Industry Insiders

At the weekend I approached a few friends who are in the design business to ask them a few questions about there experience of agencys and in house jobs. There were a variety of people with different career paths and all had various experiences which has shaped them and the approach to there job.

These are the conversations I had:

1) What is your name? Where do you work and what is your role?
Joanne Cheung, JDA, Creative Operator

2) How did you come to work here?
Talking to friends about work and Emma said there was a place going at hers and she should applie

3) What is the workflow in your office?
Account handler gets job in and then books in with Emma head of artworking. Job then goes to creative and a copy writer who will work together and come up with marker visuals which goes to client, some clients like marker visuals and some like mac visuals. If the client likes a design it is then handed over to artworking who then will be given the elements to put together. Items are flagged up as low res and then a proof is sent to the client with no copy inplace then tweaked and then text and photos put in place and eventually sent to print. Lots of checks with ISO in place to gain more customers.  

4) What experience is essential and what can be learnt on the job?
Artworker quark indesign. Basic photoshop, illustrator. Be organized.

5) What would be a advantage for a potential employee to gain employment?
Experience, Illustration skills.

Hwa Kent Cheung


1) What is your name? Where do you work and what is your role?
Wak, Frank Communications in Birstal, Creative Director

2) How did you come to work here?
Was a Freelancer for Richard (Boss) went for pitch for Leeds City Council Branding for Young people, they won and Richard took Wak on full time.

3) What is the workflow in your office?
From Richard (Director) speaks to clients who pases it over to wak. Job's put on board, and then decided how urgent the client needs it. Wak checks everything.

4) What skill set would some one need to work in your department and to what level?
Competant in Quark Illustrator Photoshop. 50/50 with fitting in. Creative ideas depending on role within company.

5) What experience is essential and what can be learnt on the job?
2years experience at least from a agency, look at portfolio and a mac test

6) What would be a advantage for a potential employee to gain employment?
personality, fit in with team

7) What kind of portfolio would you be looking for?
Practical, variety mainly print some web for banners

Neil Thorpe

1) What is your name? Where do you work and what is your role?
Neil Thorpe, Direct Relations, Studio Manager

2) How did you come to work here?
Wanted a change of job as I was working at a print and design company and wanted to leave the print and production behind. I wanted remain a creative artworker but has become a studio manager.

3) What is the workflow in your office?
From Richard (Director) speaks to clients who pases it over to wak. Job's put on board, and then decided how urgent the client needs it. Wak checks everything.

4) What skill set would some one need to work in your department and to what level?
This depends on where in the company you work, you could be in the concept department who just come up with concepts and produce scamps only. The next department is creative art directors who take the concepts and bring them to life and know all the applications and also come up with concepts. We also have copy writers who can come up with a text based solution to a brief. Artworking can take a idea and take it through to print, this then is given to repro.

5) What experience is essential and what can be learnt on the job?
If you are going into creative you need to show you have a creative flare. You can learn how to push certain things, also copy lines can be learnt. All applications can be learnt on the job aswell.

6) What would be a advantage for a potential employee to gain employment?
For a artworker it is the accuracy of the artwork, for a creative you need strong ideas.

7) What kind of portfolio would you be looking for?
It depends on what job is available at the time. If you are wanting to go into a creative role you need to be able to talk confidently about your ideas and how you came to your conclusions. Ideas can be diluted by a client, so you need to show your ideas at the start.

8) Is there a difference between a artworker and a creative artworker?
Yes a creative artworker will take a idea and lay it out and choose the elements for that piece and how it looks. A  artworker will work with a art director who will dictate the look of the piece and tell the art worker what to do.

9) Can you tell me about your last place of work, Digi?
Yes it was a very different setup to Direct Relations. Diji was a small setup with a quick turnaround the most important thing ie a 52 page brochure to be out of the door in a day and a half. You were not so critical of the artwork and looking for widows and perfect kerning, it was mainly a fast turn around. This gave me a grounding in finishes and all the different textures that could be applied, also cutting forms as well. I also learnt about personalization which is more than black text on a page but uses full colour.

Conclusions
It was very insightful to talk to my friends who have various experiences, some of which mirror my own. I am very interested in the workings of the large agencys and how the different departments are broken down. It seems I need to make a firm decision on if I want to go down the creative / concept route or stay on a more artworking path and just improve my existing skills. If I could combine the two I feel this would be the best way for me. Last Thursday Patrick showed us the D&AD briefs which were really exciting, I will get to explore the concept/artworking with this module.