Harris highlights – part 3

Here’s the final instalment of our look back at some of 2015’s highlights. This week we have Brett, Joe, Liz and Etajha sharing their stories.

Did you miss parts one and two? Click the links to catch up.

Harris highlights – part 1
Harris highlights – part 2

 

Brett Chapman, filmmaker

 

My favourite project this year was shooting the new team photos for the Harris team.

I really enjoy film and photography work that concentrates on capturing something truthful and that’s how I tried to approach these images. It’s often the case that ‘team photos’ are quite formal and fail to capture the reality of who a person is. You can usually tell that people are wearing their ‘work face’ or some facade of formality. That’s lame. You don’t care about those people. If you’re forcing people to smile or strike a pose you’re going to end up with an empty image, so going into this project I decided that there would be no formal structure in terms of how people had to look; it was more a matter of people feeling comfortable.

I was determined to use natural light as the base on which to build a unique palette for each person’s portrait. Some purists might be against the editing of photography but when shooting digitally the editing process should always be an active consideration when getting the shot – at least, that’s what I think. I tried to make good use of the building we have here at Harris and use some of its more interesting and older spaces as the canvas for people’s personalities.

In short, I like taking pretty pictures.

Joe Lans, designer

One of my highlights of the year was the brand creation project for Nautilus.

It involved devising and positioning the new brand – including the development of the new name – as well as creating digital and physical assets and the setting of brand tone and messaging. We knew the brand had to be strong and distinctive, and it had to establish a market position from which the newly formed company could win large projects in the roofing and exteriors industry – I’m delighted to say that it’s had the desired effect!

The work was even recognised by the Construction Marketing Awards after it was shortlisted in the Best Branding and Positioning category.

 

Liz Slack, public relations account manager

I’ve worked on several different projects that have had lasting impressions but the one project that I have enjoyed the most in 2015 is my work on the Novus Now newsletters.

Over the year we’ve produced three 12-page newsletters, and a 16-page one that we’re currently in the midst of.

Each one is an epic undertaking and gives me the freedom to act as something of a magazine editor – deciding which stories make the cut, how much prominence should be given to those that are chosen, and working closely with the design department to produce an end result that is colourful, engaging and insightful.

 

 

Etajha Gilmer, social media executive

My Harris Highlight of 2015 is one that any employee of a new company can relate to.

I spent the majority of 2015 teaching English to young Vietnamese students in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and travelling around South East Asia before making the decision to come to Leeds to undertake a MA in public relations and strategic communications. That wasn’t enough, though – I wanted to combine my studies with real-life work experience!

When I applied to Harris I was a bit nervous because my CV must have looked chaotic and it had been almost a year since I had an actual job in an office. When Karla offered me the position I was ecstatic and nervous all at once. As I just stated, it had been quite some time since I last worked in an office setting and I worried about how I would adjust to office life and whether or not I would fit in with the rest of my tea obsessed co-workers, who have worked together for years.

That worry dissipated after my first week in the office. It was clear that the team was excited by the variety of work that I could bring to Harris and trusted my skills. That initial feeling of relief I felt is my highlight of 2015 at Harris. I believe any new employee anticipates this feeling and can relate to the comfort you feel once it comes.

I can’t wait to bring these positive vibes with me into the New Year!