Career opportunities- 5 Clients Research
Penguin Random House Publishing
The first client I looked into was Penguin Publishing. It is my goal to become an illustrator or designer at Penguin. To research what children's book are successful I went to their home page and clicked on picture books. Most of these of bright colours that will pop out on a bookcase. When looking at their website further, I noticed that the first step of getting published is the get an agent.
Another way to get published is to have a good relationship with the editor. Have a great manuscript and already know what genre, target audience and theme. You need to know there's a large enough audience for the book and that it's viable.
For picture books specifically, editors are looking for an original and clever story, that is either heart-warming or funny. You also need to understand that although children are the main audience, so is the parent.
Before handing the story over to the editor, you need to redraft and redraft. Make sure you give it to other writers to comment on before sending it off.
Be the best new thing and have authenticity with your writing.
To be noticed by them I will continue to participate in their Student Design Awards as if you are shortlisted you are being recognised as a professional illustration and if you win, you will be able to have the opportunity to have an internship there.
I have also looked into whether there are jobs for designers in Penguin, but unfortunately the only ones that are available are in New York.
I follow Penguin Random House on both instagram and linked in. On linked in, I have tried connecting with different designers at Penguin, however none have got back to me. So, to start asking designers already in the company what they did and what I can to do be part of this company, I will need to have more connections on linked in to look more professional.
AOI
As I mentioned previously, the first step to being noticed is to have an agent. The first agent dedicated to illustration that I found was AOI. On the main page it explains all of the different opportunities you get and reasons to join. Having an agent would be extremely helpful for a new illustrator in the business and is a viable option for my future.
Plum Pudding
Here's another agency I could look into in the future. The difference between this and the AOI is that this is dedicated to children's illustration. Because it is targeted to children's illustration. This agency also believes to be empathetic to illustrators and designers rather than being money hungry like most competitive agencies.
The only problem with this is unfortunately I can't find a price for this agency on the website. They suggest to send in portfolios through the post or email it in.
BBC- UX designer
It is a very different path to go down to become a UX designer. It's more dedicated to product design and creating new concepts. However, there is a place within UX with you can contribute sketches and thumbnails at the start of the process which could be an interesting idea. I have followed the BBC's media account on linked in, so that I am always updated with new upcoming opportunities for designers and illustrators and I have tried connecting with a few UX designers on Indeed already.
IllustrationX
This is more similar to AOI rather than Plum Pudding, this is because it is a bigger agency and it doesn't just specialise in children's illustration, it has a range of creative designers in their agency. Similar to AOI, it is more well-known to people regarding how established there have been and how long they have been around. However, similar to plum pudding there isn't a section of the website where it says how much you will have to pay to be a member and only allows you to submit your work.
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