It was ten years ago that I embarked on making a career out of design. The dream of becoming a full time musician, rocking the world over was short lived and whilst that was fun, it had its complications, especially when it came to affording your rent. I always had a love affair with designing, doing album artwork for fellow musician friends, and making fake posters for events happening in the news… just because, why not? So I traded in the part-time shifts at well-known supermarkets to fill the hole in my life most people call a career, which brings me to the present day.
I’ve been working at Yoyo, a creative digital agency, for three years now. I got here after a number of smaller jobs in the design industry, learning and refining my craft. My day to day is now a combination of digital design and branding projects. I’m super fortunate to work with a great team of people, who I can safely call my friends. We have all been picked to work here because of our skill set in a particular area, mine is in Design. We have Account Managers, Developers, Illustrators, Marketers, Sales & New Business Developers, Copywriters, Videographers and Photographers all working together to make projects the best that they can be.
So you are probably now reading this thinking, well that’s great, but so what? I’m not annoyed at you don’t worry; I’ve not tied all the pieces together just yet. This paragraph probably won’t help either but bear with me. I feel completely at home working in the creative industry, because your workspace has to inspire creativity. That normally means there is fun stuff to do around the office to help distract you, which is when most great ideas pop into your head. We have a dartboard, a PlayStation, drum pads, scooters, the Nerf gun wall, an open music library, and more toys than you can throw at Harrods to keep the brain stimulated. The company also puts a lot of resource into keeping us happy with fresh snacks, regular massages, monthly socials and the opportunity to be open about any discomforts.
I wish someone had given me this advice, so I’m now giving it to you… if you are thinking about getting into this industry, get out there and do it! So many agencies offer internships, work experience and the opportunity to be employed as a junior if you show potential. There is no better way to really understand agency life than to experience it for yourself. Don’t be put off by what an agency website looks like they do either, we don’t really advertise our capability to do video, photography and illustration, but we have the team members available to be able to offer a work experience placement in those fields.
My second and last bit of advice… learn as much as you can wherever you go. Ask for feedback and take it on board, it can be hard and scary to disturb people in the office, but do it, and I guarantee you won’t regret it. Learn about other roles the agency offers as well, as you might discover you are interested in a different area.
If you were considering agency life, I hope this has given you a nudge in the right direction. Questions? Think my blog is pants? Want to hear more about what I actually do? I don’t mind you getting in touch by emailing tom.heasman@yoyodesign.com and I’ll try my best to get back to you quickly. Good luck!
If you feel inspired by Tom’s post, make sure you apply for the EP rewards offered by Yoyo Design, which includes a paid internship in Account Management and work experience in design work! For more information, please see here.