18 Comments

Good luck.
action man
2009-07-15 16:13:59

This is a broad comment made on a few of the graduate shows CR has been blogging about recently, not just this one.

I have just finished my B.A (hons) in Graphic Communication, at Leeds Met/Batley School of Art & Design, infact i graduate tomorrow morning, and the course i was on, was very industry led, being tutored by designers in the industry, with a careers worth of knowledge and creativity, in particular Ged Flynn, who was an inspiration.

I know i still have a long long way to go, to call myself a good designer, this isn't a problem, im still young and full of new ideas and creativity, and with the help of other senior designers im sure i'll refine my skills and make myself, the agencies and the clients i work for proud.

Im not trying to say that im better than these other new designers, and i know university should be an exploration of your ideas before clients and the industry reign in what you want to acheive. But surely there's a fine line, where you can combine all your wealth of new ideas and produce something that is commercially viable, as i don't see much of that on display from these shows.

Sure i see some amazing work, great use of typography, fantastic illustrations and layouts to get jealous over. but nothing of which i could see a client paying money for and using it in and amongst their corporate identities and advertising.

The course i was on, was all about refreshing takes on typical and not so typical briefs to help prepare us for the industry with which we are about to enter. I've had a job for the last year, various freelance work and work experience at a couple of agencies, which has also helped the transition.

Is there any point all these talented designers entering onto courses that aren't going to get them into jobs, and (although we're not designers to get rich) bring money home.

Or am i missing a point?
Thomas
2009-07-16 22:13:10

Talent creates jobs, and there is talent here for sure.
joe
2009-07-17 12:46:14

I've worked for years, and worked hard, as an illustrator. Some of these students' work shows more than enough talent and thought to be employed by any number of creatives. It's a crying shame that the economy again has reached a point where it can limit and stifle the expectations and possibilities of an increasing number of young, capable artists and designers. To be under employed at a stage in their lives where they have more energy and bravado than they ever will have again is a crime. I wish them all the very best of luck, and hope they are able to build some sort of world where they can thrive.
willie
2009-07-17 13:27:59

I really like the Stamp your feet and Clap your hands sight. It is fun to take everyday mundane things and then subvert them!
Trevor Collins
2009-07-17 13:48:13

i think thomas is an arrogant ass who is in for a shock
jane
2009-07-17 15:17:20

aye aye i agree jane!
anna
2009-07-17 15:24:54

Just Us Collective - great idea - very enterprising. Exactly what's needed to differentiate and be seen.

All good stuff. I'd be calling Sean Clarke if I was hiring, but I'm not. Look forward to seeing you all succeed. Whoever wrote their fear as "Artworking someone else's bad idea" - I know what you mean, either make sure you work for your design heros or keep that comment to yourself for a couple of years.
Steve Hutton
2009-07-17 15:41:10

Hang on a mo Jane, I think Thomas is just voicing a valid point school leavers and students often make:
'Which are the better courses; concept driven or practical commercial skills driven?'
And the answer is... a bit of both.

Both in one graduate would be good. It is a fine line as you say Thomas, but you've got to face it concept driven thinking wins pitches, leads creative teams and adds value to clients' businesses. I'm a great admirer of craft skills, but they are better used supporting great thinking.

I reckon design course tutors feel freedom is the best way to nurture tomorrow's world beating talent. And given the track record of British designers around the world, it looks like the tutors are doing something right. It's not always obvious from a degree show which graduates will be forces in the real world. After all, clients know consumers forever move forward looking for the unique, the special and the plain odd, which will tomorrow will become the norm.

But Thomas I agree, a few more useful skill sets and a realistic approach would help graduates through the search for work and the fumbling embarrassment of the first 6 months of that first job.
Steve Hutton
2009-07-17 17:48:00

Thanks Steve, as i really stressed in my 'point of view' these guys and girls are VERY talented, theres no denying that FACT, but some of this work would look great in a book, on display at a show and maybe on somebodies wall at home, but not necissarily in business. Sure if you can get a fantastic client that wants the quirky ideas, the out of the ordinary or go for that eye catching angle over substance, then your always going to be onto a winner, i know these are hard to find.

There are only a small number of designers who are successful without ever designer for clients needs, and have the ability, drive and business know how, and obviously passion etc etc to manage to forge a career out of designing just for themslves, but for most of us, we have to follow on a path where we are at the bottom of a local agency, learn the ropes, create work that brings money into the agency and ultimately give you a wage.

Yes i agree talent definately creates jobs, but whether that transition from working in a university environment, free of restrictions to becoming a successful designer in the industry is going to be made much harder without that help. I definately appreciated that gap being bridged by the course i was on, and i believe got me the job and the work experience'.

