Hey there I’m a BA student in the UK, heading into my second year of graphic communication. I find myself gravitating towards design theory, and print design. I love video games, always have, and despite having a mac book pro, I find myself using my PC more! I’ve joined because I want to look into other designers that are in my position, or are currently designing freelance etc. Hopefully I can also get some feedback from you guys also, as there is only so much feedback I can get from a few tutors and classmates at uni. I’m generally going to lurk around a bit before posting too much, but here a link to my Behance Portfolio I impulse made earlier. (Currently only 1 project :wacko: ) Many thanks, James http://www.behance.net/jamesrobinson
Hello there! Nice to meet you That's a nice piece you've got in your portfolio, excellent photography as well! Have you worked on any paid projects yet?
Unfortunately due to my part-time work to keep me afloat on my course, and my daily 40 mile each way commute to Northampton keeps me from being able to attract any design orientated work. I’d really love to chuck in my part time job in retail to start freelancing, however without stable income either I wouldn’t be able to afford my education (I don’t have a maintenance loan). My home town too, Dunstable (North of London) isn’t particularly a bustling town, with small local businesses closing frequently and so on. My work load for uni is also MASSIVE. I was surprised when students in their 2[sup]nd[/sup] and 3[sup]rd[/sup] years were saying it actually gets easier in the later years. However over this year I have entered a number of competitions for placements.
Thanks Tony. Well my choice was St Martins originally, however i sided against it last minute due to finding that the course wasn't really going to be structured how i wanted it to be. My only other realistic options for commuting was my home town (it was ran by the college, and was a 2 year course which needed a 1 year top-up for BA, however there were a lot of problems going on there as they were re-structuring the college staff, so they couldn’t even tell me who my tutor was going to be) Or Northampton, which although is a much more lengthy commute, takes me about 1 hour 15 mins each way, the reputation it has is fairly good (a lot better than my town). I couldn’t afford to live in halls because i'd have to leave my job. I was only eligible for around £2000 a year for the maintenance loan which wasn't nearly enough to live up there, and i didn't want my parents covering my costs of living away from home. My girlfriend is at uni also, however due to her dad being a single parent etc, she gets around £7500 a year. So in a overly long winded way, that’s why i have to travel 40 miles to get to my uni.
It was too unpredictable. Getting part time work, even in retail or something crappy it's still competitive, especially with all of the students that would move up there to stay in halls. Either way as soon as i have some free time, like over the summer i'll try and get some design work
How many James/Jim/Jimmys is that now? Every Tom Dick & Harry's called James these days... Oh and welcome to the forum!
