I’m going to use this post as a way of looking back on the past nine months. I’ve decided to take the opportunity to reflect on what has happened so far and look at how how this year in industry has changed me as both an individual and a design professional. I feel like a changed man since starting in June 2018 and hopefully in this blog entry I can discover where these key changes have come from and why.

Professionalism – As I have mentioned in previous posts, before embarking on this year out I had mainly just created Graphics work as part of University projects. Having joined Uni without studying Graphic Design at A-Level, these projects were the perfect introduction into how to tackle a brief, use feedback effectively and meeting deadlines. However the majority of these projects were based on hypothetical scenarios, so prior to undertaking this year out I had very little experience in creating work in a professional environment. Having undertaken the eight month placement at the South London Club and now working as an Artworker in a major print company, I have feel as though I have grown in my pursuit of becoming a fully fledged professional Graphic Designer. I now approach projects in a professional manner as everything that I have been doing has had the potential to or has ended up being published. I have made sure that I always talk over projects with whoever it is that has set the task and have written down notes of what is required of me to make sure that I fulfil the brief to the best of my ability. Aside from just the physical work itself, I have developed a professional outlook on my role as a Graphic Designer that I know will continue throughout my third year of University and beyond. I now know the hard graft it takes to wake up early each morning, commute to London and fulfil a ‘nine to five’ design job from Monday to Friday every week. I came into this placement year feeling like a Graphic Design student, but I fully believe that I will be leaving it as a Graphic Designer.

Technical skills – I have touched on this quite heavily in previous posts, but it is worth noting again the improvement and expansion of my technical design skills. Prior to this year in industry I completed the majority of my work in Photoshop which meant cutting corners when it came to illustration and layouts. This experience has completely changed that, as I now split my work up evenly between all the different programmes in order to create the best possible answer to a brief. This links in with the first point of “Professionalism”, where I now seek to fulfil briefs to absolutely the best of my ability- whatever the route I need to take. I think this will have a positive effect on my employability as I will leave University a more rounded designer as a result of this year out. It should also be noted that it isn’t just design software where I have developed new skills, but also e-Commerce tools such as Shopify and Printify and projects management tools such as Trello and Slack. I now have the ability to not just create designs, but the knowledge on how to upload designs to physical products, market my work and communicate with others in a professional environment.

Knowledge of industry – Perhaps one of the more obvious changes one would expect from a year in industry would be an increased knowledge of the industry they have spent time working in. Despite being obvious I take none of what I have learnt on this year off so far for granted. Due to helpful mentors in my boss’ and co-workers I have been able to build an understanding of how certain aspects of the industry work. When working at The South London Club, I learnt all about digital marketing and the role a Graphic Designer plays within it, due to the fact that the majority of the work was Social Media based. I learnt about the what makes good online content and when to post it, as well as tips and tricks on  e-Commerce and how merchandise should be listed. As a broader point I also learnt about the role of an In-House Graphic Designer at a company and what it takes to create work for a broad range of different media and platforms. In my two weeks at Premier Print so far, I have been learning about the process of an initial customer enquiry all the way through to finished products being printed. It would be impossible to have learnt about every facet of the design industry in nine months, however on the placement I have completed and the job I am currently in I have gained a wealth of knowledge to carry through with me to my final year of University and beyond.

Confidence – In one of very first blog posts on this site I set out my aims for this year in industry. I made it clear that my biggest aim was to grow in the confidence as a designer and hopefully reaffirm my ambition if becoming a Graphic Designer after University. My confidence has grown and grown throughout the last nine months, culminating in me being hired by a major print firm just two weeks ago after a storming interview. The  initial pressure of being the sole Graphic Designer at The South London Club soon turned to enjoyment as I began relishing the opportunity and consistently creating working that was being published within a professional environment. I started to love being the in-house designer where anything that was needed creatively came through me and allowed me to broaden my skill set in doing so (as mentioned above.) Documenting all of this in my blog has also helped in growing my confidence even further as I have been able to look back at what I have achieved and appreciate how far I have come. In my latest job I have the confidence to show new designs to my boss without worrying what they might say, this doesn’t mean that I’m immune to criticism or feedback, but rather I won’t take it as personally as I might once have and will now look to build on what I have started or scrap it in pursuit of a better idea. I will return to University a more confident designer than ever ad I hope that it will be reflected in my work and grades.