Some of our graphic design students had a very productive Easter holiday.
Kyle Lotter and Rebecca Kirkwood volunteered for a week’s work experience with the College marketing team. We caught up with them at the end of the week to hear about their first experience of working in a design team.
KYLE LOTTER
HND Visual Communications student
Tell us a little about yourself.
I grew up in South Africa and moved to Scotland when I was nine. I live in Galston and went to Loudoun Academy. My favourite subjects at school were art and graphic communications. Although I achieved good exam results, I did not feel ready to go to university. I had thought about studying architecture, but decided to go to college first and learn new creative skills. I started at NC level and I have worked my way up to HND level.
How are you enjoying studying HND Visual Communications?
I have enjoyed my course and I am learning new skills all the time. A highlight of the course for me has been working on live briefs. One brief was a competition to design a poster for alcohol awareness – I won this competition and I was very proud of my achievement. The other brief was to design a Christmas story book for an event at Culzean Castle and one of my illustrations was selected.
Why did you volunteer for this work placement and what have you been working on?
We have had a few offers of work placement but this one appealed to me because it was working with the College design team. I have had a busy week with a variety of different projects to work on including: a funding leaflet, web banner and flier to promote the student digital insights survey, an infographic, resizing images for the website and I designed two pages of the Student Voice magazine.
What have you learned from the experience?
I have definitely got more confident in my ability. I had a big workload and I just went for it. The graphic designers have been great and given me lots of constructive feedback. I have found in this team there is always someone that will help you. I have learned the importance the College places on social media as a way of communicating. I attended two team meetings and have been surprised by the volume and breadth of the work the design team are tasked with. I did not expect this from an in-house design team. I have been amazed by how fast my week has gone. There are less distractions in the workplace – everyone is very focused and just gets on with the work.
What are the next steps for you?
I am designing a survival kit for a monster from space – it’s a fun project that allows us to be really creative. We will then be preparing for the end of year show and we’re all looking forward to getting to that point! I will be looking for more work experience opportunities in the summer – perhaps working in a local design agency and comparing it to this placement. These experiences will help my CV and help me stand out from other students. After the summer I will be going to either Glasgow Caledonian University or the University of the West of Scotland.
REBECCA KIRKWOOD
HND Visual Communications student
Tell us a little about yourself.
I live in Maybole and before coming to college I went to Carrick Academy. I studied graphic communications, art and music and so I considered various creative courses before I finally settled on Visual Communications. It is a mixture of graphic design and art and I like how the course has a qualification at the end of each year. If I had changed my mind and wanted to do another course it would not have been a waste of a year.
How are you enjoying studying HND Visual Communications?
I am really enjoying the course especially illustration, printmaking and web design as I had not done these before. The highlights of the course have been a trip to Kelvingrove Art Gallery to see the Mucha exhibition and working on live briefs. I enjoyed the Culzean Castle Christmas story book brief and also we were asked to design a logo for ‘Hit the Bard.’
What have you been working on during your work placement?
I have been designing three pages of the Student Voice magazine. I have been sourcing images for some of the courses at the College and doing some logo research to create a mood board for a new brand.
What have you learned from the experience?
I have learned that you need to work quickly. There is no time to sketch out ideas in your sketchbook – you’ve got to go straight on to the computer and work up your ideas. I think that’s the main difference between the classroom and the workplace – I have been used to working on a design for a few weeks and here, it is expected the work will be ready in a few days. I have also learned more about using Adobe InDesign. These are skills you learn by practising and getting hints and tips from other users. I also watch free short courses on the Adobe website and online tutorials from YouTube. I have learned a lot this week because I have been using InDesign all the time.
What are the next steps for you?
I will be working really hard to complete my course. I need to get a ‘B’ grade as I have a conditional acceptance for the University of Edinburgh’s BA Graphic Design course, which is a direct entry to the second year. I am really looking forward to moving to Edinburgh, it will be a really exciting time in my life. There is a massive art and design building with old printing presses and camera equipment – this really appealed to me and I just liked the whole atmosphere when I went on a tour of the campus. In the summer I will also be working on developing my design portfolio which I am creating on Wix. I will also be looking for more work experience as I have enjoyed my time with Ayrshire College.
Are you interested in becoming a graphic designer? Take a look at our HNC Visual Communications course here.
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