10 Associates Placement

I managed to get in touch with 10 Associates pretty easily as my parent's business has the contract to clean the carpets at the agency therefore are very familiar with the staff there. When cleaning their my brother mentioned to the owner David that I was a student at Leeds Arts University studying Graphic Design and that I was looking to gain some experience within the field. 

David gave me his email and told me to get in touch. 



He then asked for a portfolio to which I then sent him a link to my website. After reviewing that he then put me in touch with their design director Michael so that I could arrange a meeting with him to discuss getting some work experience at the agency. 

My meeting with Michael was very easy going and we had a chat about the work 10 Associates was currently doing and he showed me the work they'd just presented to a client which was very interesting. He then asked me about my studies and questioned what area of graphic design I was interested in and what my strengths and weaknesses were. 

He then told me I could start on the 3rd of September for a week which could be extended to two weeks if I wanted it to however I was going on holiday the week after therefore I chose just to do a week. 






Over summer I had the opportunity to visit 10 Associates in Mirfield for a week to gain some experience in the graphic design field. 

10 Associates is a brand & design consultancy that proudly celebrates its Yorkshire roots and luckily is only a 10 minute drive from where I live. Situated in a 18th century Watermill and surrounded by beautiful countryside the studio offered bags of inspiration. 

The agency was set up in 2004 by two friends Jill and Dave and I was fortunate enough to get to chat to Dave about his journey and his role in the business as Managing Director. He showed me the pitch he gives to new clients and told me about the techniques he uses to make clients feel at ease and warm to him. His tips were very useful such as bringing up the specific clients competitors to get them talking and telling stories about how rubbish the other business are. 

He also spoke to me about their Brandschool programme which they use on all new clients. Their technique is to take clients out of their everyday setting and encourages them to think differently, they then find it easier to collaborate with the client and push certain ideas which are originally from the client during the workshop. 

Day 1:

Michael showed me around the studio and showed me where everything was and assigned me my own computer. He then gave me a quick presentation on a brief 10 associates had been set by Prizehomes, a client local to them in Mirfield. Prizehomes struggled attracting customers locally and often had to commute Keighley and Batley to do work therefore reducing the amount of profit made. Prizehomes have almost 20 vans therefore are good marketing tools and are the main focus of their branding. Michael left me to interpret the brief myself and come up with ideas before showing me the final result created by 10. I spent a full day playing with the logo and trying to make it more attractive at 4pm me and Michael had a mini crit and he helped me develop my ideas further. 

Day 2: 

I continued with my designs for Prizehomes and worked on the feedback Michael gave me. He told me to be bold and to not be afraid to make a statement as bold vans attract more attention. I spent the day working on this and then had a crit with Michael and Caitlin about the designs I had done and compared this to the work they had done for Prizehomes themselves. 

Day 3:

On the Wednesday Dave, the owner, gave me a chat about running the business and where he started from to where he is now which I found really interesting. He then showed me the presentation he gives to potential new clients which was  a great insight as it showed me how he approached new clients and persuaded them to use 10 associates over anyone else. 

Day 4:

Thursday I was given a brief set by 10 associates themselves which was to design the posters, name cards and table settings for their bake off competition. I really enjoyed this brief as it gave me the opportunity to use the surrounding area as an influence as 10 is set in a very woody area. I had to make 5 mood boards for different themes/ ideas to present at the end of the day.

Day 5:

I worked on the bake off brief all day as it was my last day and I wanted to get it finished. At the end of the day I had a meeting with Michael about the work I had produced through the week and just a general chat about how I'd found the week and what I had enjoyed / found beneficial.