IDEA PRACTICUM, WEEK 1

I am pleased to have completed the first week of my practicum at Will Creative!

I spent the week getting to know the Will family and their wide range of clients from an Italian green-energy company to the downtown Vancouver Penthouse. So far, I’ve been assigned to work on the former under the guidance of AD Michael Cadamia, creating an illustrated infographic. I’ve been learning about biomass conversion, energy outputs, and “smells”… all very crucial.

I look forward to moving on to some branding and advertising in the coming weeks, and to get a feel for what their whole process looks like. I foresee more work coming my way with the place picking up speed doing pitches and preparing for some new clients!

I am surrounded by a healthy serving of IDEA grads, so the transition from the program to agency is not too overwhelming. No one likes silence at Will, there is always someone laughing about something or at someone. The office is bright and full of energy created by great people and the two best resident pups, Ben and Pickles. Working there is so enjoyable, besides the scheduled 4pm squat sessions… just kidding, I love squats.

I believe that my biggest challenge will be to be more vocal since I am so quiet by nature. I like to think Will will help me feel more comfortable voicing myself since everyone there is so open and encouraging.  I look forward to returning to the Will shenanigans every week.

P.S. Their Instagram account is awesome and always entertaining, follow it to stay extra updated on the in-house mischief. Also, I have to say the treat situation is good. I think this practicum will be a good thing…

IDEA PRACTICUM, WEEK 2

Today marks the end of my second week at Will… The infographic I was working on last week was approved by the client, so I’ve been working on preparing it for different platforms and uses. The team was impressed with my illustration ability, it’s nice to see it’s coming in handy on a real project! But I won’t only be doing Illustration at Will, I’ve started assisting Creative Director Lisa Lebedovich on some concept preparation for a project. That also means the walls have become plastered with concepts and drawings transforming the office into a big sketchbook. I look forward to learning more about the ideation process they implement here at Will, along with the process that follows it to achieve a successful campaign.

The creative team consists of past IDEA grads Briony Crane, Allison Chambers, Rory O’Sullivan, Will Erickson, and not to forget Jenn Hicks who is currently on maternity leave. To complete the team there are awesome David Lidiard, Katie Holmes, Michael Cadamia and CD Nick Richards. Most of the people in the office including the account team know each other from previous experience working at together across various Vancouver agencies.

On Tuesday, the advertisement targeting company Carto Media came in to give us a breakdown of the advanced targeting, mapping, and analytics they offer. Basically, they track customer movements (commute, living area, workplace, where they shop) to then show them much more specific and relevant information. Very creepy, but very cool. You can check them out here.

I am still very much enjoying it here at Will and I hear there are some exciting events coming up next week including the Rugby Sevens game and the famous Will potluck. In the meantime, we are all still squatting and eating happily…

IDEA PRACTICUM, WEEK 3

Spirits were high this week at Will with many group shots!

To celebrate women’s day, we assembled for some ladies group shots. To briefly introduce the rest of the office, the accounts side is composed of fearless Andrea Scupham, Nicola Poskitt, Lauren Hutton, Jacq Holder (who bakes amazing cookies), lovely ladies Noemie Bessette, Sarah Austin, Shannon Cherry, and of course Ute Preusse, Founder and ass-kicking woman.

This week I was kept busy supporting others. I helped work on some event posters, presentation materials and also some brand guidelines. I’m finding it easier than I expected to switch between projects and work quickly. The breadth of subject matter across projects keeps each assignment interesting and I love learning more about each client.

On Thursday I was assigned a new project foreshadowing Spring’s arrival, flowers! I was tasked with an interesting project for a flower company. I am very excited to work on this project as I am paired with copywriter Katie Holmes to create messaging to ensure a thoughtful experience. So far, I’ve started gathering inspiration for some different directions and thinking about how to make the most out of the meaningful gesture of flower giving.

On Saturday, the whole team took part in the Canada Sevens event, which is one of Will’s clients. Costumes were mandatory and the theme was animals. I had a great time hanging out with everyone and getting to know them a bit better. It’s a lot easier to talk to people when wearing pajamas all day…

IDEA PRACTICUM, WEEK 4

It was a blue week, balloon wise. I get the feeling there will always be balloons here…

I started off my fourth week at Will moodboarding for the flower project. I was excited to explore various visual treatments and concepts. I met with CD Nick to review my ideas on Wednesday and found his review encouraging; his dreams for this project are as big as mine.

Later in the week, I learned to work at a quicker pace while helping out on a pitch. I worked on concept sketches to illustrate ideas along with the visual tone.  I had to adapt my drawing habits to suit the fast-paced need. It proved to be a real hustle and I found myself sketching faster and more efficiently by the end of it all. Adapting my style to fit a simple line drawing need proved challenging, but I am glad I learned how to do it and happy I was able to finish everything on time! I was pleased to have been invited to spectate the actual pitch on Thursday afternoon and see it all come to life!