28 April / May 2023 - Issue 246 www.signlink.co.uk Paving the way How did you come to be involved with the sign industry, and what has your career looked like to date? I started my career in print and signage during my final year of university. I saw an advert on the university job board about a company looking for a part-time Marketing Coordinator and I thought it was the perfect opportunity to get some experience whilst working on my dissertation. After almost a year of part-time work at FaberExposize UK/Northern Flags I was offered a full-time position as a Marketing Executive which I accepted. Over the past year and a half, my role has really evolved and I have gone from supporting a Marketing Director to running all marketing initiatives and activities by myself. Do you feel there are enough women in the sign industry, and if not, how can we tackle this? I do see sign and print as predominantly male-dominated industries, but at the same time, I see more women in officebased jobs such as Account Management, Estimating, Marketing, and Finance Management within those industries. So in a way, the saturation of men and women depends on the nature of the job. LinkedIn is a great tool for connecting with other women in the sign industry and spreading the word about the different career paths you can take in signage and print. What’s your proudest career moment to date? My proudest career moment would have to be winning a Rising Star Award at the UK Graphic Awards. When starting a career in a foreign country you face a lot of uncertainty, and you tend to doubt yourself a lot. Getting nominated for an award and later on winning it was the reassurance I needed that I was on the right path and I was doing something right. How did you come to be involved with the sign industry, and what has your career looked like to date? I always had an interest in art throughout school and after a couple of years studying Graphics and 3D Design in college I decided that technical ‘on screen’ design was not for me and I much preferred to have a more hands on role. I was lucky enough to find Grapefruit after college and started working in the production room finishing graphics and really developed a love for digital print and production which was rapidly evolving at the time. I learnt so many skills in those early years of production and install which took me away to different parts of the world. It was exciting to be part of these big events and see your work in real life. I enjoy the hustle of event work, there’s never a quiet moment and when everyone comes together the end results are always amazing to see! After a few years I took on projects of my own with the experience I had gained and became Production Manager. Iva Dobreva, marketing executive of FaberExposize UK & Northern Flags As many women do I had children and life changed quite a bit, but I love what I do and came back to work after each leave, with a lot less travel! Now, my days are spent working with all the departments and ensuring they have what they need to do the best they can. My heart lies with production still so I try to be hands on when it comes to the quick turnaround jobs and get involved where I can. My longterm focus is our future goals, managing our ISO’s and constantly trying to evolve with the products that are being developed and stay focused on sustainability. Do you feel there are enough women in the sign industry, and if not, how can we tackle this? I have definitely seen a huge difference. When I started in the industry as an 18 year old I would rarely see women out on-site and it was always quite intimidating to be in such male-dominated environments. Over the years we have had many female Production Workers/ Install and on-site Event Managers, not just the admin or office-based roles that are statistically more likely to be women. I’m not sure there is any obvious answer to getting more women into the signage industry but when we are recruiting we look at people and the skills they bring to a role. Male or female is irrelevant. There is so much more to signage than thinking you need to be a ‘big bloke on-site fitting large signs off cherry pickers’. The planning and organisation involved in signage before you get to the physical on-site delivery can be quite intense and involve multiple subcontractors. The sign industry has progressed and doesn’t fit the stereotype of work it may once have. What’s your proudest career moment to date? There have been so many projects I am proud to have been a part of. London 2012 was a huge personal accomplishment, as Production Manager at that time the amount of graphics printed and produced in-house was life consuming. We worked a great deal with the Volvo Ocean Race in my early years. My perception of sailing was completely wrong, and it opened my eyes to the sport and the dangers of it. FOCUS ON / WOMEN IN SIGN In celebration of International Women’s Day 2023, we champion some of the ambitious, creative, determined – and in some cases award-winning! - women bringing their talent to the sign industry day in, day out Lisa Samuels, general manager of Grapefruit Graphics
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjM0NDIxOA==