Intern Alec Dudson
Intern
Magazine Interview Questions.
· When did you first learn
you wanted to work in editorial design?
I
got into sort of through my mates going off and doing internships and once one
of them had been of out to new york for a couple of months and id been sort of
sat at home in new york that kind of convinced me to look into doing
internships and it wasn’t necessarily the travel aspect of it that sort of got
me into it but that was certainly part of it and I applied for most of them in
London and it just so happened that the first one that got back to me took me
to Milan so not coming from a design background that was almost my baptism of
fire and it was a bit odd going to one that was not only a design magazine but
architecture and design magazine because both of things I had no formal
background in what so ever but the kind of people I was working with out there
and the friends that I made out there very good designers and that kind of I
suppose that two months I spent with them was always going to be the point in
which I decided to pursue magazines and try to get work in it or just think
maybe its not for me. As an editor I do work in editorial design but I am not
designer its more of an over view. I have the final say but I certainly I like
to work with designers because I know I need a designer to do the job so I like
to sort of let them do what they do so as much I like to design myself, its
been a crash course in design. From having noting to do with it in 2012 to this
now two years later I interact with designers on a day-to-day basis. It’s been
nice.
· What is the purpose of
intern magazine?
Its
got a duel purpose first is to showcase the kind of underclass if you will, of
workers. Who are now filling these positions? That have kind of immerged or freshly
defined as internships and the second is to encourage a frank and open debate
about the effects of internships on the industries. That they’ve found them in
more and more industry’s and the amount of work that interns do behind the
scenes still seems to be on the increase so to cut It short it’s a magazine for
and by internes but the hope is that with in that within that there’s enough
variety and perspective, and in story it can be generally appealing to people
who are kind of visually stimulated or into creative pursuits.
· How did you go about bringing the first
edition of intern to life?
It
started of getting the concept right. I
was always very adamant of that, as you’ve no doubt seen that today. If I was
going to make a magazine and stand a chance it had to do something different
and it had to be able to go and stand on its own to legs. Obviously things like
a use of prerequisite the design had to be up to a certain standard or it
wouldn’t be accepted and wouldn’t make it off the shelves. I spent about two
weeks toying with ideas and the idea I kept coming back to was about
internships once I had decided on the concept I pitched it to Davey who was the
creative director of boat magazine where I was interning at the time and also
to Chris who was the freelance designer who has gone on to be one of the three
lads who’s handled the art direction from the start. So once I had kind of got
a reaction off them that supported the idea that there might be something in
it, I kind of hunkered down to asking more people running it by the people I
had worked with in Milan more opinions I got on it the more takes I got on it.
I decided about three to four weeks after it was just before Christmas I come
up with it and decided in the new year I was going to move back up to
Manchester where I went to university and try to put it together I say us, it
was mostly me. Kick starter went live in may in that year so there was a good
five months of pulling together contributors story’s and getting it over to the
designers to get to the point where we had issue zero. So bear in mind that was
only twelve pages and four articles but kind of coming from now where just
emailing people going I am starting a magazine do you want to be in it. At the
time I couldn’t even guarantee payments, which is one of the key parts of the
magazine. So the closer I got to that the more I realized I had to do something
about finding some money and it was when I was in Milan with Domas. I was out
there for design week. Part of Domas exhibition was a section on kick starter
and it was the first I ever heard on kick starter and while most of the stuff
out there was product design because it was far more what there into. I was
outstanded at the financial sort of bench mark these people had hit they kind
of pitched for loads of them which pitched for £2000 pounds they got like
£10,000 pounds really interesting machines but what struck me about it was this
way you could hold onto complete creative control of what you wanted to do and
essentially set up a pre order system. So having done some research and see
that there are other magazines of a similar kind of design aesthetic that had
successfully been crowd funded or started concentrating efforts into launching
that. That was very much a product in itself but one that proved to be worth
the time I suppose.
· How has intern magazine
grown since you first started out?
I
think the main difference now we’ve just closed the start of the month we’ve
just closed the submissions window for the third issue I guess the biggest
difference is first issue I pretty much until the kick starter I had just been
sat at the laptop searching the internet high and low for the right kind of
people at the right point of their career the kind of story’s and its really
amazing this time round, we had open submissions for issue two as well but this
time round I guess as the magazines got more popular and more people heard
about it more people apply to it. The standard of the stuff we get sent in and
also the kind of how much more in tune with what were kind of about the story’s
we get pitched are real, but its by no means job done hopefully a nice
indication that the magazine and its values are reigniting with people that
sort of what to be involved in it which are really cool.
· What is the importance of
getting your work noticed?
