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Budding photographer Max came to Idea Shop to see how he could better differentiate himself and his work in the extremely competitive market for photography in London. He also wanted to see what opportunities there might be to showcase his work in new and innovative ways.

After reviewing Max’s work (www.MaxColson.CarbonMade.com) along with his Twitter feed (www.twitter.com/ThatPoshBastard) it became apparent that he had a substantial body of work already under his belt and had several key differentiating factors he could build on. His idea of using documentary photography to create fictional dialogues (http://prezi.com/0suqwiqjmhsb/) showed thought that stood him apart from the current crop of endless party snappers. He’s also been sitting on a study of cage fighters – including red tops’ favourite Alex Reid, imagery for which there is likely to be an appetite.

There were many ideas discussed from pop-up exhibitions to provide a physical location to allow him to meet his audience, to how he can better articulate his identity through digital media – using tools such as Flickr & Twitter (albeit perhaps with a new handle) and also how he could grow his following by collaborating with others also seeking to build their portfolio; stylists, fashion students, models etc.

Ultimately two key themes arose – firstly the importance of clearly articulating and maintaining his identity in a highly competitive market, and second the need to build-up and engage with a digital community of relevant stakeholders. Max’s one and a half hour slot went by in a ‘flash’ and he left with a few pages of notes and a promise to return photograph Idea Shop in its final day of  glory – which he duly did.

Post by Kieran Bradshaw

Spike Spondike is a livewire American creative full of ideas but a bit unsure of how to go about getting a job in the creative industry in London.

She came to Idea Shop with a lot of ideas and even more charisma and asked us to go through her CV and portfolio to give her the best possible chance of getting a job.

We were really impressed with the actual work but gave her a few pointers on her CV to make it more applicable to the British market as well as giving her a few contacts and recruitment companies who may be able to point her in the right direction.

Her CV and portfolio were presented in a rather kooky, creative way. We advised Spike to save the quirkiness for elsewhere and let the work speak for itself. She had a portfolio of two halves, half amazing conceptual creative work, half other stuff. After chatting to her for a while it became clear that the conceptual work was what excited her – happily that was also where she really shone. (She really is very talented). We suggested focusing her efforts on that work, rather than selling herself short on something she didn’t really want to do.

We also suggested she use a site like www.carbonmade.com for her online portfolio. This would allow her to focus on the work and not worry about doing, (or being judged on), web design/development.

And then for the quirkiness. We felt that in additional to a more traditional CV and portfolio, she could use her considerable creative talents to create a buzz around her work.  We talked about various ideas for a blog to celebrate her love of creative generalism and design diversity. We talked about the lovely lovely example of Make Something Cool Everyday by Brook Davies

http://www.behance.net/Gallery/Make-Something-Cool-Every-Day-2009/171640

We looked into ideas for a sticker campaign leading people to Spike’s blog or portfolio. We also discussed various guerilla stunts. But I can’t share any of these with you because it would ruin the surprise.

We wish this unique creative talent all the best in her search for work. Check out her blog here http://www.spikethedesigner.blogspot.com/

Posted by Jason Scott