The Chase

As I was preparing for my London trip, I decided (at the very last minute) to take the opportunity of e mailing The Chase. I had originally e mailed a designer called Oliver Maltby asking him for some spare time while I was down in London. He responded fairly quickly explaining I needed to contact Chris Challinor. I decided to contact Chris with the same e mail and was patiently waiting for his response. As the day moved on, I still had no response from Chris so I decided to call the studio to see a conversation may lead. I managed to speak Chris and explain whom I was and that I was in London for that particular weekend. He remembered my e mail and apologised he had not responded. He said if sent him three samples of my work he would have a brief look at it and contact me back.

I decided to send the Ringo Starr poster, English tea box, the Observer magazine and the Guggenheim end sting. Chris e mailed me back minutes later saying he or a college called Rebecca Low would spend some time with me Tuesday afternoon. As I finally located the studio, I walked up the stairs to find all the staff at work. I introduced myself and Rebecca was happy to give me some advice on my work and how to make good start towards the industry. Rebecca sat me down while I went through my portfolio with her. She said the standard of work at my level was good. In all honesty, this made me feel great. As we got to the end, she said the best way to present your work is A3 size in a black box, folder or ring binder. She explained the bigger size would show more of the work and make it stand out more.

Rebecca also advised to be more positive about my work. Being slightly negative is a bad impression towards a client or if you are in an interview as this shows a slight doubt that you believe in yourself. Always being happy with the work what goes in your portfolio is a defining factor. Having something in your portfolio without your true care or full passion can show in your body language when presenting this. Rebecca also said when explaining your work, you should keep it minimal. The description should be strong and clear enough on the page so you don’t have to explain verbally in detail that much as the chances of ‘’waffling’’ can be easily done.

Finally, Rebecca urged me to stay positive. Getting placements is vital as this will give you experience and teach you things you will not learn in class. I did ask how she had become a graphic designer for The Chase. She said she had a number of placements to show that she had an experience in different studios. Contacting agency’s similar to how I followed up a call from my e mail to organise the visit is the best thing to do when wanting to speak to someone. Getting the receptionists name is always a good tip as you have something to reference when speaking to other people in that company.