As we’ve got lots of new social media followers, we thought it would be nice to introduce ourselves again so this week’s subject of the ‘5 minutes with’ is our Owner and Creative Director Warwick.
Hi Warwick. Time for your 15 minutes of fame!!
If your friends were asked to describe you, what do you think they would say?
Hopefully as a nice friendly guy with a good sense of humour who loves his job and family
What were you like as a kid?
Very, very shy! I loved all the same things I love now – football (playing & watching), Star Wars and Computer Games!
What would you say is one of our favourite memories?
Well, apart from getting married & having our amazing kids it has to be Leicester City winning the Premier League! Still can’t believe it now!
How did you come to be a graphic designer?
I always loved art when I was a kid, and my dad was a graphic designer who also had his own business, and I used to work on a Saturday morning with him. After school, I did four years at Art College in Loughborough which then leads on to my first job for a design company in Leicester
How did you end up owning Adventure?
After many years of working for various companies around the Midlands, I decided that I wanted to be my boss. I left my secure job two days before my son Henry was born – that was nearly 15 years ago now! I started freelancing for other companies, but it wasn’t quite what I wanted to do. Penny went to look at a house for sale and came back and told me that they were also selling their graphic design client base. The business was Adventure Graphics, and although we didn’t buy their house we did buy their business! So although I’ve been running Adventure for 13 years, it’s been going for 25!
What do you most enjoy about your job and running Adventure?
I love the variety of the work we get to do from branding to websites and signage. It still makes me feel proud when I see our work out and about.
Do you feel like you have achieved what you set out to do with Adventure?
I’m happy with how things are going but there is always room for improvement and I’m constantly striving to stay ahead of the game with new techniques, software etc
What would you say is the most challenging part?!
Sometimes as a designer, you have to go against your creative streak to do what a client wants!
You’ve been in the industry for a long time now, how has the industry changed since you started your first job?
When I first started, it was all done by hand – Letraset transfers and artboards! We began to use the first Macs at art college, but it was a while before they became mainstream in studios so I would say that was a massive change, but also a lot of people think they are ‘designers’ now because they can create a graphic for Instagram or create an essential website!
You often get lots of enquiries from design students leaving college. What would your advice be to those wanting to get into the industry?
If you’re applying for a job, make sure you put some of your design skills into a CV as it’s the first thing an employer will see if I get a Word doc from a designer that’s usually an instant no from me! Also, create an online portfolio to showcase your work and include how you got there. Seeing the final result is excellent, but as an employer, I’m interested in your thought processes and how you develop ideas.
That’s really helpful advice. Now for a bit of fun and to find out a bit more about you!
Would you choose:
Chocolate or crisps? Crisps
Wine or beer? Beer
Walking or cycling? Walking
Dogs or cats? Dogs
Kids or Leicester City? Kids! (Honestly!)
Summer or Winter? Summer
Red sauce or Brown? Red
Emailer or brochure? Brochure
Driving holidays or flying? Driving, I think?!
Thank you, Warwick! That’s great. Just one last question, from your graphic and web experience working with hundreds of businesses what would you say is the most common design mistake businesses often make and what can they do to change this?
We get a lot of clients who come to us after a family member has designed their logo or website. We also get a lot who come from having a website built by Yell and have had a bad experience and realise it’s better to spend a bit more to get a quality product and work with a friendly local team like ourselves. So I’d definitely say cheaper is definitely not the best option!
If you would like to talk to Warwick about your graphic and website design and marketing for your business drop him an email at warwick@adventuregraphics.co.uk or call him on 0121 354 1010. He’d love to hear from you.
