PPP3: Visit to United by Design Studio

Following on from my email correspondence with United by Design in York, I had organised a studio visit day with them.

Re- Confirmation of Visit

The day before I went, I emailed them to confirm that I was still good to visit which I was. I felt that, by sending a quick message, this would be professional of me to double check and make sure that I was expected rather than forgotten about.

Portfolio Prepared

Also, I readied a printed portfolio and CV like I was asked, alongside a business cards and a copy of my newspaper project so that I could take it with me so they could see the physical work if they wanted.

During my visit, I felt very welcomed and spent an hour talking to Owen Turner, the founder and managing director of United by Design. During out chat, I was able to talk to him about, not just my portfolio, but my experience whilst at LCA and his own experiences within the design sector. It was great to find someone as a professional who understood the situation most students have in struggling to find work or placements having gone through it himself and the fact that he wanted to help students as much as he could was very inspiring.

The feedback that Owen gave me in regards to my portfolio was that it was very strong and the way that I had great enthusiasm and passion when talking about my work really showed my dedication to the subject. He liked the way that I had put thought into my design decisions and wanted me to continue to focus on audience and to develop an understanding of specific audiences to target, in particular the way that I had approached this with my National Trust brief.

One piece of feedback he gave me was that I could do with a digital project so that I am able to show a wider range of skills with the sector being very web-focused at the moment. This is a piece of feedback that I had been given at my portfolio surgery which I aim to address in the future so this is something that isn't new to me. However, Owen advised me that this isn't to say that working on paper is a bad thing and that, if anything, I should do more work straight onto paper first. Also, he suggested re-organising my portfolio so that the spreads doubled up as this would allow it to flow better. It was just a small point but I could see what he meant straight away and I believe that this would make a lot of difference in how I present myself.

After going through my portfolio, I was able to meet the rest of the team at United by Design and have a look at the studio, which is quite a small but cosy room which everyone works together in.

Owen said that he would like to offer me a placement at the end of June if there is room to have me but the main thing is for me to complete my degree and keep in touch to organise something nearer the time. Following this, I gave Owen a copy of my CV so that he has something to keep for future contact.

Changing Portfolio Ordering based on Owen's Feedback

Based on the feedback that Owen gave me about my portfolio, I changed the layout of the portfolio so that it had much more of a flow to it. As soon as I did it, I could straight away see the improvement on the presentation of my portfolio as the pages go well together.

I had a great time talking to Owen and found him very inspiring and insightful. It was definitely a worthwhile trip to York to visit and I would love to keep in touch with him. As I hadn't been on a studio visit before this, I didn't know what to expect but just getting this time to speak to him and see the inner workings of a studio and what inspires and pushes other people was invaluable.