An important question that I have pondered over throughout this Professional Enhancement Year has been how different the experience of being on placement has been to my educational experience at University. I believe that despite their differences, the two experiences have complimented each well so far and have both contributed heavily towards my growth as a Graphic Designer. For me it is not a case of simply assessing which experience I have preferred the most so far, but rather taking positives from both and using them to aid my development as a professional.

As I have detailed at some length in previous blog posts, my first two years at University have provided me with the foundations from which to launch a career in Graphic Design. Having joined Coventry University from a Fine Art background, my first two years at Uni enabled me to both learn and apply new knowledge in graphics. Through a solid mixture of contact hours and independent work, the University experience has so far allowed me to develop my practical skills, design thinking and communication. University has also given me the opportunity to tackle briefs, albeit hypothetical ones. An understanding of how to approach and answer briefs is an essential skill for any designer and throughout my first and second year projects I have been able to do just that. Looking back on it, this was the perfect preparation for my year in industry as we were often set these briefs as group projects and team work has played a huge role in both my time at The South London Club my current job at Premier Print. My ability to effectively communicate ideas with others was born out of those University projects and as been put it to action multiple times across my placements so far. This has been typical of the way in which University and industrial years complement each other – learning the skill at University and applying it in the real world.

Research is another big area of crossover between University and industrial experiences. For University project submissions, us students are not just expected to hand-in finished designs, but also to show our development and research to show about how we arrived at our final pieces. In the past I have been guilty of doing some research and development retrospectively having arrived at a final piece, especially in first year, however in my second year I made a conscious decision to log everything that I created and researched as I went a long. Fast forward to my South London Club placement and I was researching and developing ideas most days. Whether it be searching for the latest on-trend t-shirt and mug designs or social media style posts I was constantly researching new ideas. Perhaps the biggest difference in the two experiences in this aspect is that at Uni I felt that I was at times researching for the sake of a submission grade, on my placement I felt as though I was researching with more of a purpose. Even at my new job I have been creating Pinterest boards for logo inspiration. This year in industry has given me a fresh perspective on how importance research is and will continue to be throughout my career. I will take this ethos back to my final year of University and I hope my submissions will reflect this.

I feel as though this placement year that I am currently on would not have been as a successful as it has been had it not been for the grounding in Graphic Design that I as given during my first two years at University. I have definitely grown as a designer on this year out and have gained a wealth of practical knowledge about the industry and how I can apply my skills into the real world. My experiences in industry and education have been radically different at times, but there has also been a significant amount of crossover which has allowed me to flourish during this placement year. Upon graduating from Coventry I plan to show a portfolio full of work from both University and my industrial year- showcasing the range of skills that I will have acquired over the past four years.