Careers

Last week we were looking at career paths that we can take from our degree. Before I started university, all I could really see myself doing was Surface Design. I didn't know what area of Surface Design I wanted to go in to, I just knew it's what I wanted to do.
However, after only just over 2 months in to my course, I've been introduced to a huge variety of different career ideas.

If you're interested, here are my ideas. It will be great to see how these ideas change over the next 2 years - I guess we'll just have to wait and see!

- Fashion/Interiors In House Design I don't really fancy the idea of doing gift or freelance design - I can definitely see myself being in a 9-5 studio job, employed by a specific company

- Art Therapy This is something that I've actually had in the back of my mind for a while - it was introduced to me by my friend's mum, and I reckon I'd really enjoy it. I also did Psychology A Level and it ended up  being my best grade, so I think I could be good at it too!

- Visual Merchandiser i.e. shop displays. This was introduced to me in Textiles A Level. Window shopping is the best. Especially at Christmas, seeing the window displays in some of the mainstream High Street Stores is incredible. I take a trip to London at Christmas every year with my friends purely just to gawk at the window displays and Christmas lights. I reckon I could be pretty good at this - I enjoy working with space and composition... just ask my mum - I'm always re-arranging the fridge back at home to make it pretty and efficient, although it's not quite the same thing!

- Stylist Although I don't know a lot about it, I spend quite a lot of my spare time doing my own weird bits of styling - I'm also in to photography and love seeing the different ways in which things are styled in magazines etc... another reason why I love Bloom magazine so much - it's crazy, unique and inspiring

- Something to do with colour?? My knowledge with this is really limited, but I'm really interested in working purely with colour. I remember being told about someones friend who's job it was to choose seasonal colour palettes for different shops, which just sounds amazing. Companies like Design Seeds must need full time workers, right?!

We've been asked to research into one of these careers, so here's a bit more information on what it means to be a Visual Merchandiser:

They should...
- Have a flair for design and colour
- Be creative, imaginative and energetic
- Have good communication skills
- Be able to concentrate well
- Enjoy working creatively in a fast-moving environment
- Be interested in art and design

Display designers and visual merchandisers are employed by the design departments of large organizations, design consultancies, display companies, printers, exhibition contractors and retailers. They normally earn from £14,000 - £50,000+.

Their job entails...
- Making presentations to potential clients to win contracts
- Discussing the brief with the client and identifying the key messages they wish to convey
- Gaining an in-depth understanding of the client's organisation, products, image and target market
- Considering factors such as the space available for the display, any special features it should incorporate (such as chairs, models and computers) and the client's budget
- Coming up with design ideas, images and graphics incorporating the client's logo and corporate colours, and discussing these with the client
- Researching costs and working within a budget
- Overseeing the production of the chosen design, checking the quality and making sure the project is completed to schedule
- Researching lifestyle and design trends and making sure designs will appeal to the target audience
- Working with other members of the design, marketing and buying team to develop themes and colour schemes for displays - for example Christmas, Valentine's day, sales and special promotions
- Sketching designs and developing floor plans, making the most of the space available
- Taking direction from head office on corporate schemes when appropriate
- Sourcing materials such as props and lighting
- Installing and dismantling displays
- Preparing visual merchandising packs, including plans and photographs, for other stores in the chain, to make sure all displays present a consistent image
- Visiting branches to train and brief staff on arranging displays

There aren't specific qualifications for this job, but it generally would include a degree in art/design, and you can pretty much just start from there!

References:
http://creativepool.com/articles/jobdescriptions/visual-merchandiser-display-designer-job-description