At Fluid, we’ve always believed strongly in creating opportunities for the next generation of creatives. Just ask Anneliese, or Liv, or Dan, or Laura, or Ben B, or Maisie. All are fully-fledged Fluiders that originally came to us as part of our work experience and placements programme.
In 2023, we welcomed 16 young creatives into the Fluid studio to get some real-life agency experience with us.
Maisie came to us on a post-university placement, and has since agreed to stay on permanently as part of our Production & Visualisation team. We also welcomed various Year 10 school pupils on their week-long summer placements, as well as higher education students taking time out alongside their studies to gain valuable insight into the disciplines they're training for.
Our programme is also popular with post-graduates looking for hands-on experience in an agency setting, to help build their CVs and enhance their employability. One of those post-grads was Will Bagnall, who came to us in the autumn. Here, Will talks about what he got from his experience in the Strategy & Creative team…
My summer started off really well. I'd won a D&AD New Blood Pencil with my girlfriend, and then took a four-week internship at VCCP.
Afterwards, I spent two months applying and sending off my portfolio to a bunch of different agencies and in-house design teams, looking to gain my first industry employment since graduating from Staffordshire University with first class honours degree in graphic design.
I’d had one interview that hadn't been successful, so decided to seek additional experience to help with my employability. After talking to someone at my local rugby club in early September, who happens to be a client of Fluid, I got in touch about getting some additional experience. I had a brief chat with Ed and Shane, and they then invited me in on a short intern role.
I’m not sure what I expected, but I know that my time at Fluid was nothing like I had imagined. Fluid felt like ‘a big city agency’, nestled in the outskirts of Derby. Even the wide variety of specialisms within the agency took me by surprise. I looked forward to going in each and every day, to work on live briefs (and not spend my time making the drinks, as stereotypes would lead you to believe). It was a proper experience of what the industry is like as a full-time employee, and I was made to feel very welcome in a friendly but professional environment.
Having not worked in branding before, I learned a lot in a very short period of time. Ed taught me about brand architecture and how you position different sub-brands within an umbrella brand. And I thoroughly enjoyed the ideation process when it came to product names. From the research stage all the way through to choosing a typeface. There’s a lot more that goes into naming a brand than what I thought there was, so that was definitely an eye-opener.
I enjoyed every moment I spent at Fluid and loved coming back each day. That’s not something that I have experienced in many other places, if any.
We’re doing it all again in 2024...
We’ve still got a few spaces open, so get in touch with Will and Liv if you’d like to hear more.
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