Sarah Heal - Skype Interview

Sarah Heal

Theme Park Designer 

WrenHouse Design

A skype call with designer Sarah Heal to talk about her design career and opportunities since leaving university and finding out what it is really like to work in America as a theme park designer.

Geekin’ out

everyone has something that they are passionate about

she loved theme parks

history styles, packaging, print design, paper craft, illustration

Making it happen

seek opportunities to explore your little geeky interests

why shouldn’t it be you?

say yes a lot

feedback is essential when applying for opportunities

always ask for feedback from the internships you apply for as you may not have got it for something as simple as not entering the correct availability dates etc.

The importance of networking

find the platform or place where geeks in your chosen industry gather to share ideas

stalk ’n’ talk

emails, texts and tweets

its ok to be rejected and ignored

Love yo’ self

your work needs space and you need to be away from it at times so that you can experience different environments, inspirations etc. and your work will get better. If you sit at your desk all day, you will not use every minute of it well. 

Act when it comes from you, you will know when the best time for you to work is as it cannot be forced. 

• don’t suffocate your work
• you can’t be good at everything, and that’s okay
• positivity is essential
• give yourself a break, a diet of hot drinks will not feed creativity
• compare only to your future and past self, it's not a race and everyone booms at different times

Q: Any difficulties in America?

A: Mocking of accent, no actual problems. Remembered in a positive wain comparison to other designers.

Q: What is the design process like for working in a theme park?

A: Big clients so they know exactly what they want and not as creative from starting from scratch. An open project: research, developments, mockups, do not keep it on your screen.

Q: What kind of things in emails did you say/tone?

A: Retweet a few times first and ask irrelevant questions to design, but relevant to the geek’ out topic. Ask about them, portfolios, people love talking about themselves. Have a friendly tone of voice.

Always freelance on the side to keep it interesting. 

sarah@heal.design

Presenting

Preparation
Plan out the story you wish to tell and break it down into slides.
Images should enhance an reinforce the points you will be covering. 

Relax
Rehearse so that you are fully conversant with what you are about to talk about. 

SPEAK CLEARLY
SMILE
TAKE YOUR TIME

Introduce yourself, tell them who you are and what you are going to talk about. Set out what you want to cover during the presentation. 

Pause
A few pauses will relax you and help them to catch up and consider potential questions later.

Humour
By adding some humour you will be able to relax and the audience will be smiling and it can help you to calm your nerves. 

Images, catchphrases and videos can help you to stay on track and include everything that you want to say.

Checklist
This will ensure that you do not miss anything out and that the presentation will have a clear structure. 
- preparation
- research
- collection of text
- collection of images
- presentation software
- rough draft of the presentation
- check timing
- check quality
- review
- edit 1
- changes
- edit 2
- recheck timing/quality
- rehearsal 
- final file preparation

Interviewing your hero

An 'interview' is the exchange of information as a 'question and answer' session to extract information that we see as important in the development of our practice as a creative. 
A conversation is similar, but more spontaneous, not following specific outcomes in which an interview would have. 

An interview works better when it has a conversational style, more spontaneous and also planned to get the right outcomes. 

Michael Wolff interview
How do you know what clients you want to work with?
The how and what questions are fairly straightforward, but the why is always a little more complicated.
How has your creative process changed over the year?
- when started he had heroes and if his work resembled that of his heroes, he settled for it. He then found out about plagiarism and started creating things that weren't already there, he does not base it on experiences and does not plan what to do. He waits for something to happen.
What are the biggest mistakes that young designers make?
- Vanity. Can easily drift into an agreement system with other designers and not step away from the styles that are liked, there is a need for a different approach.
How do you keep your ideas fresh?
- muscle of curiosity, why is this like this?why? why? 
Best piece of advice/revelation?
- Mother sent him to the post office with Gregory to post something and he didn't know why Gregory couldn't just go alone. He turned around and said why are you so selfish?'You are 10 years old and you let your mother make your bed' He realised now that people can see how you behave, similar to a brand. A brand is a behaviour and many companies do not understand how behaviour is seen, abuse of hierarchy often occurs within a company. Paid for not what they do, but who they are. Everything is seen. 


