Hi, I'm Molly. Come with me on a journey through my first year in the real world…
I joined Right Angle with little experience in the professional creative industry and am leaving with a wealth of knowledge in all things design.
I was told time and again, working at a smaller design agency ‘You’ll be thrown in at the deep end’ and I can definitely vouch for that now (having just come out of a meeting with one of our biggest clients)! I’ve been in many important meetings, where I’ve been able to explain concepts to clients and voice my opinions… as a placement student I haven’t been left to just make the coffees! Not only have I learnt how to be a professional designer, but I now know the ins and outs of the creative business – how to create invoices, how to build a relationship with a client and much more. These skills are things that will be of great value in life and skills that I may not have learnt had I worked at a larger corporation during my placement year.
"Not only have I learnt how to be a professional designer, but I now know the ins and outs of the creative business."
Throughout the 12 months, my job role has adapted and I have ended up getting to try all different areas of design – web design, branding, packaging design, signage, social media and print (to name a few!!). It’s been rewarding to look back and see how much responsibility I have gradually been given. In the last few months, not only have I lead a couple of projects, but I have created a website from start to finish completely! When I started in August last year, I’d hardly touched anything website-based and now I’m confidently creating sites using WordPress and even coding – never thought that would be me! Gaining this breadth of knowledge has really helped me to gain a clearer understanding of what it is I might want to pursue in my creative career.
One of my biggest challenges has been learning to grow out of the ‘slap-dash student’ mentality. Learning how to create artwork and make work presentable to clients has been extremely beneficial to me, as I feel I now have the skills to confidently call myself a professional designer. All projects I have worked on vary in timescales, however, multiple jobs have come in and gone back out of the studio in less than a day. Experiencing this has taught me how to make the right decisions quickly, whilst still providing clients with accurate and well-thought-out outcomes. My exposure to this quick-paced work environment will help me both as I return to university for my final year and in my future career.
If you’re contemplating a placement year, jump in head first! I have always been made to feel like a valued member of the team, with my ideas and suggestions always being taken into consideration. Right Angle has been the perfect place for me to find my footing in the creative industry and I’d recommend applying to anyone who’s thinking about it.
PS. Miss you already Noodle! 🐶
At Right Angle, not only have I been thrown in at the deep end, but I was thrown in and survived!