Nick Hurst Design

Level 6 Graphic designer at University of Salford.

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100% Salford programme. 

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Selection of images of the Festival pass. Altogether there were 20,000 printed copies. 

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A few images from the Week53 programme. Altogether there were 30,000 copies of the programme printed across the 10 days of the Festival.

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Finished freelance work for Week 53 Festival at The Lowry. Altogether I created a 24 page A5 programme and an A3 folding to A6 Lanyard in collaboration with Alex Turner, and an A3 folding to A5 leaflet for the 100% Salford show designed by myself. The whole project was such a valuable experience as I made the transition from university projects to real work. I learnt a lot about the industry such as meeting deadlines, liaising with the marketing team and other key figures in The Lowry, following brand guidelines, liaising with the printing company and charging for my work making invoices. Altogether I feel the project has set me up perfectly for when I start my placement.

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Images from my printed portfolio which I took along to my interview at Ear to the Ground. With a little help from Mark I tailored my portfolio to what I thought would impress the company the most. As Ear to the Ground’s clients are music and sports brands I used my work from the Sonic brief and Hotel Football brief. I also included mock ups from my roses entry. Although I originally thought this was one of my weaker projects throughout university it made sense to put it in as they are essentially in the marketing industry. Altogether they really liked my work and the interview went amazingly well and I was offered the placement. 

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Syzygy Exhibition by Katie Paterson. 

This exhibition caught my eye whilst doing my freelance work with The Lowry. After covering conceptual art in my dissertation I was keen to check out the work of Katie Paterson to discover more. What I really liked about the exhibition was the nature of the subject and the prominent theme of celestial bodies as space is something which I am also fascinated by. In particular ‘Totality’ was an incredible piece featuring a disco like ball with various images of eclipses which were reflected around the room.

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Freelance Work. 

Following my interview at The Lowry I was given a great opportunity to design some promotional materials for their upcoming Week53 Festival. This would be my first experience in the industry before my placement at Ear to the Ground and would also be my first published professional work.

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Quick guide on setting up WordPress sites.

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Online Presence

After the past couple of weeks and listening to the various talks about freelancing and job hunting etc. I think the best way to promote myself online as I am only just starting up is to create a basic portfolio site on WordPress or Behance so my work can be easily displayed and shared among potential clients/employers.

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Another talk with Fiona Christie about applying for jobs and creating a LinkedIn profile. It was really interesting in finding out the best ways in which to search for Graphics jobs when I leave University as most of the opportunities which have come to me so far have come from social media or word of mouth. 

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Salford students fashion photography exhibition

Another exhibition I attended. It was a good opportunity to see what other Salford creating students have been working on in their final year.  

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Viv Exhibition. 

I attended an exhibition at The Font featuring hand screen printed Vivienne Westwood realism inspired pieces created by Mark Jermyn. 

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Sal’s Takeaway networking event. 

The networking event was a really good evening. I got chance to talk to a few designers from different agencies and get some feedback on my work. Although I did not get any job offers I made a few contacts and was a good all round experience.

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Having worked at The Lowry Theatre on the bars for almost a year I noticed a job vacancy on the staff board for a full time Graphic Designer and decided to go for it. Having filled in my application I was offered an interview with the marketing team. My interview did not require me to have a portfolio but instead I was asked to design a double sided A5 recipe card for their new Pier Eight restaurant. I was sent a few resources to work with and their brand guidelines, before bringing the finished work along to my interview. 

My interview went relatively well and was a very rewarding experience. Unfortunately I did not get the job due to lack of experience but got some very valuable feedback. 

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Fiona Christie interview talk. 

With my interview with Ear to the Ground coming up really quick, I attended a talk on how to prepare for interviews and any potential questions that may arise. It was really helpful and engaging and gave me a confidence boost knowing I was more prepared.

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Whilst in University I noticed a really well considered portfolio in the studio which had been easily put together however looked neat and professional. With two days to go for my interview I thought it would be a great idea to present some of my work in this way. 

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Ear to the Ground.

I noticed an opportunity on Facebook to apply for a placement at Ear to the Ground who create marketing campaigns for sports and music brands. I was really excited at the prospect of combining both my passions of sport and music with my degree when I leave University so applied straight away and got an informal interview with the company.