'people will forget what you said,  people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel' - Maya Angelou

Preparation is key
The person is more likely to help if there is a reason for the interview, e.g. essay, project research ...
The interviewees will need contacting in advance and an indication on how long the interview will take, the purpose etc. will need to be confirmed.
You will need to consider how and where it will take place before approaching the potential interviewees. 
Better 'face to face' as there is an element of empathy and understanding of how genuine the person's answer is.  
An actual face to face interview will go better because the person has agreed to meet you, so will actually spend the time to talk to you in comparison to a questionnaire etc. 

PLAN, PLAN, PLAN
Be attentive. Reading the next question, listen, keep track on time.

1. What is your background in being Creative? 
2. How would you describe yourself as a creative while at College? 
3. In a few words, how would you sum up your College experience and was it positive? 
4. Why so (either way) 
5. What do you wish you had known before you left Uni? 
6. Who would you see as your main influencers and why? 
7. Since Uni, what experiences have you had that have been most memorable? 
8. Has it influenced your direction for the future? 
9. How? 
10. What gets you up in the morning? 
11. What do you see as your best achievement so far? 
12. What is your dream now?

EMPATHY:
Be sensitive to the feeling of the interviewee and also manage the silences.
prompts
- silence
- repeat the question
- repeat the last few words spoken by the interviewee
- offer some examples
probes
- ask for an example
- ask for clarification
- ask for more details
checks
- summarise the interviewee's thoughts
be non-judgemental

The formalities:
- Talk about the aims of the interview/intentions
- confirm that you are okay to record the interview, this builds trust
- prepare the recording equipment prior 
- the first question should put the interviewee at ease, be something that they will find easy to talk about and should not be difficult for them to talk about
- keep an eye on the time
- remember to thank the interviewee for giving up their precious time
- transcribing takes a long time, so be mindful of this when you consider interview length
- never publish anything without them agreeing to it

Interview examples

https://confessionsofadesigngeek.com/2014/12/16/interview-jessica-walsh/#3

https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2012/02/beautiful-covers-interview-chip-kidd/

http://www.coolhunting.com/design/interview-snask-creative-agency-stockholm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mb8OShAd96U

https://www.designboom.com/design/interview-jessica-hische-03-31-2014/

https://portland.aiga.org/an-interview-with-paula-scher/

https://the-agency-review.com/lois/

http://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/designers/a16517/sandra-choi-interview/

My Manifesto

What I learnt last year

• Every design decision must have a reason
• break the grid in order to step away from the generic design
• read more design books, journals and blogs
• use time effectively so that work does not build up
• have a good work and social life balance
• do sport to keep a healthy mind and motivation
• do not be afraid to ask questions and contact people in the know

What I learnt over summer

• freelancing pays well and I would thrive in a variety of environments
• inspiration comes from everywhere
• the busier I am, the more productive I am
• it's important to have a complete break to respire creativity and motivation
• Self-love and time to yourself can help you to focus on the things that will enrich your life and not waste your time
• it’s ok to say no, prioritise what you want to spend your time doing

Directions and aims

• freelance during uni so that I can save up to travel more
• design outside of uni so that my personality as a designer can be shown to others, not just uni work
• learn to say no 

My manifesto

A good concept. A good design. 

A good design. A good designer. 

Step away from generic design, experiment and step out of comfort zone in order to develop a personal style.

Freelance as much as possible to build up experience, try out the different career paths and save money to travel.

Graphic Design can be done wherever the laptop is. Inspiration comes from life experiences and new environments. Travel as much as possible.

Self-love, learning to say no and not focusing on pleasing others helps to prioritise the work and activities that will enrich your life and not waste your time.

