Interview with Creative Director Andy Jones

Andy Jones, creative director of design agency TYGA Marketing, has been kind enough to let me interview him. He shares with us how he got to his current position, some incredibly helpful advice on design job searching/interviews and portfolios, and some of his favourite projects.

I’ve been speaking to Andy for quite a few weeks now – I first contacted him to ask if there were any vacancies available at TYGA Marketing (unfortunately there wasn’t) and from then on got talking to him. He has given me some excellent advice for my first design interview tomorrow morning (Junior Designer at Hotel Chocolat for those interested)!

Hey Andy! We’ll use this first question as an introduction: what do you do, and how long have you done it for?

I’m Creative Director at TYGA Marketing, and have been here since I and a colleague formed the company back in 1998. TYGA is a mutli-discipline Marketing agency that covers everything from Corporate Identity and Branding to Emarketing and Web design.

Did you take any courses before finding TYGA Marketing? Would you recommend students to go to university before heading into the design industry, or are there ways around it?

I studied Graphic Design at college. I started with a National Diploma at the age of 16, and then went on to do a Higher National Diploma at the age of 18. After that, I had the option to either A: do a top-up degree (one more year) or B: go out into the big wide world and get a job! I felt that I had studied enough, and felt confident that I could start working in the industry. I was lucky to land a job in a west London agency before the end of my course, but for a lot of people on my course, it meant days and months trudging around London with their portfolios, trying to get a break. Although I think higher education is very valuable, I feel that if you are motivated enough, and have the creative flair required, then there’s nothing stopping you getting on in the design and marketing industry. However, without the qualifications, it will make it more difficult, as you will inevitably be up against people with design qualifications for every job you apply for.

Are there any vital pieces of advice you could give my readers at a design interview? What do you like to see when interviewing possible future employees?

The main thing that I look for is their attention to detail. It’s very common to see typo’s in a poster, bad grammar in a headline, or just a poor finish to a presentation. If a candidate can’t make sure everything is perfect, then it looks like they don’t really care. It’s also a lot about personality, Most design companies (unless you’re one of the ‘super-powers’) are fairly small, so you need to be able to get on with people, and show that you could become of of the team.

I’ve found it’s hard enough to even land an interview with a design firm – is there anything in particular that really impresses you when looking through CV’s and Resumés? What can be done to improve young designers chances?

I get CV’s all the time – and that’s when we’re NOT advertising any positions – so you have to shine in order to stand a chance of getting your foot in the door.

You’re applying for a design role, so design your CV! I’m amazed when I receive a CV from a budding designer, and they’ve just typed it out in Word! Include some examples of work – make it look more like a poster or a brochure and have a bit of fun with it. Just don’t go overboard and make it difficult to read on-screen!

Another thing is that so many candidates email me to TELL me that I HAVE to employ them, because they are SO good, and that THEY will turn my company around. These CV’s quickly become bin-liners I’m afraid! They have obviously been told to be confident – but there’s a fine line between confidence and arrogance. Unfortunately Creative Directors are always right (that includes me!), so if you tell them how to run their company, they won’t take too kindly!

Does knowing an applicant does some (or a lot) of freelance work, and knowing that they may only be working for you for the experience sometimes put you off them?

Definitely not! I have to be realistic – if it’s their first job, then I know they may not stick around for more than a year or two before moving on. If they are doing freelance work, then as long as they don’t do any of it in my time, then I don’t mind! – I think it shows that they live and breath design, which can only be a good thing. Just be open and honest about it.

One more question where advice is involved: What do you think of applicants having some photography in their ‘design’ portfolios? Although it’s not design, it still suggests creativity – is it a good addition or better left out?

I think photography IS a form of design. A lot of designers are keen photographers, and I think this is because they are naturally pretty good at it. If you think about it, for a nice piece of design to work, it needs to have a good composition – which is exactly what a good photograph needs. Definitely include it in your portfolio, and maybe take the photo further by creating it into a poster for a fictional event or product. As a designer you will be required to source photography all the time, so if you can create it yourself, it’s going to be a bonus to the agency.

Expert Parking Photography by Andy Jones

Thanks for the advice – now a little more about yourself! If you had to choose, what kind of projects do you love working on most? Do you have a favourite piece that you’ve worked on throughout your career?

That’s a tricky one! I love logo design and branding. I really enjoy working with start-up companies, and helping them to develop their business from the ground up. With a start-up it’s a huge challenge, as they are completely unknown, so if I can help them get noticed and they start to succeed, it gives me a massive kick to know that I helped them to get there. One piece of work I really like is probably one of the simplest logos I’ve ever designed! It’s for a company called ‘Warranty Direct’. (attached) The ‘W’ icon uses negative space to create a white ‘spanner’ icon – which signifies the nature of the business.

Warranty Direct Logo by Andy Jones

Are there any projects you’re currently working on that you’d like to share with us, whether personal or commercial?

I am actually working on a new Digital Magazine at the moment – It’s called RedCactus, and is designed to give business decision makers a quick snippet of topical news and views. The idea came about when the recession kicked in. We found that a lot of clients couldn’t afford to advertise in the big magazines any more, so we thought that if we could create an online magazine, then we wouldn’t have the cost of printing and delivery. This means we can offer advertising at a much more cost-effective rate. On top of the cost savings, the adverts will be much more targeted and interactive, as we can include links directly to their web sites and measure how many times an ad is clicked on – which you can’t get from a traditional ad! RedCactus Magazine should be launched later in the year.

Organic At Heart Website by Andy Jones

Although you have a small but well established design agency, is there anything you’d like to do in the future by yourself, like run a design or photography based blog or website?

You’ve hit a raw nerve there! I have been planning to create a design blog since blogs were invented – but I’m always so busy with TYGA that I never get the time to concentrate on it! Have you ever seen a Cobbler’s shoes? They always have holes in them…

Hedco Hair Putty Packaging by Andy Jones

Finally, if there are any links to social networking sites etc that you’d like to give us, now is the time to do so!:

I read a lot of design blogs – some of which are web-design based, as we are inevitably becoming more and more digital as a business as time goes on. Below are a few I like to read now and again:

• Aisle One
• Logo Design Love
• CSS-Tricks
• Line 25
• Creative Review Blog

I’d like to say thanks to Andy for allowing me to interview him. His advice to me has been incredibly helpful over the last few weeks whilst I’ve been preparing for my first design interview, and I hope his advice helps you as much as it has me!