Thinking of moving to London?
Author: ProDesign | Category: Graphic
Sam Brodie is currently based in London working for Nokia. Prior to leaving in 2007 he worked at Alt Group, was a DINZ councillor, the New Zealand Design Ambassador and frequent contributor to ProDesign.
Sam Brodie - UK
Who do I talk to?
I turned up with no network so I bought one. Recruiters are wonderful people who find you work and put you in touch with the right people. There are hundreds of them but I applied to three on recommendation. Recruitment companies are essentially talent agents. To get in the door you have to win them over like it's a job interview. Once you've overcome this hurdle you enjoy the benefits of their backing, support and credibility in the marketplace. I thought I knew a number of London design agencies but quickly realised my knowledge extended only to those published in creative review.
The best was Gabriel Skelton, they have great networks across London, lovely staff and are well respected. I worked non-stop for 12 months and they got me all but one job in that time. Major Players were also good and would always have a few interesting options to choose from. Represent were lovely people but I didn't get any work from them. In the end I just used the one that worked best for me. It's complicated with more than one but you need to know who works for you. A lot depends on chemistry so start with a few,then very quickly choose which one you like the most and build a really strong relationship with them.
What do I want?
You might not know this before you arrive but it makes life easier if you do. People are very busy and don't like drifters. At the very least know if you want to be freelance or permanent, packaging or print, corporate or cultural. At their suggestion I worked freelance to explore permanent options. I worked at around 10 companies in one year with longer stints at Saffron, Pentagram, SAS and Fig Tree. Job offers followed most of these but I wasn't convinced they provided what I want. Don't be afraid to say no.
You are a portfolio
Good book good work. Bad book no work. It helps you get the right recruiter and the right job. Prior to leaving I was unsure of how I would be perceived, I sweated for two weeks building my portfolio. It was generally well received but over the course of the year I refined it a number of times as I understood the market more, I paired down my CV to a paltry half pager and made sure everything was under 5Mb. People view your work from arms length for 30 seconds, don't read anything, make instant judgements and snap decisions. It's not exactly due diligence so make sure you build a succinct portfolio that communicates with immediacy.
Use freelance
Contract work is good for the pocket but hard on the soul. In many cases I would be bought in for what amounted to risk management and just sat searching the internet for days on end waiting for something to do. I did nothing I was proud of for an entire year. To be used for a tiny fraction of your potential is very frustrating. The immediate pay-off is flexibility and around 20-30% more pay. As painful as it was I built a professional network from scratch in one year, learnt a lot about what I really want and what works for me. In hindsight I was glad I didn't jump into permanent work until I was convinced it was the right decision for me.
The pay-off
The promise of lofty pay packets should not be the reason for coming here. London is the third most expensive city in the world, so unless you're earning in excess of £35,000, or living in a cupboard with 15 others in Shepherds Bush, in my opinion you should adjust your expectations. For more information on pay-brackets locate Aquent's annual salary review. The real pay-off is amazing new work opportunities and cultural choices you would never get in New Zealand, accessibility to the world and life in a multi-national city. It well and truley makes up for the bad coffee and poor weather.
It worked for me
The irony of investing so much time trying looking within the design industry is I no longer work in it. I've hung up my mouse and joined Nokia, in doing so happily ending a career as a graphic designer. I don't quite know what the new career holds for me, or even what it's called? But, the irony is I found a clearer sense of identity and purpose within a huge company and an ill-defined job role. Maybe it's just change? It's surprising we don't do it more often! It feels like I'm at university to be honest, floating around researching, writing, collaborating with like-minds. I'm currently leading a major project with the various creative teams who develop mobile phones and services, helping shape Nokia's design direction for 2010. I've only been there a couple of months so I'm just getting a feel for where I fit in and going from there. It's an exciting place to be, loads of scope to move and grow and I'm really happy to be there.
Posted on 15 April 2009, 01:46 p.m.
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