Adidas - Sarah Jones

For my last portfolio visit I decided to contact Sarah Jones from Adidas. She had already come in to our college the year before on the 'Come Design With Me' night and explained to us the harsh reality of actually going out there and being able to get yourself the job of your dreams. She was very helpful on the night and certainly gave me a reality check in that nothing is going to come to me

and that I have to go out there and grab whatever I want to have.

I wanted to see her again to see what she thought of my work and whether I was at the standard that she was when she left University. I e-mailed her and asked if Lisa and I could go to their headquarters and see what she thought of our most recent work. I was a little nervous about asking her if we could go in a pair as I found it sounding a little cheeky. However, she was OK with the idea that Lisa and I wanted to come in together which was a sigh of relief for me as I did not really know what to expect. I could only imagine a big company so it did make me feel at ease a little.

When we turned up to the building I was amazed as to how big the site was. The security was intense which again made me feel a little uncomfortable. However, this changed when we actually got in to the building, the front desk was well designed, the decor was very modern and the whole structure of the building was fantastic to look at. I wanted this to be where I'd end up I just knew it as soon as I got in there I was amazed and intrigued to see and learn more.

When Sarah came down to meet us she lead us in to the canteen which again was beautiful, pure white, the furniture was modern and bubbly, they even had an Adidas shop on the ground floor and I think that I could make out a gym on the second floor. The top of the building showed through a lot of light which made the inside of the building look really clean and professional. Sarah had brought a girl that she knew with her to sit in on the visit and she was called Christina. Christina told us she studied fashion and was now helping Sarah in the graphic side of her job.

Lisa showed her portfolio first which if I am to be honest made me feel a little silly because most of our work was the same. I thought at the time it would perhaps be a good idea to make a portfolio together so we both don't end up going over the same thing and it end up being boring for the person that is looking at it. However, Sarah never did criticise our work she listened and really did take the time to look and ask questions which I found nice that she was really taking an interest.

Both Sarah and Christina liked our Pro-Plus designs and our Ted Baker packaging. Christina said she had pretty much the same brief perhaps a little similar and she thought our idea was brilliant which was refreshing to hear.

Sarah told us that we should perhaps look at trying to get a job together which I did not fully understand at the time so I am going to e-mail her to find out more on the subject as it is something that Lisa and I definitely want to try out if we can.

She gave us a good piece of advice, " Always build a relationship with the person before asking for a placement." I totally agree with this as some people sometimes forget that it's cheeky if you don't do this first! Sarah also made it clear that we will need to put n all the hours if we want to succeed, pay attention to detail and she said that if you work hard and have high goals you will get to where you want to be. I f you stop trying and don't have goals it won't come to you and prepare to stay in whatever position you're in. I have really been inspired by Sarah as she is down to earth and has told stories about her experiences and has told it how it is.

Like Andy Mairs, Sarah told us that it is always a good idea to leave something behind when you go on a visit so that they don't forget you. She said she made little teabags on string and on the end of the string was her contact details, I thought this was a brilliant idea as most people drink tea and yet it is so simple! Lisa and I are in the process of thinking about making something clever to leave behind on our future visits to agencies.

This would definitely have to be the most stimulating visit I have had recently. It is something that I have seen and wanted. I want to be Sarah's workplace and work with a creative team of advertisers like herself as that is what I want to do when I leave. Lisa and I have discovered over the past year that we are good at and enjoy re-branding and product design as opposed to typography. Since Lisa and I are currently finishing our own re-branding brief for Little Chef we are going to get some of the final products and send them to Sarah to see what she thinks and give us some feedback.