Stay busy, do sport, keep a good balance in order to opitmise productivity and creativity. 

Summer

Reflection on particular periods of time can be a good way to set off a new wave of motivation for the coming weeks, focusing in all of the elements that could lead to inspiration and also taking a moment to be grateful for the experiences you have had as an individual. 

My experiences over summer:

• Parklife Festival
• reunited with friends from home
• met new people
• finally saw Mura Masa
• Moved into new uni house
• had to deal with the house not being ready to move into 
• nice meal out with parents
• excited ready to start 2nd year
• Got a puppy 

- cute

- tiring to look after and train

- nice long walks with family and friends

• Vietnam

- first trip travelling alone

- Honoi

- Ha Long Bay

- Ninh Binh

- Hoi An

- Ho Chi Minh City

- Mekong Delta

- Cu Chi Tunnels

- Ho Chi Minh

- Hanoi

- Sapa

• Thailand

- Bangkok

- Koh Tao

- Koh Phanang

- Koh Samui

- Koh Phanang

- Bangkok

• London

- Bricklane

- Shoreditch

- Nomadic Community gardens

- Franks Cafe

- St Pauls Cathedral

- Coppa Club brunch

- Photography

- Vintage shopping

- Street Art

- Rooftop installation at Franks Cafe

• Brighton

- Bomb on the train on the way through London

- Walked around North Lanes

- Photography

- Designed in a coffee shop

- Beach

- House party and met lots of new people

• Bike Rides

- good exercise and increased fitness

- adventure

- picnics

- learnt to penny board

- with best friends

• MediaPort assistance role

- sorted out promotional packages for a company

- learnt about working in a printing workshop

- spoke to the Graphic Designers

- motivation to get a degree and start to work as a professional 

What do I want to develop?

• Create more personal work
• Continue commission work/entering competitions
• Create online portfolio/website so that I can apply for internships
• Use LinkedIn

What might my practice be? e.g. process, research, human

• Branding
• Packaging 
• Editorial design 
• General creative

Travelling Reflection
I made the decision to travel to South East Asia solo over summer to be part of a 2-week tour of Vietnam and then with enough time at the end for me to see what I wanted to do depending on who I met and how I felt about the experiences I would have already had. I think that by not letting any form of anxiety stopping me from going and getting on that plane to get out there, was in itself the first experience that benefited me in the long run. It showed me that it is the first step that leads to the most enriching experiences in life. In the design industry, it is the first steps that will get you somewhere. Design agencies are not likely to contact you, you have to contact them or show a big interest in their work for them to offer you the opportunities to work with them. 

I met a lot of people all from very different backgrounds and even cultures that I would now consider to be my close friends. We taught each other a lot and being part of each other's journies is something that can be related to the design industry. Becoming a successful creative is about your journey as an individual and also with the influence from those around you. The main observation that I had whilst travelling was the realisation that each person was travelling for a reason, often to escape from reality for a short period of time so that they could get the time to figure out exactly what direction in life they want to take as an individual. Travelling to fill a gap of not knowing exactly which direction to go with your career was very common and it wasn't until the end of the trip that I began to reflect upon the fact that I have a path to follow, I know exactly what I want to be when I graduate. I was travelling for a refresh and as a way to enhance my creative influences. I arrived home much more motivated and determined to do well at Graphic Design as I had a direction, I had a passion that I wanted to pursue. 

SAPA

HA LONG BAY

NINH BINH VALLEY

TAM COC

HO CHI MINH

SAPA TOWN SQUARE

SAPA HIKING

BANGKOK

KOH TAO

KOH SAMUI

KOH PHANANG

Professional?

An amateur is a person who engages in things, often unpaid.
A semi-professional receives some money but may not be specialised in the subject.
A professional is someone whose work is one that needs specialist training.

The difference between being an amateur and a professional is that it is a career, you do it for money. Commercial artists are typically employed by advertising agencies, newspapers, magazines, graphic design firms etc. 

