Over the past few years I have held a variety of design roles that have allowed me to acquire the skills to fit into this role. My current role as Design Co-ordinator for Sheffield RAG (Raise and Giving) reflect the need for strong communication, both on a design level, within the universities strict brand guidelines and within the RAG committee itself. Sheffield RAG are the main fundraising body at The University Of Sheffield, which organises fundraising events and over sees all the fundraising activities on and off campus through our new Adopt a Charity scheme. My role is to meet with other university committees to determine design briefs, advise them on the best marketing direction and relevant publicity as well as producing design materials ranging from leaflet design, to logo design, designs for union digital displays and publication design. As well as finding this role really rewarding it has made me very familiar with design formulation within very tight deadlines and under the strict union brand and marketing guidelines.
During the summer I also held a design internship at The Guestlist Network. A London based music newspaper with a readership of 500,000 monthly. My role ranged from formatting pictures to button design, merchandise design and design layouts for each publication. The highlight was definitely being given the opportunity to design a full page advertisement for Bourjois Paris, conversing with such a big client was incredible rewarding. It also gave me the opportunity to produce advertisements for in house and out house clients, as well as flyer design for Guestlist events. Under the direction of the Creative Director, I was able to respond quickly to suggestions, propose new ideas and drive the quality of the paper so that when I left I was a valuable member of the team such that I have continued on a freelance basis. Being in a fast paced office with quick turn around on design layouts I learnt not only to hone my skills in the relevant design software to that of a commercial standard but also to increase my accuracy and speed of production, an important factor in any design role. I relished nothing more than the morning design meetings to discuss new design directions and ideas to increase both the readership of the paper and quality of finish.
Following on from what I learnt from this placement I also attained the role of Fuse Editor, Forge Press. The bi-weekly student newspaper at The University of Sheffield covering Screen, Music, Games and Arts, I manage a team of eight sub-editors and countless contributors to ensure high quality content and visuals are used. Many design meetings with the editorial team resulted in me redesigned all the templates and changing the look of the arts section of the paper to great success. Reinforcing the section branding and changing the layout design I was able to create a stronger identity for the section whilst increasing content space.
Finally, I have been a Freelance Graphic Designer for the last three years, with projects ranging from wedding invitations, logo design and my most recent client being Dig Deep Africa. Attention to detail is key, as well as having the important skills of meeting clients, suggesting design options and completing all works to the very best of my ability.
I have a strong interest in hair design and fashion, and follow both closely. To an extent that I also make my and decorate my own clothes, which I sell on Etsy and Asos Marketplace to success.
I am fully versed in the Adobe Suite, having experience in Adobe Illustrator CS3-CS5 (5 years), Photoshop CS3-CS5 (5 years) InDesign CS3-CS5 (3 years) and interactive design. As well as enjoying the one to one contact with clients, creative exchange within a design team and working on my own. Having such passion for graphic design I am constantly reading around the subject and trying new techniques.
