: ( | ) Brief 6 - Final Major: July 2009

Ian Firth (Senior Designer)

Darren Foley (Marketing Director)

Will Gladden (Senior Designer)

Today (17.07.09) the Pearlfisher site visit was scheduled for. Surprisingly only Jakub, Lucy, Manish and me of our current MA group were taking on the opportunity to have an inside view of a renowned design agency like pearlfisher. Besides that, last years graduates Casey, Inji and Chris joined us.

We met for 1pm by Baron's Crt station and were having an informal lunch together and loosen up the atmosphere and prepare a few things for the talk. It was beneficial to have recent graduates there with us to see how they set their foot in the industry - or not.

Inji was telling us how difficult it is to manage as a freelance designer and you cannot be too picky nor pricy to have a secured workflw. We were talking about the opportunity of starting a design agency ourselves, having so many different people on board, but on the same scale the difficulties. Damian was portraying through his friends the struggles which can occur, but also what possibilities there are.

Our meeting was set for 3pm and we got there on time. We were browsing through their in house museum and to gain an overview of their work ethic.

Then we were welcomed by the Art Director Darren Foley and a ‘young’ Senior Desginer Iain Firth. They gave us a quick walk through their office and we were having an open discussion with introduction and samples of their work to date.
Darren Foley started his talk showing the rebranding process of Green & Blacks organic chocolate and moved on talking about different products they have created recently. He then left for a conference call and lefts us with Iain Firth, who works for Pearlfisher since 1,5 years and a senior designer. He showed us a case study of cadbury dairy milk chocolate and from drawing to conceptualization. Even though he is a young designer, his talk was passionate with some flaws and the heavy use of the word ‘icon’. He gave us an overview of the different drawing stages and the unending concepts and the evolution of it and why they chose for a particular inintial stage.

After that, he showed us the development of a soon to be released energy drink called Ubershot, which I thought was quirky, but logowise too much a resemblence of Walter Landor’s FedEx logo.

What I generally like about Pearlfisher (compared to Designbridge) was the very legere, laid back atmosphere and even the fact that their awards were showcased in the bathroom and one was even used as a doorstopper, which reflects their attitude towards the relation of good design vs. money.

After the talk, we were having individual talks and a portfolio surgery, with advice about general application processes and focus on our current workbooks. Iain and Will talked to me about the strenghts and weaknesses and gave me constructive criticsm regarding my work ethic. They liked my final piece for Surrey Games and the general layout of my book with its typography and simplicity. I even had the chance to briefly meet the creative art director and have a quick chat with her.

Straight after, Iain showed us their work place and the different floors with the various departments.

This whole experience encourages me and underpins my own plans to work for a company as such and to set a mark within the industry. Having young designers talk to you about it, just makes it feel easier.