I have chosen six different main contacts that I would like to start with. These are connections to the book design industry which I am very interested in. 

Number one: The Folio Society
0207 400 4200
customerservice@foliosociety.com
While I know this is the customer service route, they don't have a specific "careers" page, and it has been a dream of mine for a while to design a book for such a prestigious publisher, although I know that is extremely ambitious given that I have had no real world experience in producing a book for a real life publisher. 

Number Two: Joan Wong
jowoho.co - website
Joan Wong is a book designer who works freelance. I have seen some of her work and I really like it. I hope that I will be able to send her my CV and get advice from her.

Number Three: Erin Fitzsimmons
egfitz@gmail.com 
Another Book Designer, Erins' work is also very nice and she seems to have had a lot of experience. I am hoping that by gaining contacts in the industry that I will find it easier to find work . 

​Number Four: Zoe Norvel
Website contact page
Zoe Norvel's clients include penguin publishing, amazon publishing and many more and it's understandable why. I would like to contact her to see if she could give a beginner like me some pointers.

Number Five: Penguin Books
Careers page on website
One of the most famous publishers in Britain, nay the world, it would be a great opportunity to work for this company.

Number Six: Bloomsbury
Careers page on website
Another large publisher, I know for a fact that I have quite a few bloomsbury books on my shelves. Another great opportunity would be to work for this company.

Below are some designers that I have found on Instagram and other social medias that appeal to me visually. I like how colourful, yet clear and simple they are. 
Some are more widely know graphic designers than others but they all look very professionally done.
​@BeccaClarson
@Zombijana
@venamis
​https://99designs.co.uk/profiles/nataliamaca

Becca Clarson - typography
The reason I like her instagram is that its very bright and colourful, and while it is mainly based in typography, the type and methods that she uses to make the type is very diverse. The posts are varied but neat and appropriate. 

Zombijana/Andrijana Vešović - Comic illustration
I like this designer due to the unique designs of her comics, they are incredibly fun.

Eli Hyder - Illustator
While most of Eli's work seems to be fanbases art work, I like the comic book style of these designs. It is very interesting and fun to look at.

Natalia Maca - Illustrator and Graphic Designer
While I found this designer on 99Designs, I found her work very aesthetically pleasing. There seems to be a mix of branding, app and web design and illustration. I like the muted colours which blend seamlessly with the style of drawing she uses.

With the rise of social media, it is easier than ever to get your name out into the world, whether it will get you work is a different thing entirely. 

Above is a screenshot of Jessica Walsh's Instagram, which is a helpful tool to not only find work but also to gauge the reaction of the masses and to see where trends are heading. 
Ms Walsh's page is very appealing in many ways, it is very easy to use instagram as it is well structured for the designer using it. 
Some good practices for social media are:
1. Knowing your audience - by making a professional social media page, you must know the demographic that you are aiming to bring to your page.
2. Be Engaging - make sure the work put up is your best work, and make sure that anything you post will engage the audience, for example, if you add a caption of write a post, make sure to get the point across with minimal characters, to keep the audiences attention.
3. Know the platform - Which platform works best for you? Also, design for the platform, be aware of the sizes of images on different social media websites. This also links to knowing your audience.
4. Voice and tone -  Being a professional in design means that how you post must reflect how you want your audience to view your work.
5. Be positive in the face of Negativity - if someone comments demeaning things about your work, do not lash out at them, either ignore them and move on, or reply positively. At the end of the day not everyone is going to like your work.
6. Post regularly - however regularly you want but make sure to post enough to keep audiences interested.
7. Link your website - for obvious reasons.

Bad practices:
1. TMI/Too much information - don't post about the lunch you had at x-cafe, everyday. Keep that to your personal social media.
2. Colour theory matters - be aware how colours look together on social media.
3. Certain opinions should be kept to your personal account.
4. Leave comments of messages unread - while there may be negative ones, make sure to personally engage with your audience.

Regarding my skills:

• Learn more on Illustrator as I am not as confident as I should be - I will do this by watching tutorials and creating briefs that involve Illustrator.
• Try new analogue techniques - Watch Tutorials and do short briefs or artwork that contains new techniques so that I understand how they work, so that in the future I will can use these techniques when a project calls for it.
  
• Organise my time appropriately - This is a skill that is widely applicable, but many struggle with including myself. To improve my work in the future I will have to improve this skill, I can do this by using different timetables (daily, weekly, monthly) so that I can segment my to according to what I need to do.
• Search for new softwares to learn to broaden my knowledge and applicable skills - The world of graphic design is changing all the time, with new softwares and ways to do things becoming available to designers. While adobe is one of the widest softwares used, there are many more for things like animation and film making that I wish to learn to become more employable in the future.

