A very warm welcome to the latest member of the Better tribe and Creative crew, Jonathan Marsden. A recent Teesside University Graduate, Jonathan is the first recruit for our new Creative Internship launched this summer.
The programme, which sits alongside our Digital Marketing Internship and Web Development Apprenticeships, has been created as part of the agency’s ‘grow your own’ approach to attracting, developing and retaining Teesside’s best creative and digital talent.
Jonathan, who joins the existing creative team to work alongside Creative Director John Taylor and Creative Designer Josh Middleditch, returned to education at the University as a self-taught graphic designer. Previously, he spent many years working on design projects and marketing campaigns for the Leeds club scene and music industry.
Jonathan said: “The experience of working in a studio environment was the main thing I wanted to get out of this. As well as that, I wanted to learn as much as possible about the branding process, and how a studio actually runs and works.
“Working at Better has been a pleasure so far. I’d say I’ve learnt as much, if not more here in three months than I did in three years at university.”
Now as part of the Creative team, Jonathan will have the chance to further develop his creative approach and fine-tune his design skills by working in-house and with our ever-expanding client base. The growing Creative team continues to support clients on a range of services from our unique strategic brand development process, BetterBrandBuilder, through to a range of creative marketing campaigns.
Jonathan adds to the already strong presence of Teesside University graduates and local talent at Better, something which we are both proud and very passionate about.
Creative Director, John Taylor said: “As an agency in the North East, we have some responsibilities above and beyond producing great work for clients. A major responsibility is raising awareness of the creative sector in our region.
“If you ask the vast majority of local students where creative jobs are, their first answer would be London. This is an outdated myth, pure and simple. It’s vital that we not only make them aware of the opportunities on their doorstep, but play an active part in offering those opportunities to grow and nurture local talent.”
John added: “As someone who has spent almost half of their life living and working in London – there’s a reason I now live and work in the North. The work-life balance, the overall quality of life, the surroundings and the affordability of housing blows London out of the water. The people are more genuine too.
“If I was coming out of college today and looking to get a start I’d absolutely look local first.”
Managing Director, Mark Easby said: “Skills development and retention is a key challenge facing many sectors across the region with creative and digital being no different. As an agency, we’re committed to developing local talent and ensuring we have the opportunities, through our continued growth, to keep them in Teesside.
“Jonathan is a perfect example of someone with the raw creative talent, commitment and energy to make a real difference to our creative department whilst at the same time, developing their career with us as we grow.”
As well as our own internship and apprenticeship schemes, we are also heavily involved in supporting local charities and skills initiatives such as High Tide Foundation. High Tide deliver unique industry led programmes to increase awareness of employment opportunities for young people on Teesside, across all the regions key industry sectors.
If you’re interested in finding out more about our creative and design services, then feel free to give us a shout on 01642 989158 or drop us a line or two on studio@betterbrandagency.com. Let us work our magic on your next project!
