Thousands of DMU students graduated in July after years of hard work. We reported some of their stories in our Class of 2015 series...
FRIENDS: Daniel (left) and George (right) are due to graduate having studied together since their A-levels
After finishing their A-levels, friends George Alborn and Daniel O’Donovan weren’t sure of their next step, so they decided to explore their passion for art and design with a foundation course at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU).
Four years later they will be graduating from DMU – with a first and a 2:1 respectively in Graphic Design BA (Hons) – and are looking forward to putting everything they’ve learned into practice in the workplace.
The foundation course prepares students for a variety of subjects and means they are eligible for direct entry onto many of DMU’s specialist degree courses, provided they achieve the required academic standard.
Daniel (pictured left) said: “If I’d done my degree straight after A-levels, I don’t think I would have been ready. The course was a really good stepping stone.”
They have both enjoyed their time at DMU, particularly praising their tutors for making their course so rewarding. George (pictured right) said: “They are all specialists in different fields, so our projects are very varied, and we’re taught how to think outside the box. In some ways the ideas are actually more important than the technical side of things. They see the potential in you and really push people. There’s always something more you can do – another animation, another poster, another website.”
Daniel added: “I’ve become more aware of myself. I’m more technical, more thoughtful, more of a perfectionist. We’ve got a really good team of tutors. I’ve built up a great portfolio and it’s amazing to see how far I’ve come.”
Both of them have also enjoyed competition success. After taking on a brief for Boost energy drinks, George was commended in the 2013/14 YCN Student Awards, which are designed to ‘shine a light on emerging creative excellence’. At the awards ceremony in London he met the team from Big Communications on London Road, Leicester, which lead to a placement there during DMU’s employability week in November 2014.
George said: “I was working on branding, social posts for Cadbury’s, and a Boost energy drinks campaign. It was amazing how much I learned in a week.”
He has now been offered a full-time designer role at the creative agency, which has been rebranded BigDog following a merger with another award-winning marketing firm, and is due to start there at the end of July.
In the meantime, his work has been chosen as one of the winning entries for the Design and Art Direction New Blood Awards 2015.
When Next came to DMU for a course presentation, Daniel impressed the retail giant with his ideas for its spring/summer 2015 lines, winning a two-week placement in May at the company’s head office in Enderby.
The experience has proved valuable and Daniel said: “It went really well and I stayed longer than a fortnight. Some of my designs were chosen in selection so there’s a possibility that they could go into stores, which is really exciting! As a result of my time at Next I’ve had interest from other High Street designers and George at Asda’s head office.”
However university life has been about much more than studying. George joined student media group Demon Media, presenting a radio show for two years. “It was a two-hour slot each week. It was good fun and completely different from everything else I was doing. It was something to look forward to each week.”
Thanks to his experience on the airwaves, George then secured a Demon Media role with Frontrunners, DMU’s placement scheme which gives current students the opportunity to apply for a variety of high quality, diverse and paid placements within the university and local employers.
“I was head of brand and design. I worked ten hours a week on things like the newspaper’s front page and any social media publicity they need for events.”
Daniel and George also went on an inspirational course-led trip to Amsterdam with #DMUglobal, the university’s programme which aims to give as many students as possible the chance to take part in an international experience.
During the four-day trip in February they visited three Dutch cities, Amsterdam, Breda and Utrecht, enjoying cultural sights and world-famous museums dedicated to art and design.
Daniel said: “It was fantastic and couldn’t have been better timed – it came at a point when we were really busy with coursework. It was great to come back with fresh ideas and I was ready to work again.”
Posted on Thursday 9 July 2015