Its a been a while...

My first blog post in months...



Following graduation, my intention was to document my journey into creative employment. And indeed I did journey. While I have missed an opportunity to log such a crutial time in my development, a review in hindsight maybe of benefit to similarly situationed graduates trying to find a job.

Graduating with a first class honours was admittedly a crucial mark on my CV. While it is not essential, it ensured that at least getting an interview was relatively trouble-free. I remember wondering at the time how to find out about vacancies. Write ‘designer vacancy’ into a google search and you may already be aware of the bewilderment that ensues. It seems that the alluring visage of convenience that recruitment companies offer well meaning employers has resulted in web-based chaos that will daunt the most willing job hunter.

Even if you find a job being advertising in your field; not knowing the company identity is a serious drawback. It makes the application process a game of russian roulette. I had numerous interviews. After a poor first interview, I found that communication was not the only trial. Psychometric tests and mock briefs only add to the difficulty in securing that essential first position.

Another avenue of job awareness was the University. An email from the former tutor was a welcome sight; if it had the details of a design vacancy that is. I applied for every position that I could; I always maintained that it would be a positive outcome whatever the result. A failed interview offered experience non the less.

Fortunately for me, I was offered a placement with a view for employment by a Marlow based studio during the third year show. I was confident that I would succeed in the branding environment after an enjoyable spell at Elevator two months prior. I travelled down on my Birthday, a week after returning to Shrewsbury from Cardiff. It seemed that the events of the final weeks of University and constant travelling had affected my concentration and I was unable to perform to the level that I know I can. Consequently, nothing came of the placement. It is still a regret of mine to this day.

Finally achieving employment was a strange relief. It is an inhouse position, admittedly not an area of design where I ultimately want to work in, but the opportunity to gain industry experience was enough to convince me to accept the offer. Working in a Marketing team for one of the UK’s largest Apple re sellers has already revealed many lessons to be learned.

Redesigning my CV

Over the three years, I have had several CVs. As my layout skills have improved, it is inevitable that I will see fatal flaws within previous efforts and want to rectify my integrity. Recently I have updated it once again. While I have looked at many CVs to pinpoint exactly how much information is required, it struck me that creating one that looks different to the others is incredibly difficult. It will presumably turn out that the excitingly original layout or content will render the CV unprofessional, thus making me appear unemployable. For this reason, I have chosen to lay out the work with pragmatic style. I have concentrated on using the white space to make the information flow, ensuring that it is digestible. The content is minimal, but contains the important information. The nine/ eighteen (landscape) column grid system is relatively rigid to obtain order and not detract from the legibility of the copy text. I had to remind myself that the employer does not want to see a work of creativity; that is what the portfolio will showcase. The emphasis is on communicating pragmatic information in an efficient manner. For this reason, the CV is in black and white, with the only decoration being typographic. I have created both an inital landscape and subsequent portrait variation as I could not decide which was more effective. It may be that I use both formats depending on how appropriate each one is in relation to the recipient. Here is the landcape version below.

Passing By

I have heard so many times that one of the most rewarding elements of the design career is seeing your work out in the commercial world. During my time at Elevator, I was working on the web banners for the Principality 'Diolch' campaign where I came into contact with the typefaces and commitioned photography for the print work. Although I was not involved in the conception of the campaign, I feel somehow a part of it having seen it in its design elements and having worked briefly with the designers behind it. For this reason, it is strange seeing the work outside as opposed to on the computer screen, so when I passed a bus stop with a large print poster, I had to take a photo.

Having spent time in the past wondering who designs the large posters that we see in the bus stops, it is particularly satisfying to have witnessed the incarnation of this one. Hopefully one day it will be my work that I am walking past on the way to the gym.

Translating Skills

Recently I have recieved requests for web design. It is immediately clear at this early stage in my career that web design is where the demand is. With Adobe software now a household name - particularly photoshop - it is possible for non-designers to put their own print work together. Although often crude, bitmapped and poorly layed out, this work is a possiblility whereas the prospect of making a website remains unfeasable to the untrained person. It is certainly a technical process, where many will attest that they 'are not web designers', that they 'love print'. I see this is an admission that they are unwilling to put effort into overcoming the technical unknown and becoming the complete designer. I can't say I am unhappy about this as it gives my web skills extra prominence in an interview situation.

I was asked by photographer to create a slideshow portfolio website. He had a logo, but I offered some mock up alternatives (below)

Although not my most refined piece of work, it was a chance to play around with a logo. I noticed that Rob can look a bit like a camera, which is really the concept that these roughs demonstrate. He opted to keep his original which I did not like much, but it is important to remember to put the client's needs first.

