Questionnaire:
1.) Recently, myself and James entered 10 awards between us for D&AD and YCN. This has possibly had a slightly negative impact on our Final Major Project's as we have not spent as much time on them as other people on our course who entered one or none. We felt that it is our last chance to win student awards so we wanted to give ourselves a good chance. Tutors have told us a number of times to be wary of spreading ourselves too thin on each entry by doing so many. We were advised to focus on one or two and make them entries better. However we feel all of the entries had a chance of winning so we worked them all up and sent them off.
Do you think we approached this in the right way or would you agree with my tutors? What are your thoughts on the subject of student awards?
When you’re working in an agency things are very frantic so it’s normal for a team to be working on several projects at once. It depends on the team and how productive they are. I would always say go for as much as possible but your tutors do have a point. Make sure that by entering a lot you’re not compromising the time needed to craft each job. There’s no point entering 10 awards schemes for the sake of it. Make sure you focus on which are the best awards to enter.
2.) I am of the opinion that good ideas should be put ahead of the design of anything. I did my dissertation on this subject and found out a lot about products and advertising doing their job well rather than just looking nice.
How much emphasis do you think should be put into an idea with relation to the design and why?
The idea is king in everything we do. It’s the part that engages people and leaves a lasting impression which is so important to brands. We spend our time looking for these ideas and then we find the best way to deliver them. How any piece of communication should look is lead by the idea. It should have a great idea and a great look.
3.) I have now done a number of work placements at various design/ad agencies which I feel has helped me adapt to the industry. It is a much faster pace and more of a challenge to be in an actual workplace.
What do you think about the importance of placements and what are the benefits/disadvantages of having placements in your agency?
Advertising and design can be a difficult industry to break into and placements for student teams are really important. It’s the perfect chance for a team to really show a Creative Director what they can do and also it’s great for the team’s development. After leaving college, this is the only way for a team to really get up to speed with what’s needed in a busy agency. Most teams should come away from placements with work to put in their book that’s much more relevant to potential employers too. Placements in agencies are also good for contacts. It’s a small industry and people working in it generally know a lot of other people at different places.
4.) Pitching is obviously a big part of an agencies work these days. I have been involved in a few pitches and it's a good feeling when you win but I think it would feel like a lot of wasted time and money if you were to lose.
Do you agree with this system or do you take part in the pitching process out of necessity?
It’s great to win a pitch and losing them is a big disappointment. It can be a massive waste of time and money. I personally don’t like the system but unfortunately it’s the way it is.
5.) I have been working as a freelancer recently and have run a small business the past couple of years which has helped me learn to deal with clients and sourcing web coders and signwriters etc.
Apart from being a source of income, do you feel that it is worthwhile during studying to get involved in real work and start to interact with other businesses. Do you think these skills can be important in helping you get a job?
I think a degree course is important to broaden your thinking but it’s good to mix it with some real work if you can. Even if this is just getting feedback and building a dialogue with people in the industry early on rather than at the end of your course. However this shouldn’t be at the expense of your degree course. It’s also important to get the qualification you want.
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