Regarding Employment:

• Search for publishers - due to my interest in book jackets, I think that I must find some publishers that I could and would like to work for in the future
• Search for similar designers - even if they are not in the publishing industry, perhaps it would be good to send them my CV and see if they like my work.
• Invest more in social media - Try to enhance my social media to allow potential employers to see the full extent of my skills.

It's sometimes difficult to determine your own strengths, however it is necessary in a world where we must "sell" ourselves to potential employers. 
I've decided to list some of my strengths:

• Problem Solver - the reason I switched to Graphic Design is that I my way of thinking is trying to find a solution to a problem, rather than having work in a particular style. 
• Work well under pressure - while I am better working in a calm environment, I can also work under pressure, for example, a client came to me earlier this year about shooting and editing a video within four days which I did reasonably well and to the delight of the client. They were very happy with my work.
• Tenacity - I am persistent in my endeavour to find new ideas and new ways of doing things. The downside is that sometimes I want the easy way and thats not always possible.
• Creative - I have a visual way of thinking and learning, which also reflects in my work. I also have a specific attention to detail but this can also be a bit obsessive.
• "Wordsmith" - I believe I have a way with words, through my creative thinking.
• Technical skills - I think that my computer skills has improved greatly since I came to university, though there is still room for improvement
• Can lead and follow - I believe that I can lead a team of people, I often have a vision that I want to achieve so it makes it easier, but I can also follow instructions well if presented clearly.

There are definitely areas that I need to work on, such as:

• Time Management - I have improved on this since starting the course, but I still need to work on it.
• Digital Skills - while I have improved, these skills are ever evolving with the times, and I would like to work on my UI and UX ability
• Generating Ideas - I am good at making ideas in my head, but they are no use unless they are put down on paper

I found a website that explains some of the skills needed to be a well rounded graphic designer - https://www.shillingtoneducation.com/blog/graphic-design-skills/

Here are a couple of my favourite pieces of work that I did last year:

​As a Graphic Designer, there are many different fields that I could work in; the world of Graphic Design is changing and expanding all the time. I still don't think that I have a very specific interest in Graphic Design, rather I like a few different areas within the general area. At this stage in my  life as a designer, I particularly like Product design, Advertising,  and Book Design. I also have other interests however I am trying to narrow down what I would like to do. I know that I don't like Magazine design or making graphic novels, as I have little confidence in those areas. 

I have had a look at several websites about the advantages of working in the design field and the advantage of different places of work in the design world. https://www.shillingtoneducation.com/blog/graphic-design-career/ and https://www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/design/blog/where-do-graphic-designers-work/ are both examples of this. I think that I would like to do freelance, but I would like to get experience in a Graphic Design studio as well. Although freelancing is more difficult, due to the fact that you have to have good sales techniques, communication, and work ethic. You also have to sort out the finances yourself as your self employed. Also, with no other designers around, you can't bounce ideas of each other, which can lead to your designs becoming stale. But the benefits are that you set your own schedule, times of day to work and you can work wherever you want. You can set tasks that you think are important and also if you do well you can generate more clients.
The benefits of working in a studio with other designers is the fact that looking at others work can bring inspiration, and you can talk and discuss ideas and filter them down to the best design option. Also, the dynamics of the group can often bring up work ethic and morale, and you can worry less about the financal side of things. There is also the added benefit of not having to search to much for work, as often work is given to you by your employer. The downsides that I can see is that the biggest studios often work in cities, and travelling would be difficult for me. 

One company that I would like to have the chance to work for is "The Folio Society" as the designs of the books and their quality are beautiful. ​I like to design book covers, as I am a big reader myself, and would love to bring books to life.
A book cover that I really like is the cover for "1984" by Shepard Fairey, another designer that I admire. He has also done work for magazine covers and its clear why. His work uses powerful imagery with bright colours, particularly red and blue. They are often politically influenced, and he often uses them to highlight the issues that are happening in the world.
A designer needs be able to create a glimpse into the contents of the book and the essence of the story, without spoiling it. They need to be well versed InDesign and Illustrator, along with other pieces of Adobe software. 
Good ways to improve my book designs and skills is by looking at contests or just briefs for the simple sake of practice. 
I will look into different publishers to contact with my CV to see if I can get a job in publishing.

Here are just a few examples of Folio Society books that I like the design of.