Career Track Tuesday: Networking

Where to network:

• Online or through your friends/colleagues 
• Event hosts such as Eventbrite - Glug
• Junior Chamber of Commerce
• Yorkshire Mafia
• Leeds Arts University events

Pre-networking prep

• See where the event is and plan how long it would take to get there.
• Get an invite list of people that are attending if possible and research a little about them and set yourself a goal e.g. talk to 5 people.

Be curious - display this by thinking about your body language and look approachable.

A simple conversation opener would be "What brings you here tonight?" 

Elevator pitch

• Who do you work with? What do you do? What particular skills do you possess?

Visualise the topics that they have been talking about on their body to make it easier to remember. Find connections and similar values. Ask questions and as them to elaborate what they are talking about.

Have filler questions and make hem open-ended

• What clients are you working with at the moment?
• What do you love the most about your job?
• What other networking events have you been to/recommend?

Moving to other groups

• "I'm going to get another drink"
• "Do you have a business card so that we can connect?"
• "Sorry, I've just seen something that I really need to speak to. Do you mind if I go to speak to them?"
• "Do you know anyone from this event?"

Follow up (email, LinkedIn etc...):

'Hi. It was nice meeting you last night, I hope you don't mind if we connect and stay in touch.'

Evolution Print

Evolution Print is based in Sheffield and are printing specialists with clients such as individuals and larger, well known companies. They are able to print simple designs but also can produce publications with their range of equipment.

They use a range of litho and digital print methods depending on the stock and the outcome of the product. They use machinery to bind, cut and fold the design outcome which was the most interesting to me as I usually forget about that part although it is equally as important as the print.

Evolution Print was a facilitating and valuable trip and very similar to the Pressision but more informative and felt more lively. When I think design, whether they are leaflets, posters or in a supermarket, I always forget that there is a lot going on with print itself and I have taken advantage of mass printing as I am only a designer/consumer. The trip had made me become more aware of the design process as a whole, especially if something is to be physically produced.

Creative Convos: The Pop Up Agency

Abraham Asefaw
Abraham Asefaw is the co-founder of The Pop Up Agency. He was born in Saudi Arabia but moved around to different countries as he was growing up. He currently lives in London, where he has been for the last 5 years.

He went to a school called 'Hyper Island' in Scandinavia where he studied design and later, founded The Pop Up Agency with 5 other fellow designers.

The Pop Up Agency
The agency is known for setting and completing briefs within 48 hours. They have been to 40 countries; completing briefs and giving talks. They created their own needs and values and applied it to The Pop Up Agency.

During their time at Hyper Island, the 6 designers proposed an idea to a school to fund their mission which was 'The Pop Up Tour'. This consisted of 15 (clients):15 (weeks):15 (countries). The take away from this experience was that Abraham felt naive and stubborn enough to see it through. It was a big challenge and stressful but they did manage to eventually achieve it.

The reason why they give 48 hours per brief is because at school, their only spare time was during the weekends (48 hours) so they felt that they could dedicate a small amount of time to a brief. The idea stuck as it made them unique and efficient in what they do. After they left school, they had completed 26 briefs.

There are no roles in the agency, they want to constantly grow and revolve so they all have an open mindset and a valuable input.

After they moved to London to start the agency, they we not getting paid and they didn't understand why. They asked 2 well-know advisors that they had met or have heard of to help them with their problem. They told them to focus on the creative process and training as that is their strength and is what they are known for.

The advisors also told them that they should charge higher for their service as they haven't considered their own time and work which is their: salary, expenses and savings. They had to see what was sustainable for them and if the fee was reasonable for the clients. They now charge a flat-fee where it is reasonable for them to earn profit and reasonable for the client to pay for their services.

Balance sales, development and execution.

The take aways that they had from the 2 advisors implementing in the business was that they understood their value - the value of people, guidance, feedback and mentors etc.

The team also re-evaluated their needs and values to see if the agency is what they wanted it to be. They gave everyone 2 days off to figure out if they wanted to stay or leave. By the end of the 2 days, only Abraham and another designer stayed at the agency and carried on. They are the only co-founders left but still have a good relationship with the other former founders.

Intention of The Pop Up Agency
Before and after each day begins, they like to check in. They like to check in the state of mind of others, work that they are currently doing and what is happening. This helps so that they all know what and how each person are doing so they know how to help/allocate to that.

They like to be transparent, reflect an have feedback.

Clients
Most of their clients approach them from word of mouth and transparency when they do talks around the world.

Abraham especially finds clients that are not the stereotypical creative clients and apply the creative process to their business the most inspiring.

Have clear expectations. Set goals and expectations but don't forget to go over them.

Creative principles

• Have an open mind
• Collaborate
• Focus

"We are a reaction to our time".

Workshop brief
How can we create a business based on our needs and values?

In the task, we were teamed up with a group of 5 people where we 'empty y[our] brains' and write down business ideas that fit in with our needs and values. We then we around to each person and added onto their list, expanding the business idea.

Our business idea
A creative library where all designers and artists are welcome to use and experiment with facilities. The open-space allows designers to collaborate, work and explore the wide range of facilites where they would have to pay a one-off entry fee and bring/buy their own materials and stock. The library is open 24-hours and is a safe space for talks, design work and renting space.

My take aways from the talk
I've learnt how to generate ideas in a fast pace manner and see the business side of design and how to valuate myself reasonably in the design industry.

Creative Convos: The Elephant Room

The Elephant Room
Will and Shannie are the co-founders of an advertising agency, The Elephant Room. The agency is based in London and has been running for less than a year, they started in June 2017 but had been getting everything else sorted before that. They are currently a team of 5 and hire freelancers, artists, models, designers etc. when they need to. Everyone in the studio have their own roles/titles but they all chip in when they feel they can add to a design/concept/situation as they are a small agency so they can be more flexible.

The agency wants to focus on diversity on a broad spectrum such as cultures, bodies, disabilities, sexualities etc.

Clients

• Dyson
• Wileyfox

Shannie Mears
Shannie used to live in Birmingham but now lives in London. She was a dancer but wanted to do a different type of art but not dancing. She graduated university in 2015. She got a job as a brand manager for Underground Magazine in London.

She was featured in 'She Says' which is an advertising agency that supports and empowers women in the creative industry.

Will de Groot
Will was originally from York and studied English Literature at Brighton University. He graduated in 2010 but didn't know what to do. He moved to live in Japan for a while to teach and when he flew back to the UK, he moved to live in London. In London, he did unpaid internships at PR/media firms for experience and later went on to work at a brand consultancy called 'Flamingo'. He said that although it was good experience, the agencies that he's been to lacked diversity and culture and that everything was very much one-dimensional.

Their advice

• It's not always about experience, it's about potential
• Own what you're about and your title
• Be persistent