PPP2: Study Task 2- Networking and Contacting Professionals

Networking:

* THE MORE PEOPLE YOUR TALKING TO NOW, THE BIGGER YOUR NETWORK WILL BE *

Networking:
- sharing and gaining pertinent information that helps us gain something
- Our scale of professional existence- expand yourself
- Start to get to know people
- When contacting people, have a reason and a plan
- Your network is whoever is beneficial to your practise
- We network so people know you and your work exists
- Getting to know your 'peers' in the industry

• Advice
• Mentoring
• Feedback
• Visits
• Placements
• Collaboration
• Employment

How do you get in contact?

- Investigate Yourself (Find your Voice)

- Contact a Blog rather than a Website

- Above all, give yourself a reason to speak with them

- Identify areas you may have a voice in and get things in place first

They want to know

- Why are you contacting them?

- What do you want from them?

- How do you want them to respond?

We should consider

- an identity of some kind

- a different CV- what do you like? what floats your boat?

- a position to contact them from?

Task:

Investigate a list of methods you can employ to contact other creatives, studios and agencies. List them and state why each of them are potentially a good vehicle to employ.

For the previous Study Task, we had to think of as many methods of contact as we could think of. From this, I am going to expand those answers to answer this question:

• Email- Quick communication between 2 people. 
• Handwritten Letter- Gives a personal touch when contacting someone showing that you've put extra time and effort into contacting them. The physicality of the act acts like a memento that they can keep.
• Telephone Call- Gives a personal touch when contacting someone. Allows for direct contact between both people.
• Skype- Direct contact between 2 people. Visual acts like in a 2-way face-to-face conversation. Able to show work in person.
• LinkedIn- Professional social network allowing for contact between creative people. Potential for working together/collaborating. Potential to get work or a job. Talk to/ meet like- minded people.
• Behance/Studio Blogs- Able to see there work at its most up-to-date. Shows personal interest in the studio by having been on their blog.
• Visiting Studios- Able to see a working Professional Studio. Inspiration as to how you would run your own. Get to see whether being in that Studio or in this profession is right for you.
• Sending them a Promotional Pack/ Creative CV- Interactive and Memorable. Something that they can keep for themselves and remember you by. Shows extra time and effort into contacting them.
• Going to Design Exhibitions/ Fairs and Conventions- Meet a large amount of Practitioners all at once in their element. Shows enthusiasm for the subject matter. 
• If they are Visiting Lecturers, Talk to them afterwards- Shows interest and enthusiasm. Ask questions directly to them about their work. 2 way face-to-face conversations. Ask for other contacts to talk to. 
• Invite them to the College- Get them to see you in your own environment. Allows for them to give feedback and advice on work (This gives the opportunity for everyone in the Year and not just yourself).

Contacting Professionals

Why would we contact them?

- Communication reinforces your position as a new creative and you can build a dialogue with your peers

- Like a studio? Give them a call and see if they put you through or ask for an email address

- Planning and documenting- make some notes on questions/ things you'd like to say (A visit would be good)

- Remember its all about you

- Hate using the phone? If you are prepared and know the benefits then consider it

YOU ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT ASSET AND THEY WILL WANT TO SPEAK TO YOU. THE MORE YOU DO IT, THE EASIER IT GETS. THINK POSITIVE.

What do you want to tell them?

- That you exist?

- Arrange a visit for advice and feedback?

- A look at a professional studio?

- DO NOT ASK FOR A PLACEMENT STRAIGHT AWAY

- Looking at a professional studio will show you how you may want to run your own studio

What they want to know about you?

- Why you chose to contact them?

- What kind of creative are you?

- What kind of work do you see as synergy to you?

What can you show them?

- Something you are working on?

- Make a creative CV so you leave all of your contact details

- Invite them into college

What's a Creative CV?

- Anything you want but a shop window on you- Be outside the box

- Make sure you leave contact details on it

- A reference they may keep on file if it is good enough

What do you aim to take away form the meeting?

- Experience and a Practise run

- A contact to go back to

- Insight into a running Studio

- Ask about 2 more potential people you could contact?

Study Task:

From this, we had an exercise where we got a friend to write a list of positive and negative points about us:

Emily's List About Me

Positive:

• Easy to Talk to
• Likes to Learn
• Good Conceptual Ideas
• Spends a lot of time of Research
• Good contextual references
• Gives Honest Crits/ Opinions
• Broad Range of Work
• Design Sheets
• Image Work
• Organised
• Good Blogger
• Takes a lot of Notes

Negatives:

• Computer Idiot (In the nicest way)
• Doesn't experiment enough
• Spents a lot of time on small things
• Spends too much time watching TV and working at the same time
• Not found an area of Design to specialise in
• Freaks out too much over small things
• Won't make a book
• Sticks to the Same Typefaces
• Camp