Identify at least five responses to each question and find appropriate primary and secondary sources of information (including visual material) that will supprt your findings. You will need these at your group tutorial and will form the basis for the group discussion.
Use your findings to develop initial ideas about your own views, opinions, aims and ambitions in relation to industrial experience, internships and/or work placement opportunities.
Summarise your research in a set of 10 short but qualified statements posted to your blog.
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1// What is Industrial Experience?
When I think of industrial experience I think of work placements, visits and internships. Work experience is something most of us had to do at school, so I sort of know how that works. I guess its very different at our level of learning, you have to come across more professional in order to get someone to take you on for a few days, they will want to know you are keen to learn and genuinly interested about learning about their profession. Work experience can count from as little as a day to a month or more. Work experience is unpaid but if you make the most out of it the experience will be invaluable! Being lucky enough to experience working with a professional business is something you can put on your CV to help you get more placements. Also with it being a hands on experience, it will allow you/ help you to decide on whether or not it is something you could/ would want to do as a career.
Visits are another thing that could really help you understand an industry you were considering going into. Visits could include studios, printers, companies, galleries, pretty much anywhere that is related to what you want to do. This isnt as full on as work experience but it still allows you to ask questions about the profession and find out all sorts but from an outside point of view. I think visiting places you are considering looking into work placement for before you jump in at the deep end is a good idea. That way you find out if its worth you comitting anymore time to it if you dont actually think you'll enjoy it. I think that visits are a good starting point too because they are probably easier to organise than actual work placements.
Now I think Internships are the hardest to find, they are sort of like the apprenticeships of the HE world. They are something you could maybe build up to. Find places to visit, see if you like it, if you like it sweet talk the professionals and ask about a few days work placement, once you have built bridges with a few studios/ businesses etc ask them if there is any chance you could arrange an internship with them. Its all about getting in there and making connections with people, if you show your keen they'll be interested!
2// What can you learn from Industrial experience?
There is so much you can learn from industrial experience, not just about a particular industry but about yourself too. It allows you to experience all of the career ideas you had and decide whether you still want to pursue them. You learn what skills you need to have to work in a particular industry, what sort of person you need to be, how committed you need to be etc. The more experience you gain the more you will learn and the more you will find out what it is you want to do and who you want to be.
You could make a visit to a paper making factory just because your fascinated by how paper is made and how they create different paper weights and stocks. It doesnt mean that you want to make paper as a career but it gives you an insight of how things work and where things come from that are an important part of Graphic Design!
In a way its up to you what you want to learn, it can be anything. Maybe you want to learn how to manage your time better, contact a freelancer and find out how they organise their time.Maybe you want to learn how to print onto a metal tin, contact a printers that does it and go and find out.
3// What form/ format could Industrial Experience take?
I think Industrial experience can take many forms, it all depends on what you want to get out of it, how you want to do it and what you want to learn. I think that it can be from anything from an email to a visit. If your wanting to learn something where maybe a visit isnt needed then an email or phonecall still counts as industrial experience in my eyes. You are still contacting and talking to professionals and asking them things about their career that you want to know. If you email or ring a professional for a question you may well end up going to visit anyway.
Studio visits or visiting places of interest are probably the next level to phone calls and emails. It allows you to go and look around a studio, factory etc. You most probably get a grand tour and a narration of how it all works. This gives you the chance to present yourself to a professional, ask them lots of questions, take lots of photos and most of all learn about things first hand by seeing it all. Visits may be a little easier to organise with professionals, than say placements, it means they will probably have the time to show you around when they have a free half day. By meeting someone first hand like this it allows them to also get to know you, which then means you may be able to build bridges with them and ask for placement.
Placement is the next level in my eyes. By going on a few visits, you have built bridges with a professional. Placements can be anything from a day to a month or more, the longer you can get, possibly the better (if you enjoy it). Placements allow you to get involved, I guess its a bit more hands on, whether thats making coffee or photocopying, your still getting involved. Everyone has to start at the bottom to get to the top!