The graduation went well today apart from the rain, met James kahn who was a really great guy.

Anyway just my opinion...
Thomas
2009-07-18 00:34:27

If you can't drive bizarre connections into your work when you've just left college you'll have a hard time of it thereafter. Worrying about employability (with its consequent constraints on creativity) will deny you the "aha" factor forever.

So Thomas is wrong.
Peter Farrell-Vinay
2009-07-18 11:01:18

All fair comment. I guess nuturing talent is pretty nebulous. I was at St Martin's under a liberal, anything goes regime. It suited some, but many of us would have preferred better preparation. For one I would have loved an in depth history of typography element.

Thankfully I've found the real design industry a thousand times more stimulating and exciting than the over long, drowsy, extended party of my student days. Is the reputation of this country's design talent down to our design education or despite it? Would it be better to go back to the old system of tea boys/girls who learn in a studio straight from school? Brilliant art directors/film directors once came out of that system too? At least no students loans involved!

Enjoy the job and carreer Thomas.
Steve Hutton
2009-07-18 12:14:47

@Peter, who said i couldn't put bizarre connections into my work, i always think outside of the box, but theres a difference between making that connection and being random.

Anyway like it has been pointed out i'm sure these talented designers will get jobs... talent gets jobs, but i know im glad the course i was on, not only got me a job but made the transition into it really easy.

This blog is about discussion so glad it did just that.
Thomas
2009-07-18 19:30:37

Oh my god.

Why don't you all just shut up about getting a job in design?

Design is dead. It's a ghost. It's your grandad's flea infested slippers.

Crackers are the future. Lovely lovely cream crackers. With their crunchy mouth drying texture and cheese like compatibility.

MMMMMMM CREAM CRACKERS!

Now give it up. Shut up. Grow up.

Go get a job and stop wasting my time and do something original.
Thomas can eat my crackers
2009-07-21 11:23:22

Let's all go to Leeds Met and get jobs..
Thinking inside a box
2009-07-21 22:15:06

i've enjoyed reading this thread and there are a lot of very valid points.
i think the real shame is that there are not enough jobs out there to harness this raw talent and creativity and teach the graduates how to channel it into something which is commercially viable. experience within a graphic design agency is the best way to learn how to 'be' a graphic designer and with such a lack of such opportunities, it is hard for these graduates to learn how to produce relevant solutions.

what the just us collective have done is something really intuitive and valid in a time where there is not enough opportunity for graduates to showcase themselves and get feedback and advice at what is bound to be a very frustrating period of their careers. the whole concept of it is very in tune with the current state of the graphic design industry.

id be interested to hear why (the other) jane with her broad sweeping statement thinks that thomas is an arrogant arse, when he is purely putting forward a topic for discussion and searching for answers in this particularly difficult time. by the sounds of it, thomas is well aware of the difficulties he is to face as a recent graduate which is why he made his comment in the first place.
a different jane
2009-07-22 14:37:47

As it happens, I was in the same class as Thomas at Batley School of Art & Design, in fact we graduated with identical grades.

Can I first mention that Tom and I both got work placement opportunities at one of Yorkshire's top brand agencies as a result of our second year show, as a result of this I now work at said agency and did so throughout my third (final) year of university.

Secondly I would like to mention that the show shown above is better than the majority of 'design' shows I have seen this year, it has an overarching concept and many qualities that are essential in good designers such as a sense of humour, originality and the application of skills over a wide variety of media.

However, I think (in my opinion) that Tom has a very valid point. The purpose of design is to overcome a problem, not to be aesthetically pleasing. Without a problem to overcome, even the most visually pleasing pieces can only be called graphic art at best. While these pieces look great, they serve no purpose except to showcase the fact that these designers' skills cannot get them a job.

A good case study to explain my viewpoint is the Leeds College of Art show. While it was by far the most visually interesting show (I visited over five different uni shows during the show period), the majority of the exhibitors had set their own briefs, resulting in artwork that overcame no problems and therefore showed no strategic thinking or commercial viability. Surely these are skills that are required if any designer is to progress beyond middleweight level?

As it happens, the one designer that I recommended from the show (as a result of his dedication to setting himself a realistic and difficult brief), Kyle Bibby, had previously gained six weeks work experience at Thompson, so obviously I am not the only one who can see the merits of design over graphic art.
Dan
2009-09-23 23:00:31

A nice selection of some great illustrations, many of them quite motivating and deep in meaning. I would like to see some of these in our public buildings like libraries etc.
Samson @ Jobs Nottingham
2009-11-24 09:27:44

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