On the Tuesday we visited Jack Renwick Studios located in Whitechapel. Being a very small consultancy we weren't really sure what expect after having visited two much bigger ones. Their studio is very much a hidden gem as you pass down a little alley and are met with a door that almost looks like a fire exit but once you enter it was such a beautiful space.
We were able to meet Senior Designer Jon, Designer Connor and Hannah who was interning with them. When we visited they were the only ones who were currently working for the studio apart from Jack Renwick herself. They gave us a bit of a presentation on their different backgrounds and how they got to working for Jack Renwick. Something which they had in common was how they had interned in multiple companies for around two months at a time. Doing this allowed them to get an insight into the different roles and what studio size suite them best. I think this would be a very valuable thing to do as it would give me a lot of all round experience and allow me to work in many different environments.
They then touched on different projects they had been part of and the work ethic they took towards working on them. There was definitely a strong emphasis on how a brand is more than just a logo you see on a page or a billboard and also how important it is to conduct research off the web. At Jack Renwick they really try to push their projects to their furthest limits whether that is making many little iterations until it is perfect or challenge an aspect of the design, even touching on a few products they were quite far in the development of and scrapped it so they could make it bigger and better.
Some of the projects they had worked on were actually for businesses in Northern Ireland such as the branding for Millbank Farm and Veg NI, the produce grown by northern Irish farmers. Their work for Veg NI really stood out for me especially how they aimed to get a deeper and better understanding of how vegetables are grown and the overall identity is very conventional. They named this brand “Parful Produce” which is very Northern Irish as it is a play on words on the word powerful in a Northern Irish accent.
They finished off the presentation giving us advice and guidance on the transition from student to studio and how to get yourself known in industry. One of the main things I took from it was to push boundaries in my work and to never stop asking questions because it helps not only me gain understanding but get my voice out to be known. Confidence of asking questions is a personal skill of mine that I have been working on over the past few years after being anxious and afraid to ask in school so hearing this really helped reiterate it is ok to be curious an that the mistakes you make allow you to create even better things!