You've then got internships, which are like work placements but longer. Internships are almost like trials, the professionals get the chance to really get to know you and how you work. You get a real taster out of it and I guess it allows you to decide/ or even just help, on what you might want to do as a future career.
4// What areas of industry are you interested in?
I think that the more I learn on the course, the more I change my mind of what I am interested in! I have been considering a few things lately and I want to gain some experience in them to make my mind up. The first one is teaching, theres just something about a teacher that can be so inspiring to others and ive found that alot since coming to LCA. Teachers have the ability to really motivate and inspire someone. If I was to become a teacher I would obviously want to teach Graphic Design as I would be able to share my knowledge, I would want to teach GCSE level as I think this is a crucial point of a young persons life. It where they decide what they are going to do at college which could then lead onto uni and then work. I want to be able to teach them loads about Graphic Design, so that if they did have an interest in it they can pursue their interest at a higher level. I did Graphic Design at GCSE level and I wasnt entirely sure what it was, I then did ND Art and Design at college and focused on Graphic Design. I started to understand more but not as much as I would have liked. I want to be a teacher that helps students at that age to understand what Graphic Design is before they pursue it.
Another area that im interested in is branding and identity. I really enjoy designing logos and find that it makes me think more outside the box and allows me to understand my visual communication skills and how to use them, so I can create a simple logo with a big meaning and a clear message. After doing the logo challenge that Fred set us (see design practise blog) I just really began enjoying logo design. I just think its pretty cool how a small word or image can represent someone and sometimes logo designs can be so clever!
Something else that I find interesting is editorial, although I dont know if I would want to pursue it as a career, its just that I have started to actually use InDesign properly now and I really enjoy playing around with layout. The print manual brief was enjoyable because I experimented with layout and really liked the final outcome. This would be useful to organise experience in because I am undecided about it at this moment in time.
Type is also beginning to catch my attention. Obviously I know some stuff about type, but the sessions with Graham have really started to interest me. Again I think its really interesting and cool how you can use the written word to communicate something, just by changing the font, weight or point size.
5// What are your concerns about Industrial Experience?
My main concern is not knowing where to start?! I know we are told start anywhere, but I feel this is easier said than done. If I was going to write an email to a studio for a visit, I wouldnt have a clue what to write. I have a slight lack of confidence when it comes to ringing strangers too, which isnt good. I just dont know how you go about asking people for visits ect.
I know and understand why Industrial Experience is so important and I know that I need to gain experience to help me decide what I want to do as a career.
To be honest I dont think I have any other concerns apart from not being able to get any experience at all! I guess its just one of those things where you've just got to pull yourself together and get on with it.
I know that we will get a lot of help and guidance on where to start and how to prepare ourselves. This is a big concern for me, obviously I am creative or I wouldnt be on the course, but its things like writing a CV and designing a business card that I am fretting about because I dont know who I am yet.
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Here are some creative CV's that I found on this website:
http://creativenerds.co.uk/inspiration/20-creative-resume-designs-which-will-amaze-any-potential-employer/
I found some really cool creative CV's on this website. I think that this will be something very important when it comes to looking for industrial experience because it allows you to tell someone who you are and what your about in a creative way that they will not only understand but also engage with. This above CV uses the format of a Google search, its a really clever idea as Google is so well known. It makes it fun, easy to read and engaging.
I really liked this one because it was in the style of an old newspaper advertising section. It is unique to the designer and their style of design. This is good because it allows the company/ studio to gain an understanding of what the intern is inspired by and how they work.
This CV is inspired by video gaming. It's an interesting way to show the strengths of the individual in a fun way. I dont think its one of the best looking CV's but I think it's a really clever idea and if it means that this is what represents the designer then good for them.
This one has a really engaging layout, you have to move it around to be able to read it as there are lots of different angles. I like the style of this one, it has a hand rendered illustration feel which I think feels more personal and creative.
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