Joe Welch: My Work Experience at Pitched
Year 10 student, Joe Welch, spent the week at Pitched learning about about the design process, the software used to create artwork, and how this is used in marketing.
He writes on his time for us…
Day One
A very helpful member of the team called Beth (Designer) talked me through Adobe Illustrator and how she uses Illustrator for graphic design. Beth gave me the task of making some fruit to get me used to the tools. For the first 30 minutes I was battling the task of trying to draw a line! Beth then spoke me through the tools brilliantly and this really helped me learn and understand. We also looked at typography
I really enjoyed this new experience as well as meeting the lovely team and getting to know them during the week. The most challenging part of the day was getting to grips with the equipment and all the new and different tools I had never experienced before.
Joe’s exploration of typography
Day Two
After developing my skills and knowledge in Illustrator, another lovely member of the team called Grace (Digital Marketer) talked me through email marketing which really enticed me, as this was a different type of design that I wasn’t used to at all. We then used the skills from email marketing to design my own newsletter on rugby; a subject I am passionate about. As a rugby fan, I decided to do a newsletter about the huge news story at the minute, Marcus Smith’s lion’s call up.
Later, Beth introduced me to the technical and effective side of Photoshop to create and resize imagery to use in the email. She thought we could put Marcus on the beach for a celebration scene. We used may tools on photoshop to extend the sky and beach, cut out elements and adjust the colours. This helped develop my knowledge and understanding of digital design.
The most challenging thing was using Photoshop as it was something that I had hardly ever used ever before.
Joe wrote the copy for the email, picked out suitable images to accompany the text and created his own image in Photoshop.
Day Three
On day three, Grace introduced me into the social media side of Pitched. The amount of thought, attention to detail and planning time put into their client's social media really surprised me as I’ve only ever seen the end product of a social media post.
Later in the day, I made a few social posts using the skills I had developed using Illustrator. I also borrowed Grace’s iPad to record what I did during the day and then added edits and transitions to make it more appealing. I really enjoyed this new experience and making the video was fun.
The video Joe filmed and cut together
Day Four
On day four we looked at branding. Using Pinterest, I added some images of my interests, favourite colours etc. I had quite a few ideas from rugby kits, boots and players. Beth had the bright idea to create a logo for my favourite player Jack Nowell. As I know a lot about his background as his dad and ancestors were trawlermen, I had the idea of making the logo blue, and thought of the triangle design as it reflects one of my favourite Exeter Chiefs shirts.
We eventually produced a logo and using my heavily developed knowledge of Adobe Illustrator, made it digitally. Finally, I used Photoshop again to add my logo to some pictures with Jack in to show it in situ.
Day 5
On the final day, after we had finished making a logo for Jack Nowell, we moved onto making my own logo. I explored my interests and personal stories, which we wrote down to get some themes. I looked at my unique and bold style to finally produce my own logo including my signature blue headguard which I have been wearing in rugby for 4 years which sets me apart.
I really enjoyed exploring my interests and hobbies and putting that into one final piece which represents me.
Joe’s own branding inspired by his blue headboard cap worn in rugby.
We asked Joe to answer the following questions to reflect on this week at Pitched…
What has it been like to spend a week at Pitched?
I have had a brilliant week; the team were so welcoming and happy and overall lovely people.
What is your top highlight of the week?
Meeting and getting to know the team is certainly up there, but another one would be making my own logo which represents me.
What has been the most important thing you’ve learned?
The most important thing for me has been development, I’ve learned that if I work my hardest, nothing is important no matter the time limit.
Has anything surprised you?
The depth in design caught me by surprise, I never knew the number of subjects included in design as a whole.
What steps are you thinking about after school?
I’m hoping to go to college for a few years and hopefully going into design as I get older and hopefully as a job.
Do you have any advice for students who are considering placements?
If there is a subject you are passionate about, go for it, take that leap because the experience will help you grow hugely.
