A brief introduction to the three other companies I have been designing for under entrepreneur Thomas Page:

GrowPro Digital: Tom formed GrowPro Digital as a marketing company to help small businesses with little or no digital platforms grow their online presence. Here Tom was taking what he had learnt from successfully growing the online audience of The South London Club and applying the knowledge to smaller businesses. For GrowPro digital I have designed mockups for business cards, re-designed PDF documents and created pitch decks. Aside from just designing, the tips and tricks that I have learnt about digital marketing from Tom have been invaluable. This isn’t something I had learnt about at University, but I can confidently say I now know about Facebook advertising, Instagram targeting and how to operate Mailchimp.

https://www.growprodigital.com/

Incredibly British: Perhaps Tom’s quirkiest venture, Incredibly British is a company that spans across multiple social media accounts, an Etsy shop and even its own website. The company sells all things British including mugs and t-shirts. I have helped to market existing t-shirt designs, create designs of my own and generate content for social media. When working for this business I have often had the freedom to run with my own ideas and have had crucial creative input to what can be found on the site. Incredibly British has helped to improve my Adobe Illustrator designs as the style of work has been mainly illustrative- something that I will explain further in a future blog.

https://incrediblybritish.co.uk/

Chicken Shop Clothing: The business I have had least input into but have still taken a lot away from is “Chicken Shop Clothing.” A company that ties in with The South London Club, they sell t-shirts and sweaters of place names in London that have been designed in a chicken shop style way. The idea was an immediate hit when it launched in 2017 and now has over 7,000 followers on Instagram. My role for this company has been to create adverts for the items of clothing, including both videos and static posters. It has taught me how to take an existing product that I haven’t designed, and market and promote it in a visually interesting way.

https://chickenshopclothing.com/

Chicken Shop Clothing Logo

Incredibly British Logo

GrowPro Digital Logo

From day one at the South London Club my role at the company has been clear- I am the sole In-House Graphic Designer. I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t daunted when I first realised this, but it has been an opportunity that I have risen to and relished. What University had taught me in terms of organisation and time management has proven to be just as valuable as the practical skills that I learnt in those first two years. I have had to organise my time properly and prioritise work loads to meet company deadlines.

As the In-House Graphic designer at the South London club I answer to and liaise daily with founder Thomas Page. The work has been varied, ranging across a number of different media that I will discuss in depth in future blogs. I have also ended up designing for three of Tom’s businesses ventures other than the South London Club: Incredibly British, GrowPro Digital and Chicken Shop Clothing. I have also been working alongside social media manager Kenny, creating content for a number of different social media platforms- again I will discuss this further in a future blog.

As I mentioned in my first blog entry, my main reasons for undertaking a year in industry were to grow in confidence as a designer and apply my skills into the real world. As the sole In-House Graphic Designer at the South London Club, I couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity to fulfil my aims. I have so far experienced the pressure of meeting real world deadlines, I’ve had ideas accepted and rejected but crucially I have convinced myself that I can handle the responsibilities that come with being a professional Graphic Designer.

A few months into second year I decided to start applying for a number of Graphic Design related placements in and around London. The application process proved invaluable to my professional development as it required me to collate a portfolio and write a design-focused CV for the first time in my life. After being offered an interview with a company called The South London Cub I met with practicing Graphic Designer and lecturer Paul Hill. Paul showed me how to streamline my work into a concise yet effective portfolio and how to approach my first interview.

The South London Club are a local membership company who offer (for sale) a discount card for over 850 local businesses to an audience of over 7,000 South London residents and growing. Their aim is to promote the use and growth of small independent businesses in a world dominated by large scale corporations. At the start of 2018 they were seeking a Graphic Design intern to come and work with them on their social media, website and merchandise. The placement immediately appealed to me as they were seeking a University student specifically. I knew they wanted someone with quality but not necessarily someone with real world experience in design.

Aside from just the graphics work itself, I was aware that the company are based in Lewisham, London and as a result I was going to get an idea of what it is like to commute to London. As I live close enough to London to travel their everyday, it is likely that I could find myself working there after I graduate. I knew that I would have to get used to the Monday-Friday, 9-5 grind of professional work and this was the perfect opportunity to do so.

https://www.southlondonclub.co.uk/

My desk and workspace

Dek Ladywell Place (My office)

The inside of the office

Ever since joining Coventry University I had been excited by the idea of taking a year out in between my second and third year. I was never quite certain whether this would be to study/ do a work placement abroad or to undertake an internship in the UK. Either way I had always planned to make my course a four year one, and after studying for two years I realised that an internship close to home was what I wanted to do.

I started my first year at University having never studied Graphic Design properly before as it wasn’t offered at my school. I studied Fine Art at A-level instead but always had a keen interest in digital art and graphics. As such, I learnt more about Graphic Design in those first two years than I ever could have hoped from- from basic terminology like “leading and kerning” through to more complex ideas on how to sell a product and the deeper thinking behind design. Through all this new knowledge and experience in fulfilling University briefs, I felt ready to gain a year’s industry experience. During the first two years at University I successfully completed one live-client brief which left me with a desire to gain further experience in this exciting are.

I knew that a year in industry would be the perfect chance for me to develop my portfolio with real life designs and published work. I believed that through undertaking a placement year I would gain invaluable industry experience which, alongside my University work, would prepare me well for future interviews. My biggest aim for undertaking a placement was to grow in confidence in my ability as a Graphic Designer- ahead of applying for jobs after third year.