Guest Lecturers - Ben and Joe

I have been extremely bad at updating my blog on all the guest lecturers we've been lucky enough to have come into Uni to talk to us. So I thought I would take this opportunity to give you a quick update on what they spoke about.


Ben and Joe did exactly the same course as me last year and got accepted into the Top Up year in Graphic Communication (which is what I hope to do) so they are technically the year above me. I was excited to listen to what they had to say as i felt it would give me a real insight into what I should be prepared for from people who had experienced it very recently.
Their advice was:

• Go to as many exhibitions and events as possible to meet contacts - pick up leaflets
• Document all the work I do
• Enter lots of competitions
• Client work - get my name out there to as many design companies as possible
• When sending an e-mail, try to get an actual name rather than just saying 'Sir/ Madame..." This makes it more personal and shows the client you have actually done some research.
• Show personality - gifts/biscuits work well...
• Always have a portfolio ready with relevant work.

Joe mentioned a good website to take a look at which gave examples of people's recent pieces of work they'd completed : http://dribbble.com/

They then went on to explain what the third year will be like... they explained it will be a big step up from our foundation degree and that we should know what area we want to focus on. With regards to the dissertation, Ben and Joe advised us to do 500 words at a time, this allows you to not ramble and yet keep up.

To be honest the way they spoke about the third year was a shock considering how hard they were finding it, but I'm willing to take on the challenge...