I spent the 11th May with Simone.
The first thing Simone does is check the outstanding tasks she has to fulfil within the briefs, she has them organised in a file with whether they are urgent or not. She advises me that this is a crucial part of her job , making sure that they finish all the jobs on time is so important when you are trying to build and maintain a client base.
I also accompanied Simone to the printing company that they use for their products, where she printed some posters that they had created and the process of making sure
I sat with Simone whilst she took client calls and listened to the structure of their conversations. It was clear to me that presentation through your voice is very important when speaking to clients, Simone was very polite but also direct and I got the impression that this is very useful when establishing a brief with the client. Communication is an important part of the creative business, as often people have very different ideas of artistic direction.
I also watched Simone using photoshop to complete some design work for a poster. She explained how one part of being self employed is that you end up spending a lot of money making sure that you have the most up to date and appropriate software. She also has to keep her skills as up to date as possible in order to be able to provide the best service she can.
On the 12th May Steve very kindly allowed me to join him in going to meet a client to pitch some of his initial ideas to. I was able to see the kinds of people he came into contact with and how the relationship works between a graphic designer and the client. Watching them discuss and refine the work was very interesting for me.
I also watched Steve organise and enquire into a lot of files which included the company spending on supplies, printing and research. Handling the admin is something I hadn't considered as part of a graphic designer's day prior to this experience.
Simone and Steve took the time to set me a design task whilst I was there! They have worked with a company called Murine, which produces eye products such as eyedrops. They create the packaging and the adverts for this company.
So my task was to create a mock abstract, seasonal product for the company to sell and to also design the packaging and an advert for this product within an hour. I also had to print and stick the packaging design together! This was a very useful and interesting experience for me. It gave me some experience of working to a tight deadline and also having to step out of my comfort zone and come up with an idea which was original and fresh.
Here are the finished products of my mock Murine pack:
This really taught me that I need to brush up on some of my photoshop skills, as I mostly use Illustrator, but I need to be fluent across these different softwares if I want to pursue a career in this kind of position. Despite this, Simone and Steve were very patient with me.
