This last week started of very pleasantly as on Monday we had our staff Pub Quiz! It was lovely to have some food and a drink with my colleagues, who before this quiz I hadn’t socialised with outside of the office. It was a great opportunity to talk with my Studio workmates about how they ended up working at the company and how they got into professional Graphic Design. It is about a fifty/fifty split in our department between people who attended University or undertook an apprenticeship, so it was nice to talk to others about the benefits of each different route into the industry. When talking about my experience of this Professional Enhancement Year and hearing others’ experience of undertaking apprenticeships, it was clear that there were many similarities between the two. Like an apprenticeship, this placement year has given me the opportunity to regularly apply my practical skills whilst continuing to learn new ones. I feel that by cutting my teeth at both The South London Club and now Premier Print and Promotions, I have become a far more rounded designer than I was ten months ago.

In terms of office work this week, the day to day duties have been fairly standard, albeit quite heavy on the supplier proofing front. The company have had many orders this placed this week which is great and has meant that I have been heavily involved in checking that the artwork proofs sent to us from the suppliers, completely match the artwork that we have sent them to be printed. Each printing jobs varies from the next, and it is my job to check that the colour printing process is accurate and that the positioning and scale of artwork is correct. When the supplier’s proof doesn’t match the design that was given to them by us, I have to make a comment on the appropriate case number and alert the production team that there has been an error made. In my comment I will explain what needs to be changed and most probably attach a screenshot showing how the supplier’s proof differs from our artwork. Proofs have been coming in thick and fast this week so I’ve really had to be on my A game to make sure I don’t miss any irregularities. Meticulously checking print-ready artwork is not something that I had done before joining the company, so I feel that my attention to detail has really sharpened up as a result. It has given me the confidence to potentially work in a printing company after I graduate, and I will be returning to Uni next year with an almost fresh pair of eyes when it comes to evaluating and checking my own work.