Panellists involved in the talk-
  • Lewis Rhodes- Studied film- Now works with different sports companies, including 'Nike'.
  • Simon James- Studied graphic design at university, ended up doing illustration as his job.
  • Donna- studied fine art for her degree
  • Steph- Originally did a BTEC course and went on to do a degree in Graphic design/illustration
How their work began-
  • Lewis Rhodes- Had an interview with a company which was the start of where he is today.
  • Simon James- When he graduated Simon went into writing and illustrating books. He was very unfamiliar with contacting publishing companies, so decided to take a risk and rang up a couple of publishing companies, he knew he probably didn't stand a chance and so make the decision to tell them a lie; he told them that he had appointments with other publishers within that week and would they be able to fit him in also, this helped, because he made them believe that his work was good enough that everyone wanted to have his work. This was used as a way of guaranteeing that they would see him. Although the first two publishers weren't interested in his work, the third was and that was the start of him publishing his first book.
"Keeps everything around his art world simple --> living in bedsits"
"You have to take criticism"
"Don't sell yourself short"
  • Donna- In relation to the point that Simon made, she doesn't see it as lying, she sees it as "variables of truth", really "you are just selling yourself" - you're up against a tough market/competition. "It's not lying if you believe it to be true", "Believe you are good enough!" After a friend mentioning it to her, she ended up on an access to art and design course, which then led her on to do a fine art degree course.
"Sometimes the best work comes with huge risk"
"Be resourceful"
"Be grounded when taking risk"
  • Steph-  When leaving university she went straight into work, working on a catalogue --> 1000 pages. She had to learn a new computer programme and was mainly working alone on this project; usually working long hours in order to complete it. This job was only temporary, on a three month contract. She now works for an E-Learning company, called 'Sponge' and she has been working there for two years.
Advice they would give to other students in terms of university or their practice-
  • Work with as many individuals as you can --> companies, clients, other students
  • Take on the work, whilst you are at uni you have people to help you- getting the clients, building connections with people, contacting individuals
  • Push yourself --> don't be afraid be different, and stand out you're in the creative world.The idea is just as important as the end result, but don't spend too long on just one idea.
  • Look around you and see what you have
  • Language is really important- it's the way that you sell yourself
  • Take opportunities, but if their not there, make them, push boundaries, dare to be different
  • Don't forget to look, don't forget to take risk
  • Learn shortcuts 
  • Learn photoshop/indesign --> useful tool to have when going for jobs
  • Don't overthink your dissertation --> think of the idea, then go with it
  • Don't do half a job
Skills and trinutes that helped get you to where you are now-
  • Work ethic- wanting to be better than you already are, keep pushing yourself, don't give up
  • Self belief
  • Don't compromise your own standards
  • Don't be afraid to stand up for your own work
  • Don't be under valued
  • Keep yourself updated with things such as, computer software/programmes
  • Sometimes fear isn't a bad thing, sometimes it can help drive you. As long as you are clear on who you are as an artist and what you want to do, then you will have a better chance of getting to where you want to be
  • Persistence --> don't leave your work till last minute, don't waste opportunities, highlighting your weakest areas
Is there anything you would have done differently within your creative journey?-
  • Do more
  • Don't waste time
  • Speak to more people
  • Take on more work
  • Better yourself
  • Don't compromise --> if it doesn't work for you then don't do it, especially if it is going to affect your work
  • Do more networking
  • Donna said she "wouldn't do anything differently, if you hadn't done certain things then you might not be where you are today"
  • Have fun with everything you do, you don't always have to take everything so seriously
  • Don't burn yourself out --> the outcome isn't going to be as good if you are worn out and rushing it as well
  • Don't lose focus when you are so close to the end
What's been the biggest challenge within your work?-
  • Time keeping- big companies will give you big challenges with very small time schedules
  • Be happy about working --> try to have fun with everything you do, otherwise it could affect your work
  • Adapt to changes--> (computer systems, environment, people, work place, challenges, publishing)   
  • Take your time
  • Not everyone works at the same pace as you/or does not have the same drive as you do. (When you have your own business you can be more in charge of this) - things that can help you come to a group decision on the pace you should be working at includes, building relationships with other employees of different types, that way everyone's needs will be met and the job will get done
  • Take criticism --> sometimes you have to do things that you don't like, especially if it is for a company, they want something that is going to match their business, and if you do not meet this then they are likely to tell you

Overall I found this talk really useful and it has certainly made me think about what it is I want to do in the future, and how best I am going to achieve this. It has also made me re-think my attitude towards my degree and how fortunate I am to have these resources within the university that I will not have easy access to once I have finished my degree. I found the individuals that spoke to be very inspirational and have given me a new drive to do better with my own work, whilst in my degree and once I have finished.

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