Nathan is our go-to creative person and he’s recently joined us from the Government’s Kickstart scheme. Here’s what Nathan has to say…
What are your day to day responsibilities?
I have a wide mix of responsibilities on my to-do list. These tasks include:
- Artworking – this involves checking pre-existing artwork and where applicable making small amends to get it ready for print
- Design – creating/designing artwork for customers, designing images working alongside the marketing team, creating and designing images to be used in blogs/social media
- Wordpress/Web – Making changes to the different websites we provide for various customers from briefs and using their supplied brand guidelines
- 3D/animation – I ‘ve only worked on one project so far, but I am hoping to do more on this in the future
How did you get into the profession?
I started dabbling with Photoshop when I was around 11/12 and I was really interested in all things IT at the time. Being a naturally quick learner, I picked up Photoshop fairly easily and realised I really enjoyed it too! Since then, I’ve always been interested in doing something creative and aspired to do Graphic Design as a career.
I started out as an Apprentice Artworker and after completing this apprenticeship, I worked in an Artworker role for nearly 4 years. During this time I picked up a lot of other useful skills alongside Photoshop, for example the rest of the Adobe Suite. I also do the occasional design piece in my spare time as a hobby.
I always kept my eye out for a design role and when I saw the advert for the studio position at Birch Print, I really wanted it! It’s been my passion for a long time.
What are the benefits and challenges of the role?
I love what I do so this is a huge plus! The role involves a lot of different skills which keeps my brain ticking. As always in life, there are new skills that I’ve learned and some that I’m yet to learn, and I think this is great for my development within the role and to broaden my skillset.
I find it hard to be really challenged because I’m always trying to better myself to learn new skills and techniques and it’s something I welcome. I think the most challenging part of my role so far is trying to teach myself new ways to work and to bring inventive ideas to the business, alongside working to fulfil all projects. Things have been pretty non-stop since joining Birch Print and it can be mentally draining, but I have enjoyed every minute of it.
If you weren’t doing this, what would you be doing?
I would probably be working from home self-employed as I was before, surrounded by my two young kids driving me up the wall! Only joking.
I would most likely be working in IT because I’m also very passionate about computers. I have built computers for myself and friends since I was in school, and if I wasn’t working in a creative role, I would hopefully be working in IT.
What do you enjoy most about your role?
I love the fact that the jobs/projects I’ve been working on are so varied because it keeps things interesting and refreshing. I also enjoy keeping busy! This may not be appealing to some people but I love being busy because it makes the day go fast and keeps me on my toes. I also enjoy the office environment and the people I work. I like sharing my knowledge with my colleagues.
