Creative Protege (From York Press)

Creative Protege

8:28am Thursday 2nd July 2009 in Search By Ron Burnett

FEW people can be better at championing the cause of talented newly-graduated and junior designers in these tough economic times than Ian Rigby and business partner Nicola Burbridge.

Their venture, Creative Protege, is based at the Phoenix Centre at York St John University – the £80,000 experimental incubator project designed to foster a new generation of creative and digital businesses.

Creative Protege is a virtual agency that provides graduates with work-experience briefs from design agencies and companies across the UK which are keen to harvest fresh talent. The projects often develop into full-scale paid commissions.

It is a not-for-profit venture which is funded by a subscription fee from graduates and sponsorship from a Leeds recruitment company, Gloss Recruitment Ian’s background in creative recruitment in London and Leeds allows him to link up hundreds of design agencies – more than 400 in Yorkshire alone – with graduates eager to showcase their talents. Many computer designer ventures based at the Phoenix Centre have already benefited.

So far more than 100 graduates are working on projects set by 35 of Creative Protege’s corporate clients.

So quite apart from entering the New Business of the Year in The Press Business Awards 2009, Creative Protege is also pitched to win the Best Link with Higher Education category.

Ian said: “Young designers are given the opportunity to work voluntarily on commercial briefs remotely at home, and in their own time. The designers benefit from having Creative Protege as a current employer on their CVs, with fresh work experience to help them break the old problem of no exerience, no job.

“By designing for renowned clients and household brands they are given the tools to develop outstanding commercial portfolios, with the chance to showcase their work to prospective employers.”

Companies, meanwhile, use Creative Protege as an extra creative resource and design think tank – a way of gaining fresh ideas and creativity, and to scout for the next generation of talent.

Ian said: “While there are plenty of placement schemes around, no one else across the country is involved in an initiative like ours.”

Nicola acts as the account handler, linking the graduates with the clients.

The couple recognise that graduate designers still need to bring in an income and usually cannot afford to take time off for work experience, but the virtual, work-from-home brief helps them to do both. Every graduate that registers with Creative Protege is guaranteed a minimum of three months’ work experience.

Ian said: “Due to an increasing amount of competition for junior positions within the creative industry, there is a growing pool of underutilised talent in need of guidance. Creative Protege sees itself as a catalyst to bring about change and create a bridge from education to industry.”