After the general inductions, I was briefed using theme boards, which you can see a picture of below. It was an interesting way of receiving a brief as it was very specific when I am used to quite broad briefs. This one was for my first brief, the 70s Bachelor. It was very useful to have a constant reference point for what style was wanted as well as colour schemes. However I did feel a little limited by this, and couldn't help but think that it took away some creativity.
Throughout the course of the next week, I worked off numerous different theme boards like this one for different target audiences. I found it very interesting working on such a wide range of different target audiences at once, when I am used to either working for myself or for a target audience that I have found for myself. For instance my second brief was for women and their daughters, with a very girly colour scheme, a complete contrast to the first.
After they had got the gist of what my style was like as well as how fast I could do it they briefed me on a Morrison's pitch that they were having later on in the second week. So I was working on live work for them. This was really promising and I was receiving good feedback about my work ethic which was really nice to hear.
For more detail on the briefs that I worked on please see my placement report.
FINAL PRESENTATION BOARDS
At the end of the final week I was asked to mount all of my designs onto presentation boards. Usually the people who do placements only have 2 boards, but I managed to fill 4, one with both sides. I am really proud of how much work I completed, and I think it is all to a high quality. It goes to show how fast I can work without distractions as I was sat on a desk on my own. I think that my favourite designs are definitely the simpler ones that I created, like the pop art style fruit and some of the 70s bachelor's designs. Although I also really liked the Mermaids in Paris designs because they are not of a style which I would usually do.
Also as part of becoming a freelancer I had to create a profile with some of my designs on it. I tried to include a wide range of what I had created while on my placement to show my flexibility.
Overall, I’m really pleased with what I have created over the 2 weeks for Hallmark. I found that I can work really fast if I’m not distracted and just get on with design work. I learnt a lot about Hallmark and why it's so successful, in fact, they design for most companies that sell cards. I also learnt about working for an audience or a client, while you may not necessarily like a design, the audience will. I found that design isn’t always to your own tastes.
The feedback that I received from Rachel and Laura, who were in charge of me during my placement, was very positive. They said that I was a very versatile designer, which I think is a great compliment. Also as a result of the placement, I was offered a freelance position, where Hallmark can contact me if they need my style of work for another project. I think that the placement has made me a lot more confident in my illustrative abilities. Before going I thought that I might become overwhelmed by it but I really enjoyed it.
This placement definitely made me consider a career with Hallmark, though it is not necessarily design I still consider illustration one of my strengths and I enjoy doing it. The only thing that I would say is that working here does slightly limit the creative freedom you have and it does feel very corporate.
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