The website was intended as a portfolio first and foremost, so the work is the focus. I built a flash slideshow that allows the user to pause on a photo by rolling over the image, and resuming by rolling off. It is relativiely simple as a flash piece, but it offered unique learning experiences and difficulties that can only help me grow as a rounded designer.

Here are some screenshots of the site:

Minor Changes _ Hours of Work!

I have just completed an update of my website and portfolio. For the last few weeks, I have been making adjustments to work ready for reprint. Naturally, after every hand-in, there are aspects of the work that you would like to be changed. I have viewed all of my third year pieces as a work in progress; where I have been disappointed, I aim to rectify for the portfolio.

After completing my website in February, I thought it was time for an update. On first glance, it could appear that very little has changed. The background colour, and one or two pieces of work are the immediate visible alterations. In reality, it has been hours of photographing all of the featured work, editing the images, then recoding the site where the changes in work order have been made. After reviewing the site recently, I became frustratingly aware of the poor quality of photo that I had taken for much of the work. A quality photograph of a piece makes a world of difference, so I opted to improve the situation before I send applications for jobs and placements. There are also two changes in the featured work, where the others can be added to my larger portfolio; I think that it is important not to show all of the best work on the site, otherwise there is nothing new to bring to the interview scenario.

I am pleased with the outcome, and feel that it can only improve my standings as both a student at CSAD and in the dogfight of the current emploment situation. The address is still www.liamgorman.co.uk.

Here are a couple of screen shots of how the site used to look...

Dissertation Talk

I was one of six third years asked to present to the second years regarding the dissertation today. Revisiting that stage in the study reminded me of the anxieties and pressures that signal the beginning of the third year. Now that it has passed for us, it is easy to forget what the dissertation brough to us as students. It encouraged us to engage in thorough research, acknowledge sources and become an expert in a field for a short amount of time.

I remember when I was sitting at the other end of this talk last year. It doesn't feel long ago, yet I remember it well. It seemed that I would recall the advice after I had repeated the mistake they were warning against. I suppose it is only natural that our emphasis on the importance of the Summer break will go begging when it comes to the time. We all told ourselves that we would get it done, but September comes around quickly when you are working full time.

I am sure that they will find the dissertation as worthwhile as I did. It demands a new level of time management that forces you to comply with such weight in the final grading. This lesson is essential for the third year as you rework, design and prepare your portfolio, website and CV alongside the studio brief. This was one of the first lectures about the dissertation that the second years had endured, but soon enough it will be them sitting in my position having completed the assignment and stepping on the brink of graduation. With the grading of the dissertation still a mystery, there may still be a telling contribution from the most dreaded of undergraduate essays...

Authority

As suggested in a previous post, the danger of beginning the term on slow start is threatening once again. It is not for lack of want to work, but contempt for a project so stale that it becomes difficult to justify spending a month just for the pleasure. The transition from commercial to concept work has been difficult; it is a great opportunity to showcase my ability to see something from a new light, but the solution is not coming without a fight.

The 'big idea' brief supplies us with a word of substancial weight and burdons us with the task of communicating it in an interesting way. It is a brief that has been unchanged for years, so finding a new angle for a word that has been used for a decade is a daunting task in more ways than one. In addition to catching the tutor's eye, I have to keep in mind the professionals that have attended the graduate shows and arranged interviews for past students who will be well aware of repetitions in portfolios. It is certainly in my interest to avoid churning out another predictable outcome for a word with limited options that will cause the interviewer to yawn with disappointment at seeing this work yet again.

My word is 'Authority'

A word with  cast iron connotations. Everybody knows what authority is; it touches us everyday in some way. We witness it in every journey we make, every interaction with another person in every situation. We all know what it is like to have authority, as we know what it is to yield to it. Authority is something that we recognise; it has no subliminal offering... nothing that will surprise us anyway.

In order to engage with an audience, it has been suggested that I focus on the everyday limitations that we all conform to. The things that we are used to after so many years of experiencing them. The difficult task is avoiding the obvious such as the traffic cone or the cash register. Obedience is the aspect of authority that I find most interesting. The fact that we are willing to make these sacrifices for what we believe is ultimatley in our best interest to do so. When we are young, we are not so accustomed to these rules from authority. Maybe the route to an interesting outcome lies in the minds of the young; blissfully ignorant of the established hierarchy of authority.