A Graphic Design (Illustration) student from De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) has kick-started her career before graduation, thanks to the university’s Graduate Champions scheme.
Amy at her DMU Degree Show stand
Amy Lesko is graduating from DMU with a First class honours degree and has already started an exciting internship at Dizzy Ink in Nottingham - a print, publication and creative workshop studio.
The internship was made financially possible thanks to DMU’s Graduate Champions scheme, which pays recent graduates the Living Wage so they can work with leading UK businesses and gain valuable skills and experience.
Amy was offered an internship with Dizzy Ink after impressing them last year during her course.
She used their facilities to produce a 52-page risograph printed book called Bitchin’ Bugs, compiled of mixed stock and multiple inserts, including a throw-out which pushes the boundaries of risograph printing.
Bitchin' Bugs
The 21-year-old said: “I really enjoyed my time there last year and I’m so happy that I now get to work with the team and learn more about printing, binding and design.”
Amy has an impressive portfolio of work following her time at DMU, including A Big Chunk Of Land, a publication about Greenland which was fuelled by her passion to explore.
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After sending a tweet to Greenland’s tourist board to get more information about the country’s culture, she was put in touch with a local blogger who was able to help her out.
“From a simple tweet I was pointed in the direction of Tanny who supported me the whole way,” said Amy.
A Big Chunk of Land
Following the publication’s success, A Big Chunk Of Land was featured by Visit Greenland and copies are now available on Greenlandic shores.
Amy said: “It feels like a great achievement at such an early stage in my career. It has motivated me to keep on creating awesome work as I want nothing more than to do what I love.”
As someone who was initially reluctant to go to university, Amy has enjoyed her experience, especially taking part in live briefs and exploring different design principles from animation to packaging.
She said: “My course has definitely helped me prepare for my future. We spoke to people from the industry often and got to establish good relationships with them, which really helps in this field.
We were given the space to find what we like to do and to do it well. It feels like we’ve grown organically over the three years.”
A selection of Amy's work on display at DMU's Degree Show
Amy was drawn to DMU’s Graphic Design (Illustration) course because she felt it summed up what she was doing at the time, which she describes as ‘doodling and playing around on Photoshop’.
She said: “I wanted to do something I loved and could be passionate about and so that’s what I did!
“I can’t sum up how brilliant my tutors have been. They are always there with an honest opinion and always want you to push yourself and be the best you can be.
“I will miss them so much and I’m genuinely very sad to be saying goodbye.”
Posted on Friday 15 July 2016