Recently by John Newbold

When I graduated from Uni a few years back I suddenly found myself staring at a black hole between where I'd been and the challenge of landing my first job in the Creative Industries. After studying Graphic Design for three years I had successfully nurtured a passion for design and a fear of getting a job in equal measures. Despite the fact that part of my course had been aimed at preparing us for the 'real world', I have to admit that part of me felt incredibly under equipped and short on ideas when it came to approaching design studios. 

The problem I was facing wasn't down to bad teaching at Uni - I still have the utmost respect for a couple of my tutors who I often realised were going well beyond what their job description required to ensure we picked up as many design skills as possible. However, now I'm on the other side of the fence, having setup a small design studio which is now growing and recruiting students itself I can more clearly see how big the jump can seem from 'eager student' to 'commercially viable employee'.