Practitioner report

Dave Sedgwick /Mike Carter talk

The two most memorable lectures and talks from the professional practice speakers for me this year were the Dave Sedgwick talk and the Mike Carter talk. Both were so different as Mike Carter was from orchid a recruitment company and Dave Sedgwick is a designer but both of the talk’s main focus was on graduating and what to do next. I chose to talk about these two as both were focused on what we do next but from two different perspectives that were both as interesting as the other.

 

The first difference from these talks was the structure. Dave Sedgwick came in and spoke to all pathways and all years in the lecture theater. Although the focus was aimed at us the third years it was open and catered to all audiences. The Mike Carter talk was aimed at our class. The groups were split into two and we sat upstairs in a studio all around a table, which made it easy to have discussions. I found the Mike Carter talk more personal as we were in a small environment. This made it easier to ask questions and be involved in the process, Compared to the Dave Sedgwich talk which was in a lecture theater based on a PowerPoint presentation.  It would have been better If the Dave Sedgwick talk was in a more personal environment as I took more information away from that lecture as he has been in our situation.

 

Dave Sedgwick came in as a guest lecture for us on the 29th of October 2009. He works for 999 design but also does free lance work on the side. He broke his lecture down in to 3 parts- About me- How to get a job- and finally his work.  I liked the way that he focused the lecture on our benefit rather than just showing his work that is available on the website. The main thing he focused on throughout his studio was that we need to start planning now for what we are going to do when we leave. He also mentioned last year degree show and said we need to top it but by displaying the work easier. He gave us a job break down that I found interesting/funny. 

 

I found his part 2 aimed at how we get a job the most important to me. His advice was to start planning and put together a list of agencies we would like to work for. Remember the small ones. Keep a book of contacts and target ones with winning work. The layout of our portfolio is important and to keep projects to 2 pages. He also suggested emailing the company after to say thank you after you have visited which is obvious but many people do not do.

 

When he showed us his work he showed us bad design and also unfinished piece. I was good to see this rather than the same old immaculate pieces of design, which we don’t usually see in lectures. I liked this approach because it shows his normal.

 

I took a lot away about the next step from this lecture. It had not crossed my mind to start making a list of agencies and to look further afield from the Manchester based agencies we know of. I found the portfolio advice helpful to. Its always good to hear advise from a designer that looks at students work on a regular basis. That is the advice I tend to take on board the most.

 

The only thing that would have made this lecture better would have been a more personal environment.

 

 

The Mike Carter talk was very different to this. On Thursday the 5^th of November Mike Carter came into help us with advise on how to tackle getting a job when we graduate. I got interesting quotes and realization out of this talk such as There are roughly 456,000 graduates every year and almost 50,000 of them are on art and design based courses. Mike talked us through how to get your first job, help with c.v's, portfolios and interviews. This was a very different insight to other practitioner lectures we have had before, as Mikes job is to help design graduates to get a job. He knows all the facts and statistics and through past experiences knows what works when students are trying to get a job.

 

He gave us constructive advise on first jobs including that they will look at your enthusiasm commitment and organization over good design.

We found out information about wages and how this is different form different company’s. This is information we are not usually told but also one of the most important factors. I found the c.v part extremely important. Most lectures talk about portfolio but never touch on the first step and there experience. We found out important information such as your c.v main job is to get the company to contact you. it needs to communicate what you want to say in 3 seconds. It can be written in 1st or 3rd person and start with an intro stating-who you are, what you want and why you want it.

 

Mikes talk was very insightful and made us aware of the next step after graduation. We also did group activities showing the importance of changing your portfolio depending on what job you are going for.

 

I think it is important to get both insights. The Dave Sedgwick talk was great because you got to here his journey and see how he got there and where he is now. Everyone has different opinions when it comes to work and portfolios so its good to talk the most common and popular advise from the talks and lectures.