projects with clients such as AirWick and Sellotape are those that are perhaps unavailable to a student who merely takes in what he/she is taught at a purely academic level. With opportunities of placements available I suggest that any design student take them up. I was a lucky individual who escaped the process of contacting employers, but this shouldn’t be an intimidating task. Yes, university has taught me skills which I previously did not attain and I have certainly developed as both an individual and a designer over the course of my three years. However, without a solid understanding of the reality and to a degree the banality of the outside world, we as designers risk struggling to adjust to a working style that is less about our own appetites and desires to produce outcomes to briefs which in many instances in the real world have no particular value to potential employers.

This is by no means meant as a criticism at any level of my graphic communication course or any other graphics course at other institutions, rather an observation and opinion gathered from my personal experiences and those of my fellow colleagues. I understand that it is your creative intuition that people are interested in but a careful balance between freedom, realistic and restricted briefs at an academic level is perhaps needed, especially in the context of gaining transferable skills. I feel a little less intimidated by the big wide world after my experiences in the workplace and hope that they sustain their value and importance over the coming weeks whilst I prepare to graduate before attempting to enter the industry myself.

I am currently contacting various people in an attempt to hook me up with some more work experience. I want a taste of a smaller design agency in contrast to a global agency. I have already been in contact with one studio to arrange a possible summer placement.

Please read Jack Butcher’s post on the topic. Check out his latest posts too, very interesting evaluation. Also go check Liam Gorman’s post on ‘The Value of the Third Year’ as well as his other posts on his experience at Cardiff based design studio Elevator.

Here is a selection of third year work completed within the past few months:

www.andypenny.co.uk

This is possibly some of the most entertaining yet disturbing artwork I have seen for a while! It was brought to my attention by my fellow housemate and is pure crude entertainment created by Tim Ryan. Visit the world of Gunther Burgenstein and Hells Bellends to find out more. I admire this talent.

Stunning line work from Tania Alvarez. I am particularly fond of the ‘Overseas Type’ work which can be viewed in detail on Behance.

Some lovely print work from Belgian graphic design student Tom Huveners. Working freelance in Meeuwen, Belgium, he is currently working towards his bachelor in graphic design. His online portfolio showcases a number of his freelance works. Take a look HERE.

Some delightful prints over at Blanka