Placement - G . F Smith

Having struggled to secure a placement for some months now, I feel so relieved and happy to have confirmation of my attendance to G . F Smith for a full week of work experience. The relationships I have developed with employees of the paper merchant (Ben Watkinson, Jane Crowther, Steve Taylor) through industry engagement from this module assisted my securing of the placement, and I hope will lead to further professional relationships being established and perhaps additional contacts outside of G . F Smith.

The short placement will take place between the 21st and 25th May, during which time I will be shadowing and observing a range of workers across the paper merchant's Lockwood Street factory, in Hull.

As a designer with a focus on print-based and tactile design, paper is of great importance to my practice. It is something I have a passion for, in terms of its possibilities, and therefore I feel will be a great experience to see and understand more of what the company provide and do.

G . F Smith work with a range of high-end clients from the beauty, fashion and cosmetics sector, including Burberry, Mulberry, Glenfiddich, The White Company and Miller Harris amongst others. As a designer with aspirations to work for brands such as these, I am excited to learn more about the part G . F Smith play in the development of packaging, invites and collateral etc.

While the placement may be after the PPP submission deadline, I truly believe I tried my hardest to secure something before hand. I took all advice given in tutorials on board, explored a range of methodologies and strategies. It was important to me as a designer, and purely as an individual, to attend somewhere that was relevant to my practice, and not just a box ticking exercise. I believe G . F Smith fit this criteria, and I am most looking forward to the experience.