Personal Statement

After graduating Worcester University with a First-class Honours Degree in Graphic Design and Multimedia, I completed a year-long contract as a graphic designer for Carlisle City Council and I am now employed at Cumbria Newspapers. By working in large public sector and publishing organisations, I am confident using industry-standard software, such as Illustrator, Indesign and Photoshop, which I use daily to fulfil creative briefs. These projects have included poster advertisements for ocal events, advertisements for magazines and newspapers and data visualisation infographics, to name a select few. Because of these diverse briefs, I am able to tailor my work to different audiences, meeting the needs of my clients through thought-provoking artwork. I believe that, with my creative flair and passion for design, I would make a strong member of any team.

Employment

Advert Production Designer, Cumbria Newspapers, August 2015 – Present

I believe design is about providing visually attractive and fit-for-purpose solutions to problems. This is something that I do every day; generating innovative ideas to fulfil a brief. In my current role for Cumbria Newspapers, I am responsible for producing print and digital advertisements for numerous clients. I have generated work for a variety of newspapers and (predominantly) magazines, such as Cumbria Life, Carlisle Living and Dumfries and Galloway. These high-end magazines require professional and creative designs, which you can see in my portfolio.

In my job role I also work closely with clients to create promotional campaigns. This has required an array of design work, from digital to competitions and print advertisements, all of which I have strongly represented the client’s branding through eye-catching, innovative designs and created a buzz for their company.

In working with such a wide range of clients and salespeople, I am able to adapt easily; working within brand guidelines without allowing this to limit creativity. In fact, in some projects I feel that any restrictions have triggered me to be more inspired, for working around a problem can often provide an elegant solution that may have otherwise gone unnoticed.

Time restrictions are also so prominent in my role. Since Cumbria Newspapers has a demanding production schedule, I have been able to manage daily and weekly deadlines. In my job role I am responsible for many projects, often a number at a time. This has ensured strong organisation skills as I balance priorities and adapt well to the high-pressured, fast-paced environment. Along with my creative talents, these personal skills would make me a comfortable fit for any company.

Graphic Designer, Carlisle City Council, August 2014 – August 2015

By working for a city council, I have been privileged enough to work on a large range of projects. I have created icons for printed and web-based purposes, transformed wordy data into visually attractive, explanatory infographics, created corporate greeting cards, posters, flyers, leaflets, banners, magazines, maps and logos. My creative layout ideas, suitable typography and original illustrative techniques has aided my success in these projects, while this role has given me expansive design experience, which my portfolio can back up.

As well as meeting daily and weekly deadlines, I have worked on large-scale projects that have
lasted a number of months, such as the Carlisle City Council Local Plan document. Being more than two hundred pages long, the plan and similar briefs demand a strong attention to detail, which I supplied readily.

During this role, I also worked with others daily, by communicating with clients, being part of a large team, answering phone calls from the public and sending artwork to print production.

Worcester University Projects

Throughout my degree at Worcester University, I worked on a number of highly creative, diverse projects. Many of these involved working with real clients on live briefs. A unique module was “Pressure Projects”. I adapted quickly to an high-pressured environment and proved that was able to remain creative and quick-thinking even under such difficult circumstances. After spending a day working within a small team to create an advertisement campaign (from idea generation through to completion), I was able to present our group’s concept and artwork to a number of clients. Undergoing this module has shown that I am always able to keep a clear head and a burst of creative energy, even when undergoing an intense amount of pressure.