Illustration student, Maddison Ford, on her placement experience
BA (Hons) Illustration student, Maddison Ford, is currently out on Placement with ZPos Ltd. In her first three months, she has already gained amazing skills and opportunities to showcase her work. Let’s see what she’s been up to so far…
So, who are Zpos?
ZPos Ltd are a software development & web design agency based in Swindon. They build and run online ordering websites, mostly for takeaways and restaurants. They also provide pretty much everything else that a client could need to make their business successful. This includes social media marketing, Epos systems, customer support and print work.
What’s your role?
My role as a Graphics Designer is to create a huge variety of artwork for our clients. I communicate with our clients daily, collaborate with the rest of my team and work on projects that are always varied and exciting. My drawer is quickly filling up with file copies of the work I have designed; promotional flyers, business cards, loyalty cards, menus, voucher booklets, window stickers. I’ve even designed huge PVC shop front banners for two restaurants, and I’m only three months into my placement year! I also work on keeping client’s websites up to date with banners advertising offers and events, and I have even started to learn some basic coding.
An example of Maddison’s brilliant work for Zpos Ltd.
What have you learnt so far?
The last three months have absolutely flown by. I have already learnt countless skills that will be massively valuable in my final year of university and beyond. I use the most up to date Adobe software every day and am now able to efficiently create complex designs in Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. I have learned about the endless possibilities of digital print, the fundamentals of web design, time management and communication in a professional environment.
As someone who has always made every possible excuse to avoid making a phone call, I can now say that I make multiple phone calls to clients every day with confidence. I have also learnt to have confidence in the work I create. I am very lucky to be surrounded by an incredibly supportive team who respect my ideas and allow me to explore as many styles and themes as I please.
What’s been your biggest highlight?
One of the many highlights for me so far was buying a coffee from a local mobile barista and being given a loyalty card that I had worked on. It was even marked with a stamp that I’d designed. It was the first time I got to see my work out in the real world, and it was lovely to talk about how the work we created had helped this small business to grow.
What’s your advice to students considering a Placement Year?
To any student looking at taking a placement year, my advice is to go for it! I am only about a quarter of the way through and have already learnt countless skills that will be vital for my career in the future. I will graduate with a year’s worth of relevant work experience and all of the professional skills that go along with that. From my experience, there is really no downside to taking a placement year, and there is so much to gain from one.
Like the sound of Maddison’s Experience? It could be yours too!
ZPos Ltd are currently looking for several Placement students to fill a number of positions for their Graphics Designer and Web Designer roles in their new Swindon office. If what you’ve just read sounds like something you’d like to get involved in, click the links below. Good luck!
Placement Web Designer Swindon (Industrial Placement)
Placement Graphics Designer Swindon (Industrial Placement)
Have your say
If you’re one of our students in the Faculty of Creative and Cultural Industries and have a suggestion for something you’d like us to write about, or you'd like to contribute your own story, please let us know by emailing creative-careers@port.ac.uk.