Any student can relate to the impending pressure of ‘getting their foot in the door’ by the time they graduate from university. We’ve all heard the phrase, “it’s not about what you know but who you know”, and unfortunately that phrase is all too true. It becomes a challenge asking industry experts to take a chance on you when you have no relevant work experience, contacts, or references. ilk Agency, however, took that chance on me and helped me open a door that I was beginning to think could remain closed.

Although it was just a short placement, my time at ilk Agency has been invaluable. As a graphic design student, I sought ilk Agency for work experience because of their appealing integrated marketing set-up, creating the opportunity to gain knowledge and advice from talented individuals with different practices. From copywriting to PR to website development, it has been eye-opening seeing what lies outside of graphic design and where the crossovers are within the industry.

Being from a graphic design background, I worked closely with the design team and had been assigned a fictitious brief to work on throughout my stay. I was pleasantly surprised to discover the brief I had been assigned focused on food packaging, something that I had mentioned in passing to be of particular interest to me. Senior designers would follow my progress and regular feedback was provided by all design team members. Receiving feedback from design experts is invaluable on its own, but as a student being able to speak to and ask knowledgeable designers for advice is a rare opportunity that I would not have had without this placement.

I can only thank ilk Agency for being such a welcoming group of people, who happily answered all my questions and went as far as to arrange one-on-one meetings with me so I could discuss my questions further. When aspects of my work needed a second, third or even a fourth opinion, there was no hesitation from members of the design team to encourage others within the office to get involved and help me with my work. This shows what a close-knit group they are who also have an appreciation for what one another does, creating a warm environment to work in.

It’s also worth mentioning no bad tunes were played during my stay, ilk has a really good playlist and I would love to be sent the link.

Thanks ilk!