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We are always keen to highlight and encourage work placements. Every month we try to feature a work placement story about a student’s time in a commercial environment, getting hands-on experience of the creative industry.
At Family we appreciate how important work placements are to giving you an edge when showing your portfolio to prospective employers after you graduate. It’s always impressive when you can show that you have proactively gone that extra mile in a creative company and have that one great piece of commercial work to wow your potential new employer with. Work placements also give you a taste of the real commercial world and prepare you for a junior level position.
If you would like to submit your work placement story please e-mail it to us in 150-250 words and include the name and address of the company you worked for, an image of yourself or the person/team you worked with, and if possible a design you worked on while you were there in PDF format. If your entry is successful it will be uploaded on the first date of the following month.
Good luck!
Harriet Jane Viles
I am currently at Burford High School studying A levels in Art and Design. I have a particular interest in pursuing a career in graphic design and wanted to have some first hand experience before making a decision as to whether this was the right path for me. Leading up to the summer holidays I sent a letter via e-mail to a wide selection of agencies and publishing houses in the Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire area and was lucky enough to be invited for a weeks work placement with Whistle & Taylor Creative in Cheltenham.
The company consists of a small team and this was perfect for learning about every aspect of the job as I got to wear many ‘different hats’ dealing with some of their suppliers, doing hands on design and even speaking to a few of their clients on the telephone which was a little nerve racking but a rewarding experience.
When I arrived on my first day I was thrown straight in at the deep end and took part in a brainstorming meeting discussing the re-brand of a local spa in Cheltenham. This was particularly interesting to see the creative process right from the beginning discussions and ideas through tot the design and completion of the logo. The team were very encouraging and during this session I felt confident enough to join in the conversation and offer my thoughts. For the following week I worked on my own designs and put together some first initial concepts along with the other designers there.
I really enjoyed the team atmosphere and the creative process was really good fun. I also got to meet the client and have a look at the new refurbishment. During the week I was there I also got to do some artworking which although not as creative as doing initial designs I found good practical experience and definitely learnt some new things on the mac. The art director there was determined I’d come away with some new knowledge of using the mac.
To conclude I definitely found it to be a very valuable experience. Not only did I come away with some work I had produced using the mac applications but I got to work on a live job which I can add to my portfolio and show at interviews when I apply to university to do graphic design which is what I definitely want to do.
