Literally [Not] By Design
Why did I want to be a graphic designer?
The short answer is I want to be creative. The long, more salacious and honest answer is I didn’t make it in marketing. I got bullied by my boss because she was, well, a ‘you know what’. When one day I couldn’t take it any longer I spoke up... and that’s when I made a BIG mistake.
Soon after I found myself out on my ear and jobless with first-hand experience of discrimination and gender bias. The funny, or perhaps stupid thing, is I never really expected it from a woman. Being a woman myself.
That’s life for you. It’s not fair, it’s certainly bl**dy hard and it’s the reason I find myself here, at university. Trying to pick myself up, get a degree and hopefully, a bl**dy job, please!
What type of designer do I want to be?
Er, I’m a little embarrassed to say I don’t really know at this point. What aspect of design am I really good at anyway? I’ve been told I have ‘an eye for design’ and I guess that’s a compliment. But it doesn’t really help me figure this sh*t out.
As a designer, how do/will I stay current, up-to-date and relevant?
In my foundation year at the Plymouth College of Art (PCA), the tutors would bang on and on, and rightly so, about magazines and websites like Eye, Creative Review and Dezeen.
I’ve picked up a few copies, read some articles and basically left it there for the last year or so. It’s always a question of time; never having enough of it. I know, I know, especially from my former professional marketing days, I should do better. It’s so important to stay up-to-date and feed my creative mind, every day, with more inspiration and more information.
