Richard Taylor
2D Creative ManagerHow did you get into your role?
Post graduation I spent a few years forging my way into the design industry. An initial role in a print company was followed by a period working for a couple of small agencies and a brief spell freelancing under my own initiative. Subsequently I settled for three years at a small agency in North London.
The modest size of this company meant that I was given responsibility and had the opportunity to develop design and personal skills. I was given direct contact with clients and managed projects from brief to completion producing design as well as running the administrative necessities. The design requirements and the portfolio of clients were diverse but fragrance and cosmetics was an area where I developed experience so this was the main factor in why I moved into my current role.
What skills have you come to rely on most in your job?
The main skills I have had to rely on are my organisational skills to ensure a project is completed on time and to budget. My experience in design and use of software ensures that I can work quickly and give myself time to come up with creative successful solutions.
If you had to pick one positive and one negative aspect of your job what would they be?
One of the negative aspects of the job is that we are not necessarily given free reign to express creativity as the international design direction is established centrally. However, this does mean that we work with the highest quality of photography and there is satisfaction in achieving effective implementation and seeing the results in stores all over the UK. Positively, when we are given licence to create something for a UK specific promotion it gives us the opportunity to show head office what we can achieve.
What advice would you give a graduate hoping to pursue a career in your field?
Consider developing your portfolio into a website, this can be updated easily accessed by any potential employer and be taken to interview on a laptop, back up with printed samples of you final pieces.
