After conducting all 3 of interviews, 2 in person and one over the phone I am really happy with the content i have gathered for the report.
The first interview was with Peter&Paul's creative director Lee Davies. The interview lasted for about half an hour and I got to have a look around their studio. It was a very bright, open space in what I believe was a converted school which they share with a few other business. They showed me their ideas wall where they stick inspiring material for current projects that they are working on. I had a really nice chat with Lee and he gave some really interesting and in depth answers to my questions. He kept emphasising that these were his own opinions and he couldn't answer for the studio as a whole as they were all different in terms of their creative approaches.
When it came to asking my questions about Sheffield it gave me my first indication that the content of this publication might not go as expected. He believed Sheffield didn't have that many opportunities for young designers and that as a city sheffield was falling behind a bit in terms of design when compared to larger cities like Leeds and Manchester.
All in all it was a really inspiring chat and I got a lot of great feedback and advice for entering the industry.
The second interview was with Dave Greasley and Oliver Booth, co founders of SideBySide studio. When I walked in Dave was clearing a load of burnt grapes off of the table as a result of an experiment which they had been doing for an on-going project with Grimm & Co. This was my first insight into the fun and experimental approach they had with design in the studio, constantly trying new things to create unique and interesting outcomes.
Again, their opinions on Sheffield as a city for design reflected those of Lee's from P&P. Stating that a lot of investment was needed in Sheffield to create a design scene to rival Manchester's. They did however believe that when it comes to working creatively in a studio it doesn't really matter where you are as long as you do good design. Their belief was that you could be in London but if you're work is shit you're only going to be getting the same amount of work, with a lot higher expenses for living there.
Finally, despite not being able to go in and meet Emily in person and look around the studio, we conducted a really eye opening and thorough interview over the phone. It turns out that Emily and I have very similar interests, both with a passion for illustration and hand rendered typography. Emily gave me her opinions on illustration compared to graphic design and the elements she liked from each discipline. Being a female designer she gave me some helpful advice on ways to break into the industry and life after university. Emily really impressed me and is a really amazing role model. Considering how young she is, she is already the main designer and creative director at Tonik. This has inspired me to work hard, never give up and have confidence in my work.
As the theme of opportunities for young designers in Sheffield didn't go the way I had planned I decided to aim the report more on advice for young designers, from young, down to earth industry professionals.
I chose these 3 studios in the first place for their innovative and up and coming portfolios. The fact that they were all young meant it was fresh in their minds to remember what it was like looking for a job in the industry when they were first starting out. This I thought would work well for the new focal point of the reports, tying them all together nicely.
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