22/04/09
‘Music’ is a Manchester based Graphic Design agency set up by Anthony Smith and Craig Oldham. I first met Anthony at his first lecture at university. We managed to keep in touch by email and I requested a portfolio visit. I approached Anthony as I felt he was very friendly, and more than willing to take time out to speak to students.
Anthony thinks that it is good to have links with Colleges and Universities to talk to students. During the crit I asked Anthony what makes a student stand out when being approached. Anthony thinks that letter writing can set you apart from others as nobody tends to do this anymore.
It is seen as more personal than an email. Anthony also thinks that if you are writing a letter you should think about the paper it is being written on and the envelope you send it in. Anthony beleives that the language, presentation, spelling and some wit also makes you stand out. He says not to get disheartened if companies dont reply. Anthony beleives that when approaching a company you should get to know what the company do and what kind of work they produce.
During the visit I asked Anthony what kind of portfolios should be used when visiting a company with work. He thinks that small, compact portfolio books are nice. They are easy to handle and look professional. I also asked what Anthony thought about designing and binding your own portfolio book like some students are doing at the moment. Anthony’s opinion was that he thinks they dont feel very good and they feel temporary, he also thinks they are very small.
Whilst talking about my portfolio Anthony said that my work was nicely and logically presented, and that it was a decent size. He recomended that I tried to vary the pace of my design work and possibly place full images to break the pages up to give my portfolio some variation. Anthony gave me advice on making the most out of some of my design work. He says have more fun with the work and encouraged use of different techniques and materials other than just paper and normal printing materials.
When looking at the work Anthony says I could include more logos and variations. He also says I could put more ideas based stuff in my portfolio. I really enjoyed my portfolio crit with Anthony as he asked me lots of questions about my work, course and current placment and seemed very intrested and willing to spend time talking to me. I will possibly be approaching Anthony sometime in the near future to request a possible placement during the summer.
