Advice Needed !

[lauraleeder]

hi, i finished college last year, gained several qualifications, one of which was an A in graphic design, this is ontop of 'A*A*' art and 'A' graphic design gcse's. i love graphic design so much that i even left my uni marketing course to try and persue a career in this field,
i dont want to go down the uni root again but im unsure of how to gain a foot in the door in this area, im thinking about trying to gain some sort of work exp./apprentaship. i understand chosing to do it this way will be more difficult, but is it possible???

...any help or advice would be largely appreciated

thanks

 

[squeezee]

Where do you live?
Can you go and shadow at a local printers?
Those are good marks but probably won't get you very far, have you got a portfolio of designs that you have done?
Track record is everything in the industry.

 

[garlex]

hi, i finished college last year, gained several qualifications, one of which was an A in graphic design, this is ontop of 'A*A*' art and 'A' graphic design gcse's. i love graphic design so much that i even left my uni marketing course to try and persue a career in this field,
i dont want to go down the uni root again but im unsure of how to gain a foot in the door in this area, im thinking about trying to gain some sort of work exp./apprentaship. i understand chosing to do it this way will be more difficult, but is it possible???

...any help or advice would be largely appreciated

thanks

It is possible to do it that way but be aware there will always be heavy competition from degree qualified graphic designers who graduate each year.
Really depends on your end goal, if your intention is to work for yourself in time then if you have the talent and get the right training and develop over time you could make it. If you are looking long term to always be an employee, you'll need a great portfolio and CV.

 

[richimgd]

It will be interesting to see some of your work from your A level course. I didn't do graphic design as an A level and I'm not sure what you were taught on your course so see how it compares with an average Uni course. I did fine art but could have chosen graphic design instead which was taught along with art so it wouldn't have exactly been a graphic design course for me. Obviously A level isn't going to be as in depth as a degree, but if you can get in touch with any local printers (as already suggested) studios to get some work experience that would be good since for me I learnt more in 1 month work placement in a creative agency than I did in a whole year at uni! Don't expect to get much money or even any money as a surprising number of people are happy to work for free just to get some experience, graduates also.

Depending on what you have gained or not gained from your A level course, there might be room to learn more by doing a collage course of some kind which doesn't necessarily require going down the uni route but will give you extra skills and another qualification.

 

[squeezee]

there might be room to learn more by doing a collage course of some kind

Don't you love typos? :icon_lol:

 

[richimgd]

Oh the irony of getting a First Class Honours Degree yet not spelling college correctly :icon_rolleyes:

 

[squeezee]

I blame the teachers :icon_wink:
btw collage is pretty fashionable at the moment in arty circles, not quite sure how it would work on, say, a business card.

 

[byronc]

hi, i finished college last year, gained several qualifications, one of which was an A in graphic design, this is ontop of 'A*A*' art and 'A' graphic design gcse's. i love graphic design so much that i even left my uni marketing course to try and persue a career in this field,
i dont want to go down the uni root again but im unsure of how to gain a foot in the door in this area, im thinking about trying to gain some sort of work exp./apprentaship. i understand chosing to do it this way will be more difficult, but is it possible???

...any help or advice would be largely appreciated

thanks

Do you have a portfolio anywhere ? I might have have some work in the future as I create websites and sometimes need some help on the creative side etc.:icon_rolleyes:

 

[squeezee]

Oh the irony of getting a First Class Honours Degree yet not spelling college correctly :icon_rolleyes:

From today's Guardian. You obviously need a bit of relaxation :icon_smile:

 

[lauraleeder]

hi again

Do you have a portfolio anywhere ? I might have have some work in the future as I create websites and sometimes need some help on the creative side etc.:icon_rolleyes:

hi again everyone, sorry for the late reply been quite busy. in regards to the response above i have been trying to put together a portfolio but having diffuculty deciding whats too much and whats not enough. at the mo i have 2 pages consisting of images with descriptions of my art and graphics work which i think is relevant. but still working on this, id deffinately like to show you my work once ive got it into a decent format.

ive also been in touch with my old graphics teacher and shes got someone she knows who has an advertising company in leeds whos shes going to contact to see if they could give me some unpaid work exp. still waiting on that one.

also ive been thinking of ways to stand out, of course ill send out CVs but what do you all think to:
(you know them all-in-one baking kit boxes you can buy from supermarkets for kids? were you just add water, mix, pop in the oven and their done lol)

but id design the packaging to be about me, sort of trying to get the idea across that with the littlest bit of help you can make something great? (too cheesy?), inside having the main contents bag (me) and a smaller icing bag (them-companies) with ''instructions'' on the back of the box on how they can help, what i consist off, and the result they can expect to get.

obvs id make several to send out to the ones i most wanted and theyd be smaller than the actuall baking boxes to make it easier.

i like this idea (possibly because i like cake) lol but please im after honest opinions so if you think its rubbish let me know..... thanks

 

[Dave L]

I received stuff like the cake thing from time to time in a previous role and always thought 'that's nice', but I have to say it never prompted me to follow up with anyone.

With regard to the portfolio, why not put it up here for some feedback before you publish...?