katy robinson
marketing and design
placement year
2016 - 2017
overview
where did i do my placement?
how did i get my placement?
I undertook my placement year at The University of I originally applied for a placement at Team Hud, the Huddersfield, working in the catering department, also University of Huddersfield’s gym and sports facility, and I known as Huddersfood. secured an interview. Despite positive feedback from the interview, unfortunately I was unsuccessful in getting the My main job roles were to produce designs for the twelve placement. catering outlets across the university campus. This included designing things such as menus and posters to market However the manager was impressed with how I conducted events and new food concepts that were being introduced myself through the interview process and passed my details as well as designing for the hospitality department. I also on to Michaela Booth, Catering Operations Manager for had to produce signage for the schools do point where the Huddersfood, the Universities Catering Service. catering outlets were in the building if you were looking from the outside. After briefly meeting with Michaela and talking through the job roles and what I would be doing for the year, I was I also had to run the departments social media accounts, offered the position of Design and Marketing Intern for which included Facebook and Twitter. My main goal for the Catering Services. the year on the social accounts was to generate a larger following so that people would see any offers, promotions and competitions that we had whilst they were away from the outlets as well as whilst they were at the outlets. There were also some designs that I produced throughout the year for the universities conference and events team for large-scale events such as graduation.
what did i have to overcome? Like with any new job, adjusting to the way that the business/company works was a clear obstacle that I needed to overcome and also what they wanted to get out of me. When I started my placement at the end of August 2016, the catering department appeared to be very unknown throughout the university, with little awareness to staff and students that there were catering outlets available across the campus in different schools/buildings, due to the very little marketing that there was. This was one of the things that I was first tasked with, to make the marketing better and wider across the university, this included putting up posters and producing large format display banners. One other thing that I had to overcome, not only being in a new role, I was the only person in this role. Throughout the year I was the only designer in the department. This meant that during busy times, I was occasionally in high demand and had a list of things that built up. To overcome this, I definitely had to quickly master time management and prioritising what was the most to least important things to get done. Once I had got used to working there after the first few weeks – a month, I understood what worked best for me and the department staff who were relying on me to produce designs and market what they needed.
overview
what skills did i learn?
my favourite thing to do
my best piece of work
As I was the only designer in the department, from a design/creative aspect, there was no one I could ‘learn from’ as such in a professional manner or discuss my design ideas. Instead, I used the skills and knowledge that I had acquired during the previous two years of studying at university, and also from studying a BTEC in Art & Design at college. I feel that I have been able to further develop my creativity by teaching myself more about the software by using online tutorials that I have put into practice to improve my designs
During my placement year, there were some things I did not like to do, this included receiving design requests with little to no information as to what was required.
It wasn’t until the end of June when I feel that I produced my best/favourite piece of work during placement.
What I have learnt from working professionally within an established business/company is that it can be hard work, especially being the sole designer for people’s ideas. I have learnt about time management and effective communication and how important it is for a place to work well and effectively every day. On a personal level, my placement year has made me realise that the working environment I was in, was not for me. I feel that for my future career in design I would like to work with other designers or a design team in a larger organisation, working together to get ideas and inspiration, as opposed to working on my own. I feel that I did not have this in my placement, which I believe held me back in some areas, as I was not in an environment conducive to learn in.
I was asked to design an informal photo background for This may seem a strange comment to make, however as a the drinks reception area of the summer graduation designer, when I received a brief with details and ideas, or ceremonies in July 2017. The brief also specified that the had a conversation with clients this was something that I background should not be date specific, so that it can be really liked as I knew the direction that I needed to take to used in successive years. get the work done to meet the brief. This also made the development of the initial designs easier for the client and I was really proud of this piece of work and it felt very myself. rewarding seeing people use it for its intended purpose, as I also feel that graduation is one of the lasting memories Receiving briefs like this also made it a lot easier to plan for students and their families and it is something that will my time and schedule work that needed to be done on be treasured in photographs and the work I designed is time so that it was ready to be printed/published. something in those photographs.
campus map One of the first things that was set for me, was to create a version of the campus map with the locations of the catering outlets and what they offer. I designed it as a foldable leaflet that could easily fit in a handbag or a pocket, especially for new students. On one side of the leaflet I had the campus map, and on the other side, I had a list of the opening times and new offers and promotions that were happening between September and October. When the new Oastler building opened, I then had to update the map. I altered the design for this to make it easier to read and also a lot better in the colour scheme.
