F O R M E R C O L L E G E S T U D E N T S W O R K I N G I N I N D U S T R Y
The skills and knowledge I gained during these A levels allowed me to secure a place on the Graphic Design & Illustration course at the University of Hertfordshire. This enabled me to enter the creative design industry in London and Bristol. While freelancing in both of these cities I was able to work with start-ups and with global agencies – with clients that include Apple, Facebook and Google.
I joined Pearlfisher (a branding and packaging agency in New York) in 2022, as a Senior Designer. Here I’ve worked for a variety of household name clients. The work below is a concept put forward for Pyrex - who were looking for a refresh across their branding and packaging portfolio.
I am driven by the belief that “I haven't made my best bit of work yet”. I also believe it is important to keep side projects running in the background alongside full time work. Because the work isn’t being judged by a client, only being judged by you. These side project’s will sharpen your skills and give you the opportunity to make things that you want to make. This leads to a line that’s always resonated with me. “Make work that you want to make more of.” A lot of the projects that come my way are from clients that have seen my personal projects that I’ve designed in my spare time.
I think it’s also important to reach out to people whose work you admire and learn from them. It’s the duty of a more senior designer to pass down their experience to help the next generation of designers rise. Feel free follow my work or drop me a message on instagram @made_by_panchal"
Saffron Leijs, designer at Coolr
So hard to pick one piece of work, but I have a picture with some of my favourite social assets I have made over the two years I have been at my agency!
I work at a social media agency called Coolr (instagram @wearecoolr) as a Mid-weight Designer. Where we manage socials for some of the biggest brands in the UK. I’ve worked with Doritos, Burger King, All Bar One, Dreams beds, Deliveroo, Walkers and many more! Social is a very fast pace environment which I love as I am working on something new everyday wether that’s a content calendar for a client or something reactive to whatever is trending at the moment. (Usually the most random things ever) Or even being in a TikTok or two.
My message to current Students would be:
Start connecting with people in the industry! Wether that’s through a LinkedIn page or instagram anything like that! As soon as I got these platforms and saw how incredibly helpful they are I regret not using them much sooner! Seeing jobs I didn’t know existed and seeing how exciting peoples jobs are. It’s a fab way to meet new people and it’s so easy to just message people as that’s what it’s for! Wether you would like experience/job or even just to ask a questions people are always there to help. However, I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing today without the help of Richard and Steve on my course at college. College really prepares you for the next step so take it all in while you can as it goes so fast!
Advice to myself:
Be more confident in your work and don’t panic if you’re not 100% in what you want to do straight after college. I had a year off then decided to go to uni. Everyones path is different so do what’s best for you! I also wish I researched more into uni or jobs itself in the design/ social media industry. I didn’t know where to start and turns out Ravensbourne uni was perfect for me. Which I did look at in college apart of our coursework was to research them so use that time wisely as it may come handy in the future!
Saffron Leijs
Joe Turner, brand designer
The shape of the tree trunk also depicts the shape of a ‘Jebena pot’, which ties in nicely to the name. This project provides the vital role storytelling plays in successful branding, a fact of which I am particularly proud.
My advice
- Ask Questions! Make sure to finish a project /task having fully understood its purpose and why you’ve done it. Also make sure to work at home as well as in lesson. It goes a long way to getting ahead of everyone else.
Joe Turner
Alex Crowley, animator
The project gave me something to throw 100% of my creative energy into during a very tumultuous time and an opportunity to work alongside some very wonderful people.
My advice
The best advice I could give to students interested in media as a career is to always look for the fun in each project - not every video you work on will be as creatively stimulating as others, but if you can find opportunities within them to experiment and add character it will both elevate the work and your own enjoyment.
Alex Crowley
Nishall Garala, PR & Marketing
My advice
“Never give up on your passion and dreams, use them to motivate and empower you to achieve higher!”
“Assess every opportunity to see how it can take you to the next level! - But, don’t forget your roots and the people who support you on your journey.”
Nishall Garala
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE with First Class Honours in Business and Management from the UNIVERSITY OF LONDON
Matt Jennerway, designer developer
To meet the regional needs, We created 'Master shell templates' which are built around Nissan's brand guidelines, which allow assets within the creatives such as images and copy to be changed.
Print and digital media channels were designed as well as master shell templates which include many different languages, such as Turkish, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, French, German, Finnish, English and many more.
Matt Jennerway
Daniel Herbert, marketing content executive
I was tasked with creating a highlight reel for an eSports event that they had hosted. It was a very tight deadline - being needed just hours after the event had aired. So I was editing this as the show was happening. It was chaotic, but a lot of fun and very rewarding.
I've attached a screenshot of the video, but you can see the full thing here:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CjjDw1lPOhI/
My advice
I still look back at my time as a student at Harlow College as the best time of my life. Not only a place to learn about things I was truly interested in, but also being able to experience full creative freedom. I don't think I'd be where I am today without the support of peers and staff at the college. I was always encouraged to be myself and that let me feel comfortable in creating content that I wanted to see. So, be yourself. And enjoy it. That is when you'll get the most out of your time and hard work.