I
suppose if I am going to talk about it from a young persons point of view
essentially it’s the way you get jobs isn’t it certainly as a graphic designer
they’ll always be self initiated projects and there’s something really nice
about self initiated projects that’s what intern is for me. The magazines
larger point is to help people get paid for what they do and you know we live
in a visually driven game like design. Being a successful designer you could be
really talented designer, but there’s also a side to a profession that is
getting yourself out there talking to the right sort of people making
connections with people I have long hated the idea you’ve got to work a room
and give them a card and you’ve got to be everyone’s best mate I have never had
that mentality I have always found that very uncomfortable. I would like to
talk to somebody because I am interested to talk to them I don’t want to talk
to them to butter them up. Getting noticed is an integral part of I guess the
craft of design in a larger sense and I guess that its one that isn’t always
catered for particularly well for in education. I think that’s where a lot of
internships stem from the fact that there’s a little bit of a drop off between
graduating and being ready for people to give you paid work and unfortunately
the way that often manifests itself is unpaid internships like you’ve got to
get experience before you get paid.
· What is the importance of
an internship?
I
think in its purest form and this is the thing my personal views on internships
aren’t necessarily reflected in the magazine. The magazine has to be completely
impartial and show you both sides of the coin lot of people want to boil it
down to are they paid or not is that right or wrong. The magazines stance is
that there are more facets to it to that. For me in its purest form internships
are a great opportunity to work out for yourself whether it’s an industry you
want to work in. A great opportunity to work with people who’s work you really
admire a lot of the time there can be a real wake up call when you kind of meet
the people who make the work that you love and turn out to be not how you
expected or they turn out to be awesome and then it all makes sense. Importance
of it is the opportunity to really get a feel of the industry that you want to
work in and how that industry works. Its rarely rocket science but its getting
used to the little work environments they’re very kind of tribal in that the
people who are involved in it they want to protect it for themselves and
there’s not very much transparency. I hate the saying but get your foot in the
door but get in the room with them hear what they’re talking about see what
makes them tick see how they go about doing certain things. In reality some of
it can be quite depressing but it fills in potentially on a short term it can
help you decided whether this is something you want to do for the rest of your
life because there’s nothing worse.
· What city’s have you
interned in and which were your favorite?
Milan
and London – I guess there different Id never been to Milan before its an
interesting city to live in I wouldn’t live in it I don’t think but I met some
really amazing people there and London I was there for 7 months I haven’t got
the point in my life where all the shit that goes with living in London
balances up against reasons for being in London. The frustrating thing is off
the back of the magazine I could probably go down there and find magazine
related work hell of a lot easier. But I don’t like the lifestyle I am more of
a community soul. I like to be able to cycle round to my little brothers and
knock on the door and have a five-minute cycle back. So Milan because I m
always intrigued about new places and I suppose that was better but there’s a
longer list of places that if not interning that kind of relatively unanchored
nature of what I do with the magazine I could go on move somewhere tomorrow and
carry on making intern and because more of my contributors I have never met
they live in New York they live here there and everywhere. Its kind of nice
that there’s an opportunity to see the rest of the world and that’s the
beautiful thing with design.
· What is your favorite
magazine or publication?
Apartmento
– I don’t know what it is about it, having worked with them out at Domas that
gave me a real interest in design interior, furniture and architecture. There’s
so much you can read into what people do, I think what’s most interesting to me
visually is how it doesn’t matter how famous people are nine times out of ten
when they get photographed for Apartmento there’s crap everywhere I love that
its really kind of welcoming in an odd way in the same way. If it’s your home
and you’ve got people round your mortified if it’s dirty. There’s something
really nice that it’s really honest. But also I like it because it’s so well
done in its commercial side of it. It’s a really successful magazine.
· Once piece of advice for
students or young professionals looking for internships?
Have
the confidence to walk away if it turns out its a bit crumby and not what you
expected even if its somebody. It’s really hard to do if its your first one or
its with some dream agency. But it could be the best agency in the world but if
you get there and you’re kind of fobbed off with not being given real work or
getting paid. If your two weeks in and you feel like when am I going to learn
something or be trusted with something the worst thing you can do is just crack
on and waste your time and money. It’s difficult to say sorry its not working
for me thanks for the opportunity but its just not for me. It’s hard to do but
they will respect you for that. If they’re worth their name they will
understand. If the situation isn’t benefiting you or being enriched by it then
its pointless being there. The sooner you can make them decisions the better.
If this happens at a big agency you go to a smaller one not as renounced you’ll
get better projects. Don’t be afraid to speak out and certainty don’t feel like
the only thing that matters it the big name on your CV because it doesn’t.
