Project 3 Update

Andy Cusack
Guest Speaker

Andy Cusack's presentation gave insight to types of jobs are available for a graphic designer.  He started with an introduction of himself and two different jobs that he has worked as a graphic designer.  The first job was with Principal Financial Group where he worked in house and the second job was with Integer Group at an design and marketing agency.  At Principal, he explained that he worked primarily with a small group of people on design projects.  Majority of designs were done by him and he worked an normal business day of 8AM-5PM.  This was different in comparison to Integer.  Andy explained at Integer that a thorough process is done to ensure the best quality of design.  Throughout the complex process, he stated the importance of specialist, designers, copywriters, account service managers, and editorial staff working as a team.  The agency required more hours of work, but he had more liberty on design work.  Besides Andy's work experience, he also gave tips on interviewing skills and portfolio presentation.

For interviewing tips, Andy presented thoughts that employees had Integer, questions that Integer would use for an interview process, and reiterating that detail was essential for success.  When presenting your portfolio, he stressed the importance of telling the company why you designed a project a specific way.  This helps the potential employer to see your design reasoning and thought process for a work.

Andy's presentation was insightful and encouraged me to research the type of jobs available in the career field.  I think I will take Andy's advice about starting in house and move into an agency position.  This way I gain experience necessary to push my knowledge as a graphic designer. I can't wait to get started on this journey!