vouchers There were some occasions where I was asked to produce vouchers that could be used at the food outlets. At the start of 2017, we wanted to promote our noodle bar in student central. For Chinese New Year we teamed up with the International Office and I was asked to design a voucher that would entitle people to money off a noodle bowl if they were in attendance at the Chinese New Year event. There was also an occasion when prizes were needed for a conference raffle. I was asked to design a very simple voucher, which had a certain value that could be spent. I also used this design to make vouchers for the Huddersfood staff as an ‘employee of the month’ prize. I simply altered the main front of the voucher and added some information on the back. To accompany this I also designed a certificate.
social media logos One thing I wanted to do to approve the ‘appearance’ of the social media pages was to create an image with the Huddersfood logo. I made a very simple one to start with, which used the Huddersfood colours, with the name in its recognised font. I made it simple, so that the image could be edited for events and holidays such as graduation, Christmas, Easter and remembrance day. I then simply changed the image when needed, so that there was a small change in the social media appearance every so often.
welcome book Towards the end of July 2017, I was involved in designing the catering page for the welcome book for the new intake of 2017/2018 students. I used a similar design to some of the other work that I had previously produced, as I knew from feedback that it was bold and eye catching. The brief for the booklet page was very simple as it was up to each individual school to produce their own information. When working with the management team to design the page, we wanted to make it bold and informative and I feel I did this well. The design also included vouchers that can be used at the outlets to also create an awareness of the food outlets around the campus.
posters Throughout my time on placement I was constantly asked to design posters. The majority of posters were to promote new food or drinks offers at the catering outlets. Other posters designed were to advertise competitions, an event or series of events that were going on, such as tasters for new food concepts or one off food events, such as pancake day. Every poster varies in style, depending on the event happening and also where abouts the poster is going.
posters
posters
posters
menus As Huddersfood are the universities catering provider, menus were a necessity at the outlets. As some outlets were ‘branded’, such as Starbucks and the Burrito Bar, the menu boards had been provided by the companies, however for the smaller outlets designing the menus was one of my responsibilities. I wanted to design menus so that they were simple and easy to read for the customers, which I feel I did well. I also kept a constant theme across the designs so that people would recognise Huddersfood as a brand across the outlets.
employment campaign One task that I really enjoyed doing was the student staff employment campaign. Even though the catering team has full time staff working, during the busy term time periods, student staff are employed to help out at some of the bigger outlets, such as those that serve Starbucks coffee. This whole campaign was designed with the viewpoint of students in mind, as it needed to appeal to them to apply for the job, therefore I chose quite a simple, yet eye catching design that could easily be adapted for different sizes for items such as posters, banners and flyers.
roll up banners As a way to increase awareness about the catering outlets across the university campus, the management team wanted something in place that could be moved around from time-to-time. They came up with the idea of having roll up banners to advertise outlets in the school buildings. These were to go in areas that were busy, but had very little advertising for the outlets, or in buildings that did not have any catering facility, to advertise where the nearest area was for staff/students to get food.
roll up banners
window signage Not only were the roll up banners designed to increase an awareness of the catering outlets, I also worked closely with the estates team to get some vinyl stickers for the walls and windows designed for the schools. These would then go on the windows on the exterior of the buildings to show people that there is an area in that building where food can be purchased. This was quite a lengthy task, especially as I was working with a lot of people, however it was enjoyable working on something at such a big scale.
window signage
a0 Signage During term time, the catering team promote their burrito and pizza outlet through A0 boards, out in the university plaza. Over the summer months when the academic year ends, these outlets close and the A0 boards need new promotional materials in them. I was tasked with designing these to show what other outlets we do have open. Because the main International Kitchen is still open I chose to make a poster to promote the offers that we had on there. During the summer open days we also had a BBQ offer running so I needed to make a poster to promote this to potential students as well as staff and students still at the university.
a0 signage
graduation One of my very last jobs during my placement year was focusing on the summer graduation ceremonies and getting everything in place for it, as Huddersfood provide the catering for the drinks receptions. As previously mention when I spoke about my favourite piece of work, I was also asked by the events team if I could produce a photo backdrop for the drinks reception area, this was one of the biggest pieces of work I had designed, and it was really rewarding to see people using it. I also designed the menu for the afternoon tearoom that was held in the creative arts building, so that people could see what was on offer in the tearoom.
graduation
table numbers
Hospitality Not only is there a catering department for students and staff, hospitality plays a key role for meetings, events and conferences throughout the year, whether in or out of term time.
