I am currently a graphic design student and have just completed my third year of my BDes (Hons) course at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design. Before entering my final year, I wanted to give myself the best push I possibly could with an inspired mind after a productive summer and gain as many new and improved skills to put towards my degree show. I was lucky enough to gain a week of work experience here at Elastic Creative, and I have definitely gained a real insight into what makes a successful graphic designer. Not only does Elastic surround themselves with creative people, but they have chosen to place themselves in a beautifully inspiring setting. I have loved spending time in Edinburgh and seeing several sparks to set off a creative line of thought from just the walk to the office where I can then turn it into a reality. This week has only convinced me even more of what I want to do and where I want to be after university, and has given me the push I hoped to gain to make sure I do everything I can to earn that.

One of the main things I have learned here at Elastic Creative was the importance of digital design. It is crucial in this day and age that I gain more skills in this area and involve more pieces in my portfolio. Elastic truly understand the importance of branding within a business, and for many businesses, the first point this brand will be communicated to their customers is through their website. Therefore, Elastic have made this a strong skill they can offer their clients. As well as this, motion is becoming a more and more effective way of telling a brand story and Elastic have urged me to gain strong skills in this area. I was more than happy to hear this as I love motion and it has played an important part in my current portfolio. I have found my way of thinking fits most creatively through story telling. However, another crucial thing I have learned from the Elastic team, is that I must not be too heavy towards one specific skill. The more skills I have and areas I understand, the more people I can help. This is what has made Elastic so successful and inspired their own brand, they are flexible with what they can do, and no telling what they can’t.

Taking what I have learned about the Elastic team, I was then asked to create an infographic piece inspired by them. Above are the initial sketches and what I finally came up with! I decided on quite a long canvas to work with, as I felt this best represented the elasticity of the team. Also, to help guide the viewer through the information in order, I played with the Elastic Creative logo and stretched it through the piece again suggesting how far their talents can go. The information is a mix of what is on their newly finished website and what I personally learned about them and found interesting! The reason for the chalk board style was purely because I felt it strongly represented how they get to know their customers and their brand through their personal interaction. Also, it fitted well with the Elastic brand colours of black and white with a small touch of yellow! I hope I have managed to do them justice, and communicate what they are all about correctly and effectively.

I’d like to thank Elastic for all their help this week! I have loved the opportunity of working with them and now for the chance to post on their blog and make an appearance on the web and through social media, something I have found to be a very useful and important tool of contact with the design world today. I look forward to meeting Elastic again as they kick start my final year at DJCAD with an exciting motion brief! I hope to impress them with my answer to it and again at my degree show. A scary but very, very exciting time!

See you then,

Cathy Crocker