Perceptions of being 'creative':
- slightly odd
- 'arty-farty'
- problem solvers
- suppliers

Clients:
Working for someone else throws up many more problems to be solved because everything in the creative industry is subjective so the work can be liked and disliked. The client may have a different opinion to you and sometimes you have to go against what you believe is right to earn money. 

All work that we do is open to personal taste and colour preferences. When working for a company or group of people, it is important to delegate one selected person to talk to the designer and help make the decisions so that things cannot be contradicted and confused. Cultural and ethnic acceptance will need to be taken into consideration as some brands could end up offending others. 

You could be your own client? Clients can be difficult. Or you can just learn to work with them.

Downsides:
- not being able to get work
- poor quality clients
- clients who don't listen to good advice
- communication problems/breakdowns
- poor negotiated outcomes
- not getting paid for your work

Mission Statement:

A short paragraph used by businesses to explain in simple and concise terns its purpose(s) for being. 

Manifesto:

A published verbal declaration of the intentions of a business

Think positively and get your system in place so that clients can understand and accept through your working 'manifesto'. A mission statement is a short paragraph used by a business to explain in simple and concise terms its purpose. This helps employees to stay focused and also allows the client to know what to expect from the company. 

End of module evaluation

Throughout the module this year I have learnt that involvement in the creative scene is important, it allows for inspiration to be found, conversations with other creative people and personal confidence to grow. I have enjoyed attending lots of art event, workshops, talks and visiting galleries over the year as it is something that I did not do a lot of in the past. 

Feedback on the self-branding and design strategies presentation was focused on concept development and confidence. This is something I have struggled with during Level 4 Graphic Design, coming up with the idea and then figuring out the best way in which to present it as a final piece. A visit to 'Two Points' studio in Barcelona highlighted the importance of mock-up and how the final presentation is equally important as the final idea. 

Personal, professional practice has taught me ways in which to deal with the stress of large workloads, by looking at ways in which I can use my time to destress and figure out when I am most creative and productive. Time management is the main way to keep stress under control, working on this has really helped my quality of work and levels of productivity. 

I have also learnt from this module that it is about getting your name out there, your work out there and being spoke about (positively) if you want to become recognised. I have had the chance to set up a design instagram account in which I can publish my inspirations, my process and my own work. This has been a positive experience for me as I receive messages from others to say what they like and also to help with decision making if I post any questions. It has been a good way to gain confidence on publishing my work and also for me to personally begin to see my own design style develop. 

DR.ME collage workshop

Following on from the talk that DR.ME delivered to us, they returned with a workshop on collaging and how it can be used to make a short animation. We were put into pairs and given a random word which we were to base our stop motion gif on. 

Our word was masseuse:

We decided that it would be interesting to focus on the feelings and journey that the person receives during a massage rather than the actual masseuse themselves giving it. 
The leaves, flowers and earthy tones all work to show the natural process of giving a massage as a form of muscle relaxation and relief. The circular movement of the flowers represents the common circular movement of the hands when giving a massage. The person walking along at a steady pace shows the relaxation, with the tiger coming in to show the pain that is felt at sections and then taken away when the 'knot' is released. 

Visiting professional: Oslo.

Oslo is Leeds based branding and design agency that believes in the power of story telling.

1. DESIGN - for print and web

2. CONTENT  - creation for use on the websites we build & marketing

3. STRATEGY - crafting an approach and tone of voice that speaks to your customers

The job title 'colour technologist' is not something i had heard of before, but the job role was interesting and as I did psychology at A-Level it is something that I could start to apply to my own design work. 

