The graphic design company that you will be working with is based in Knysna, situated in the famous Garden Route area of the Western Cape region. It’s a small and friendly firm but you are sure to be kept busy!

The company has been established since 1995 and currently has three staff members. Their expertise is in advertising, design and marketing development and they concentrate on all facets of design from brief to print or internet publishing.

Their achievements include:

• The first published local content national lifestyle glossy magazine

• They handle the biggest accounts in Knysna

• They also have a range of international clients

WORK CONTENT:
You will learn the basics of the business of graphics design. You'll work alongside the staff in your area of expertise. If you have more than one skill/interest area then you will most likely get the chance to be involved in several areas of the company. Whatever your area of expertise, you'll have a hands-on role, this may be as part of a group or you may be given some tasks to work on by yourself.

You will be involved in projects that the company is currently working on and will usually work on several different projects during your time on the placement. You’ll usually assist a member of staff at first with more basic tasks and proceed to working alone on tasks once your confidence grows and the staff feels you are ready.

You will be required to work from Monday to Friday and you will have the weekends free for any site-seeing, excursions or general leisure time.

Your hours will be split as follows:

• Monday to Thursday: 8:30am-5pm

• Friday: The firm occasionally finishes early on a Friday so you may only be required to work about 4-5hrs on this day.

You will be required to have some background experience or knowledge in graphic design, photography, writing or internet development. You must also be energetic, self motivated, confident working both alone and in a team and have a friendly disposition. You should also have an open mind and a flexible attitude. You may find that your assigned tasks differ depending on your skills and experience, so if you’re not confident in every area, don’t worry!

“… I was taught how to use Corel Draw program which is like Photoshop so then I was allowed to play around with some of the designs and edit a few things giving my interpretation towards them, which lead to one of my designs being used in the final piece of work for a customer." Carolyne Linsley