KAREN HUGHES

Year Graduation / Grade
2004 / 1st

I’m currently working as senior designer at True North in Manchester where I have worked for the past two years. Previous to this I started my career at The Chase where I worked for 6 years, working my way up from work placement to senior designer. Throughout my career so far I have worked on a wide variety of clients including Marks and Spencer Money, The Co-operative Bank, Royal Mail, British Council, National Portrait Gallery and Tate Liverpool to name but a few. Last year I completed a successful campaign for the relaunch of The Holburne Museum in Bath and I’m currently busy on several projects including a branding project for National Trust, identity guidelines for Chatsworth House in the Peak District and a number of design projects for Lancashire County Cricket Club. I’ve been lucky enough to have my work recognised by many major creative awards including D&AD, The Clio Awards, New York Type Directors Club, The Roses, The Fresh awards and most recently my work was awarded Best in Show in the Design Week Benchmark awards 2010.

How and where did you secure your first job?
I was offered my first job by Ben Casey at The Chase and started the Monday after finishing university. I had previously worked there on my years sandwich placement, so I guess I must have made a good impression (or good tea). Initially I worked at The Chase in Manchester working in a team with joint creative directors Alan Herron and Pete Richardson (both ex-preston students). Then after a year, myself and creative director Steve Conchie (also ex preston) packed up our macs and headed back to our roots to open a new Chase office back in Preston. It was really exciting being part of something from the very beginning and really rewarding watching the team grow over the next few years. I learnt a huge amount at my time with ‘Team Preston’, being part of a small team, means there really is no where to hide. I ended up staying there for five years until I decided it was time to fly the nest and moved to True North just over 2 years ago.

Do you think being a Preston student has benefited you in any way?
Well, as you may have gathered from my previous answer, I’ve worked for a fair few ex-preston students so far in my career. I think there is a mutual understanding and respect between Preston students. We’ve all been through the same schooling, so generally I think we are all on the same page where creativity is concerned. We’ve also all been to the same pubs and clubs which is always a good conversation starter.

How has the industry changed over the years in your experience?
In this industry things are changing all the time, some things are just trends but some things change things forever, the key is to spot the difference. One thing that never changes though is the value of good idea. Whether you’re designing logos, brochures or apps, the creative process is exactly the same so my advice would be to try not to get daunted by changes in technology. It’s much easier to learn new skills and programmes than it is to learn how to have clever ideas.

Were do you get your ideas from? Do you prefer collaboration or thinking alone.
Ideas are just answers to problems. It’s all about understanding the problem, then following clues, making connections and taking jumps to find the most appropriate/clever/challenging answer. I’m equally happy working on my own or with other people, I think there is a time and place for both. At True North we currently have a creative team of 6 people working under the creative direction of Ady Bibby. Even though a lot of the time we work on projects alone, we are always asking for each others opinions and helping each other out on our projects, whether we are working on them or not. It’s always good to get opinions from people who may not be as close to the project as you are.

What would you have done differently at University knowing what you know now?
At university, I didn’t really understand the importance of being able to stand up in front of a room full of people and sell them your ideas. Pitching your work is part of the job and had I realised that back then, I think I would have tried to join in with group discussions and crits much more than I did. Having opinions is important, so learning to voice them is essential.

What’s the best thing about your job?
I guess it’s getting paid to do something I actually enjoy. Not everyone has that luxury so I’m pretty lucky really.

What would you say has been the key to your success so far?
Hopefully talent, but you can have all the talent in the world, yet if you don’t have a good attitude to go with it then nobody is ever going to enjoy working with you or want you on their team. I would like to think that I do have a good attitude and hopefully this makes me easy to work with. Don’t get me wrong, when I reach my seventeenth set of amends or the project gets pulled because someone in accounts doesn’t like the colour green, then I do enjoy a good moan. But the best designers are the ones who can shake off a bad day and come back the next day ready to do it all over again.

What is the most unusual thing you have done in your career?
I once spent 3 days in a kitchen hollowing out giant pumpkins for a client party. I guess that was unusual (and messy).

What do you look for in graduates and their portfolios?
I am definitely all about the ideas. I look for people who not only have briiliant ideas, but who can follow it through into an entire project, without it becoming forced and repetitive. If these brilliant ideas are styled beautifully too, then even better.

Any advice for students entering the industry?
The job of a designer is to persuade people to do things that they never knew they wanted to do. So if you look at it simply, getting a job, is just another brief, it’s about making someone want to hire you, even if they don’t know it yet. If you distance yourself from the problem and look it as just another challenge, then I think it’s easier to stay positive and keep up the momentum.

HOME by Merseystride
Naming and branding project for a social enterprise based in Liverpool aimed at tackling homelessness in the local area. Home is a furniture retailer which gives work experience to local homeless and unemployed people. End of the line catalogue and flat pack furniture is assembled in store and sold to the local community as well as recently rehomed families who otherwise would not be able to afford to furnish their new homes.

 
The Holburne Museum
A multi-media campaign advertising the relaunch of The Holburne Museum in Bath, which was reopening with a controversial contemporary extension to it’s existing 18th Century building.

 
Inner City Living
A project for Claire Norcross (Mrs Andy B) and Preston City Council. A series of folding invites and posters to advertise an exhibition featuring local furniture and lighting designers whilst also celebrating Preston’s newly awarded city status.

 
National Portrait Gallery
Identity and guidelines for National Portrait Gallery Families.

 
Marks and Spencer Money
I worked for 5 years on the Marks and Spencer Money account with the main aim of selling financial products in a retail environment. The project below (although not my most creative piece of work) is my favourite M&S Money project purely for the lesson it taught me. After several years of having our designs compromised by the compulsory flashes, rates and giant APRs, I decided, that this time around I would give the client exactly what they asked for. Giant roundels with huge offers and APRs. Turns out, that was exactly what they wanted and it was the quickest, smoothest project I have ever worked on. The lesson learned – for an easy life give the client what they want.

 
The Red Lodge Museum
The Red Lodge Museum is described as Bristol’s ‘hidden treasure’ because of its magnificent Tudor rooms contained within the buildings Georgian exterior. The council wanted a logo which hinted towards the surprising tudor treasures waiting to be discovered within the house. So that’s what we gave them.