Interesting things that I learned:

- we see in RGB, we only have red, green and blue cones in our eyes

- humans can only see black and white in their peripheral vision

- colour libraries that are used are NCS, munsell and pantone

- colour burn/ illusion show that we see colours that aren't actually printed

- D65 lighting is a lighting that mimics every day lighting and allows you to choose the best colour for the product

4 colour intent settings on adobe photoshop 

-perceptual

-saturation

-relative colourimetric

-absolute colourimetric

Setting up an agency is STRESSFUL AND DIFFICULT because it is hard to keep an eye on the money and also people have strong opinions on the fact that you have just left uni. Eleanor recommended that an internship or two is helpful to build up understanding of how an agency works and to build up a portfolio. 

Studio brief 3: Final presentation and evaluation

Final presentation commentary:

- TwoPoints Studio in Barcelona emphasised the fact that the final presentation is just as important as the final design

- mock ups need to look professional and this will help others to understand the design concept and potentially appreciate it more

- the images (top to bottom) show my progression throughout the year, quite significant

- I would like to learn how to draw up my own templates on AdobePhotoshop for future projects

- I wish I had joined the ski society

- had the guts to complain to my family that I missed skiing this year, but I didn't do anything about it

- I have researched and I can join Leeds Union Snowriders next year

- will allow me to have the opportunity to race or freestyle as part of a team 

- will be fun to meet a new group of people and go on the ski trips each year

- important to have a hobby that I am equally as passionate about outside from Graphics, keeps me energised and feeling inspired

- finding independent coffee shops

- minor passion, maybe even a profession

- they are the place that I am most productive

- research has shown that the level of noise in a coffee shop can make people more productive

- I work better in an environment where other people are socialising, being creative or also working

- I am the go to person for recommendations when friends have their families in Leeds

- very involved in the art scene, attending opening evenings, exhibitions and various galleries

- allowed me to talk to other creative people that i may never have been confident to in the past

- makes me feel motivated and creatively inspired

- allows me to question deeply into the concepts and questions why certain decisions have been made, helping me to improve on the complexity of the own concepts that I develop for studio work

- allows me to socialise with other students from the different course at uni, opening up opportunities for collaboration and just generally opening my ind to look at things in different ways

- a weakness I have found is that I do not let much of what I have seen inform my design decisions, something I would like to continue to focus on ensuring

- studio visits

- remind me of why I am doing the degree

- inspiring to hear about the journey that is taken to get to the final outcomes

- being able to ask questions is helpful 

- the choices of printing methods and paper stock was something I do not have much knowledge on, so was interesting to hear about that creative decision process

- writing is something that causes me to procrastinate a lot 

- I much prefer designing and find it hard to constantly blog about all of my decisions 

- I have learnt to use the Pomodoro technique which allows for short bursts of intense concentration

- less time wasted and better quality work is produced

- the saved time means I get more time to explore new places 

- I can concentrate more time on personal projects 

- develop and publish the pattern photography that I have began as a visual inspiration bank 

- work on the publicity of the illustration that shows the creative adventures I go on and the places I consider to be good inspiration

- travelling more is my ambition

- I have booked to spend a month in Vietnam over the summer 

- new experiences, new cultures, new memories, new inspirations 

- would like to video the experience as it captures more of what I would be experiencing than photos

- visiting professionals have proven to be my main source of inspiration and motivation 

- their passion is something that I want to feel as I progress in the creative industry 

- it has become very apparent that graphic design needs to be made part of my everyday life

- it is passion that will lead to good work as you will be more experimental and adventurous

Evaluation:

Rather than worrying that the gallery visits are not informing my work enough, I was advised that  it will just happen naturally as I will just feel generally more creative and motivated. It is not something that can be forced as not everything I will see will be relevant at that moment in time, but it is likely that it will act as inspiration in later projects. 

To improve on the presentation I need to include more of my own work as part of my learning journey. This would have helped to support some of the things that I was saying, showing where the inspirations had been applied to my own design work could have been beneficial to my own reflection and also to those I was presenting to, helping them to visually understand what I was explaining.

A positive comment made about my presentation was that it demonstrated a high level of reflection along with solutions as to how I have acted upon the thing I have noticed to be obstacles or challenges along the way.