Liz Earle Packaging and POS

Hey guys,

I was in Boots the other day and look what I spotted - the new Liz Earle Naturally Active Active range.

I was really impressed with the high quality branding and packaging. Reminded me of premium alcohol packaging (which always looks nice IMO). I'd love to know the agency behind it.

Anyone know?

Caught my eye

I was passing by the shopping and saw some really cool Lager packaging!

Do you know the agency behind it? What do you think? Feel free to comment below.

Portfolio exhibition at Shillington Graphic Design College

Talent Spotting is the name of the game so I was flattered to be invited to attend the portfolio exhibition at Shillington Graphic Design College last night.

The show took place in the trendy Hoxton Gallery and included some interesting print, branding and data visualising projects with a touch of digital design.

The show takes a folio-led approach with students on hand to talk about their work on display, which gives visitors a good insight into their style, ideas and techniques used.

Some of the work on show featured posters of visualisation experimenting with colour, typography and imagery.

This was an intimate and interesting show and we were very impressed with the level of work and the motivated attitude of the graduates.

For more information on how you can create a successful career within graphic design, please leave a comment below or reach out  via twitter: @deancousin 

Also, feel free to check out my top freelance tips for January! 

Happy holiday!!!

Weekly Jobs Round-up

Thanks to everyone who made themselves available for the current roles I am working on.

Here is another update for you with all the latest creative and production based jobs added over the last week!

Simply comment below or DM me to let me know if any of my roles are of interest and I will send you all the juicy details!

Please note - to be considered you must be London based and free w/c 15th of Sep.

• Agency Keynotes Designer - on-going freelance work
• Agency Digital Designer - 3 month contract (corp brand)
• Agency Flash Designer / Animator on-going freelance work
• Agency 3D Studio Max specialist – on-going freelance work
• Agency Proof Readers – Italian and German languages
• In-house Marketing Designer - 2 months with presentation design exp
• In-house Digital Designer - 1 month with UI / UX transactional exp
• In-house MW Copywriter - rolling freelance with agency exp (superbrand)

We always need creatives of all levels, designers, artworkers and des / devs so feel free to send me your details on a speculative basis.

For more info on perm roles check out our website or my twitter page. Good luck!

Paul Smith still going strong

The Design Museum held a live twitter chat with Paul Smith where you could ask live questions.

Was rather cool but I didn't get my RT :(

Here is a link of the great man!

How to deal with job applications

It’s not uncommon for me to receive anything up to 50 applications per day and I pride myself on being fully committed to responding to all successful (and unsuccessful) applications, as painstaking and tasking as it is.

My responses are tailored to each individual, they are honest, but more importantly they’re designed to keep a lasting relationship with my potential applicant. I’m building my talent pipelines.
You see, keeping applicants on my radar is vital to my role. Everyday new positions and opportunities for candidates are popping, so if the job wasn’t right this time, next time I know exactly who to call.
But just today, I received the following feedback from one of my applicants:
“I'm really surprised that a multi award winning creative director with the work, awards, contacts, experience and clients that I have, just gets this automated response?? Can you explain why?”

If you’re an applicant and you’ve found been in this position, don’t give up! I know it’s frustrating, but you just have to take it on the chin. It’s all part of the process. If you’re seeing endless knock-backs start rethinking your CV or folios. Make sure what you send is appropriate for the spec.
And you should ask for feedback, but ALWAYS remain professional. If you’ve been left with your feathers ruffled, don’t let them know about it. You might ruin your chances of them asking you back in the future.

The job market is highly competitive –ferocious in fact. Recruiters, hiring managers and talent scouts get flooded with hundreds of CVs. It’s a quagmire and time for screening is limited. You’ve sussed it… this is exactly why you’ve had little or no feedback. So, perhaps a generic or  automated response is to be expected. Smart recruiters will do what I do, and keep you in their talent pipeline for future openings.

Make sure your CVs and cover note (if you do one) are clear, punchy and informative, bullet points, brand names and sector experience are the key highlights you need to include. People don’t have time to read reams of information. So, one last piece of advice for all the essay writers out there in you, give it a miss…

Good luck.

Best CV ever!

If you haven't already seen this wonderful link for a super cool cv then check it out :-)

CV link here

Thanks to James Pook for the link.

The market so far…

The market so far…

I can already tell you what I’m going to be doing this summer.  I’m frantically going to be tweeting “branding designers needed”!

With agencies like The Brand Union, Anthem and Bloom (to mention a few), being hailed as ‘destination’ agencies for many clients right now, I have seen a massive up swell in retail and FMCG branding.

We all know who the big players are, and yes they continue to do well. But with the government focus shifting to new businesses and the investment in start ups, I’ve noticed a number of smaller, leaner, boutique branding agencies who are really ramping up their freelance and perm design and production requirements.

If you have been on the all-things-digital band wagon (and we love that one), it might be a good time to dust off your branding, illustration and visualisation samples because the market is super busy in this area right now.

So, think of me this summer, when you’re in the beer garden having lunch – no doubt I will be tweeting ‘branding designers needed’ like a mad man.