Together Trust

My first portfolio visit was with Helen Bee at The Together Trust. I contacted Helen following a brief which we had had an opportunity to work on through college which involved designing an advertising campaign to encourage fostering with The Together Trust. Helen invited me to visit her at her office in Cheadle, to have a look at my portfolio and to offer advice.

Being my first visit and the inexperience of showing my portfolio made me very nervous but Helen was friendly and professional and encouraged me to talk about my work, to explain the brief and discuss my methods. She gave me some great advice, mainly about what potential employers are looking for within a portfolio and how important it is to be able to discuss my work confidently. She talked about her own career and the processes she had used to gain experience and employment. We also discussed the various types of design careers and how it is important to have advanced technical ability but also other skills such as time management and the ability to work well under pressure and to deadlines.

After viewing my portfolio, Helen gave me some information for various websites which I would find useful and some tutorials which she thought would advance my technical skills. I felt the visit went well and Helen was helpful and informative, she gave me some good advice which I have followed up and the discussions have made me think and investigate the various career paths within Graphic Design.