African Fashion Week London

I made it over to African Fashion Week London. The show was amazing and the vibe was awesome! Check out more on their website.

The market so far…

As we come into August we are hitting the peak months within the freelance design and creative market calendar. So, the industry should be a hive of activity with relentless phone calls with offers of work, right? Well, perhaps not.  We have the Olympics to deal with and we’re still feeling the affects of a double dip recession. I found myself pondering over the level of impact such events have on the market?

I noticed a flood of activity and increased freelance requirements (10+ per day) during July, but as yet it hasn’t carried on into Aug . It’s usual for people to jet off on holiday and this is also a period of change from perm jobs over Q3, which leads to a demand for cover and personnel.

In short, I feel confident that the coming months will pick up rapidly and as a result it is vital to keep in touch with your agent(s) if your availability changes, as this will increase your chances of being called for bookings and briefs. 

My top tips so far are:

• Update your agent with availability weekly (if in short term bookings). We can’t read your mind and don’t know when you can work if you don’t tell us
• Stay professional and conduct yourself in an open and honest way. You make the type of candidate we want to work with
• If working offsite, make sure you are accessible and contactable throughout the 8 hour working day… you never know when that call will come in
• Freshen up  your cv and folio with a summer look and show that you’re current and in touch with the season
• Agents - if you book freelancers, make sure you have a strong relationship with people and offer the right rates 
• Honour your commitments. You might have been out of work for a week or two,  but a pencil still needs to be followed up before taking other bookings

If you are based in London and work as a freelancer with in the creative sector then why not join my group: http://ht.ly/cEw8v and get involved in the conversations?!

CR Wall art

The CR wall art comp is finished. The winner Riff did a great job!

What do you think?

D&AD Newblood review

Had a great time at the D&AD Newblood exhibition today.

Here are some pics.

 Rach and me checking out the new talent!

 Some amazing stands including design, advertising and illustration.

 The juniors were really keen and seemed to be very motivated

 Nice bunch of people.

 Great place to check out some vibrant designs and mad new ideas.

 Me with my goodie bag!

 Rach and me networking and giving career advice.

 My old uni reppin as usual! Go team Kingston.

 We met with and are looking to register a number of Junior Creative Teams for live roles Yay!

 Creative Recruitment gets prime spot for the Ad Job Wall.

Overall the D&AD New blood event was a massive hit. The talent out on show was superb and I was really impressed by the 'can do' attitude and highly motivated young designers out on display. It was also really reassuring to see no egos on show and that the focus was about helping these talented young people find dream jobs or get a foot in the increasingly difficult door of the creative world.

The highlights for me were the advertising and illustration stands - really high level and credit goes to the tutors who had a nice mix of traditional and new contemporary approach to their design.

It was a real honor to be welcomed so affectionately and I can’t wait to go back.

A pair and a spare . diy fashion: How To Pack For A Holiday

a pair and a spare . diy fashion: How To Pack For A Holiday: Recently I've been posting little snaps of the contents of my suitcase whenever I have gone away for a trip, and have got quite a few emails...

Another busy old week

 Well the year is well on the go and I have been stacked with meetings, client visits and a bit of shopping.

 I saw these skulls down the road from my office. I love this kind of graff.

 Back to basics.

 Some nice vintage clothes tucked up in Shoreditch.

 I had one of these back in the 90s. £50 is a bit pricy for me!

 YMC sale on.

This pic does not do the VM justice.

Website vs PDF folio

Ever wondered which is better for improving your chances of being hired, when seeking a new job as a graphic designer? PDF folio or a Website? 

Let’s look at the pros and cons of both: 

Website: 
Modern 
Knowledge acquired when learning how to build it 
Able to update and refresh is with little cost or effort (depending on if it is bespoke or off-the-shelf) 
A great platform to showcase all of your work as and when required 
Searchable, so people can find your details immediately, in just a click 

PDF folio: 
Can be viewed by almost anyone with, or without an internet connection 
Acts as an extension of your book
Can update and refresh with minimal cost or effort 
Convenience of not lugging a heavy book around with you 
Can be tailor made to showcase the specific job you are going for 

I review folios and websites on a daily basis and unfortunately, I’m noticing that the majority of your personal websites aren’t standing out enough. They need to be well crafted and original. I estimate as much as 70% are failing to enhance the applicant’s chance of being hired. Off-the-shelf online folios can work to an extent, but after a while they all look the same, after being blurred by the actual hosting sites own branding. 

The same can be said with a PDF folio but in my opinion they hold more weight and can have a bigger impact for someone who is an integrated designer, rather than purely digital. 

In short, if you want to cover all bases, the answer is having both.