I was asked to make these table numbers by the former team leader to replace what they already had. I needed to design something that could suit all occasions from meetings and conferences to VIP meals and weddings, this also included the graduation afternoon tea room table seating.
clearing and comment cards
Although it was a relatively small part of my role, I was involved in producing the designs for the team. These were designs such as the yearly hospitality brochure, comment cards and notices.
These clearing cards and comment cards were designed to help both the hospitality team and also the customers. The comment cards were designed very simply to get feedback from people who had ordered food or beverage items about the quality and service, where as the clearing cards were to keep communication between both sides and it simply addressed the process of clearing up after the event had taken place.
hospitality
hospitality brochure
The hospitality brochure was one of the first tasks I was set on by the hospitality team for my placement. I did not have much time to produce it and was therefore on a very short deadline, however I still wanted to make it professional looking as it was something that was going out to the university staff members, including the Vice Chancellors office. It was also required of me to design two versions, one for internal staff and one for external visitors. This meant altering some of the pages and the front cover so that these could be differentiated, especially when sent out to the relevant people.
evaluation
my proudest achievement My proudest achievement from my placement year was not a hard one to choose. Not only was I nominated, but also being shortlisted for an award. In July I was told by my management team that they had nominated me for a Rising Star award for The University Caterers Organisation (TUCO) Awards Programme. Later on that month I found out that I had been shortlisted and was invited to The University of Nottingham for the gala dinner and awards ceremony. Not only did I receive an individual nomination, I was also part of the Catering Services Team who also received a shortlisted nomination for TUCO Team Of The Year. Despite not winning the rising star award, I feel proud to have been shortlisted and feel that my work throughout the year was of value to everyone in the catering team, especially the management team who put me up for the nomination. I am also proud that my work was a contribution to the catering team winning in their category. Being at the dinner and awards ceremony was such a surreal moment for me, especially being around people who have been working in their industry with years of experience. In many ways it made me feel confident in my work that I have previously designed and also for me to carry on producing good designs into the future for my degree and in the professional world.
evaluation
placement evaluation When I started my placement in late August 2016, I was very much ‘thrown in at the deep end’ to the job role. This was due to there not being a structured approach taken in the role in the previous year.
only receive verbal communication of what was needed to be designed and if I did not have pen and paper to hand I would quite often forget what was needed of me, as there could sometimes be a lot of information. One thing I would ask of people who I was working with, would be for Throughout the year I was given a free reign in most of my them to send me a written brief, so that I could clarify work and how I approached designing the promotional and what they were wanting, meaning I could go back to this marketing materials, due to me being the only designer in when designing the work. the team. I would also change the way that I approached some of the On some occasions I found this to be quite stressful and tasks that I was set on, by prioritising work better and also frustrating, especially when people would be constantly organising my work better in folders on the computer as asking for multiple pieces of work to be designed for their there were some things that I would struggle to find after units/outlets, however this also helped me to master time designing them. From this, I have learnt for the future that management, something I was not very good at when I I need to better organise my work and maybe even include started my placement. the dates that the original designs and the edited versions were saved on. From my time working for Huddersfood, I have found that my communication skills have developed and I am I had many ups and downs during my time on placement, more confident in approaching people, both internally and this not only due to me being new to the job, but also my externally to the business. It also gave me confidence in manager being new to the job and me being her first intern. communicating over the phone and negotiating changes There were times when I regretted taking this placement in designs with clients. as I felt that I was not learning anything to progress with my design skills for the future and it was all very much self If I were to undertake this placement year again there taught by using online tutorials and it was times like this would be many different ways that I would approach some when I wished that I had taken a different placement that of the tasks that I did. The majority of the time I would I was offered, where I knew I would be in an environment
with people that could help me further develop my skills and also teach me new skills that I could use in my work. Occasionally, there were times when I felt I wasn’t valued and the work I did was not good enough, however because I was shortlisted for the TUCO rising star award, I now realise that I played an important part in the rebranding of Huddersfood. I feel that when I left my placement there was a good understanding of who the catering team are and what they do across the university campus and it has been handed over to the new intern to further build on the work I have done. Looking to the future, my placement year has led me to think that I will be looking for a career within a design agency, where there will hopefully be opportunities for me to work with other creatives where I will be able to further learn and develop my knowledge and skills and also work as a team rather than an individual. I am glad that I chose to take the placement year option as I feel that it has opened my eyes to working in a professional environment and from looking back at the work I have done, it has made me think about potential career options in marketing or branding and advertising.