It’s our intern Bethan’s last day today. This is what she made of us…
“I really didn’t know what to expect at James Good, but, looking back, I think I’d formed an impression of what designers are like after I’d attended a design conference. But, my worst fear – that I’d be sitting in a corner with my headphones on, feeling really small, speaking only once a week at my review – never happened. I had daily reviews, the atmosphere was relaxed and down-to-earth, the people talked and got on well, and they were always on hand to give me tips and pointers. It seemed everybody went out of their way to make me feel at home. And I’ve loved it; I’ve learned a lot, laughed a lot, drunk way too much tea – and upped my ping-pong game. Every agency should be like James Good.
Back to work… My brief was to create the identity and marketing collateral for an imaginary company of photographers. As James Good specialises in corporate identity and communication, this project was an opportunity to take a new direction. The work I’ve done so far has been in B2C, so B2B was a good challenge.
At Uni, I’m used to doing 6-week projects, but at James Good I felt the pace was quicker. I noticed I resolved the identity of my brand sooner than I’ve done in the past, and I had to design a website too – again, a new thing for me – but a great opportunity, accompanied by lots of expert guidance. On Day One, I was only worried about making a good impression! I felt the pressure and really wanted to come up with ideas that would work. But the ideas did come, and by the end of my second week I felt totally at ease.
My research into corporate photography companies left me with a clear vision of what I wanted to achieve: a photography company that creates brands through imagery. Taking inspiration from James Good’s clients, I chose as my target clients companies in construction, manufacturing, steel, oil and gas.
After a week or so of exploration and experimentation with words, I named my company Point, then invented its culture, positioning, team, unique proposition, followed by the logo and branding I needed for posters, business cards and a website. Point would transform the image of its clients, using photography to make them more edgy, and its mission statement read: “We are a multi-national, diverse photography company specialising in capturing the brilliance of a corporate organisation. Our tremendous team work with clients across the world helps to transfer something which could be seen as mundane into something interesting and exciting. We discover in-depth the details of a company and ensure it is being showcased in its best light.”
Conveying my ideas to a team of seven was kind of pressurised initially, but after I’d relaxed it was actually quite fun, and it was useful to see the process the team at James Good has gone through for its own clients. Rich walked me through the creation of a logo, and it was cool to see its evolution. Another practical tip I learned was to always create an identity checklist when designing web pages. Being part of team meetings to brainstorm for James Good clients was very enjoyable, and it was interesting to see how creatives from different disciplines and with slightly different perspectives come together to create something.
Point has been a good challenge in another way: unlike the presentation of graphic design in which we show how our ideas evolve, photography is about the finished product – the photograph itself. So, my website for Point has been an interesting learning curve not only for the practical skills I’ve learned but also for the bigger decisions on the information to include and how to present it.
As I’ve only been exposed to B2C, it’s been interesting to work in an agency serving corporate clients and, actually, I’m really excited by the idea of making the mundane cool. But branding is my favourite element of design, so whatever direction I go in I definitely want to be involved in more of the the kind of work I’ve done at James Good.”
The fabulous images you see in Bethan's work are all courtesy of heavy industry and corporate photography specialists Jackie Shumaker and Steve Morgan.