Life as a Junior UI Designer at TotallyMoney
Hey, my name is Kemal Raif and I am a Junior UI Designer here at TotallyMoney based in Old Street, London. It’s been roughly two years since I graduated from the University of Greenwich with a Graphic & Digital Design BA, and I’ve gotta say — the transition from being a graduate to a junior designer is such an eye opening yet exciting experience. Let me tell you all about it!
Graduating in 2020 was an extremely weird time, as the pandemic that rocked the world was in full swing and things were looking extremely uncertain for many people. I was very excited but also a tad nervous about what lies ahead, as job opportunities were extremely tough, especially for new graduates. I ended up being furloughed from my part time job, and used this time to continue learning and also apply for jobs as a designer whilst I was stuck at home.
This process took quite a while with many ups and downs, but was an absolutely necessary part of my road to becoming a designer. It’d be almost a year that towards the end of 2021 I was very fortunate to land the role of Junior UI Designer at TotallyMoney.
With that in mind, I thought it’d be good to reflect on my time as a junior designer almost one year on and share the key things I’ve learned along the way.
Being out of your comfort zone
I would be lying if I said that in the early stages I didn’t feel completely out of my depth at some points whilst working here. From being in Zoom calls with some extremely impressive design power houses to not knowing how to use a certain tool to accomplish a task. University taught me a boat load of skills about being a designer, but they can only teach you so much before you have to step out into the real world and put it into practice.
I learnt very quickly that sometimes mistakes will be made, and it’s perfectly okay to not know everything, as not knowing everything will give you the push you need to explore that particular area and master the fear of the unknown!
There’s a level of assumption that I naturally had about joining a fintech company in an in-house position. For example, I always imagined this to be an extremely fast paced environment with people darting around the office and screaming numbers and profanities, almost like the stockbrokers in the Wolf of Wall Street. Luckily it was nothing like that! The environment is actually very chilled out and level headed.
I also couldn’t believe the amount of different skills and positions needed to keep a company like this up and running. I never thought I’d be brushing shoulders with accountants and copywriters or working closely with compliance and marketing teams.
It was an abundance of information at first that took a load of getting used to. But once the initial newbie anxiety was over, I could really get stuck into my craft and becoming part of the team.
“The mind is everything. What you think, you become” — Buddha
Embracing self-doubt
As a creative individual getting my first creative job fresh out of university, there is always an inevitability of running straight into the wall of self-doubt, i.e. imposter syndrome. It’s hard not to have this feeling when I’m surrounded by some really talented designers who I look up to and aspire to be like. But it was so important for me, in the early stages of my career to not get too ahead of myself and always take it one step at a time, as these very same designers have also had to have gone through the process of many trial and errors and up and downs in their careers to get to the point that they are at now.
Self doubt is not necessarily always a bad thing, as this is a sign that your mind is telling you that you can do much better than you already are. You can never have a bad day if you turn things that may come across as negatives into positives!
Never stop learning
There were also inevitably moments at the start of my journey where I put forward some absolutely terrible ideas and also did some concept design drafts that looked very… Ahem, phallic.
But needless to say, these mistakes were meant to be made. Perfection isn’t something that a junior designer should be striving for, it should be growth. Mistakes are pushing me to become the designer I always aspire to be like.
As mentioned earlier, there was an abundance of new information and things to learn whilst on the job, which seemed really intimidating at first. But the beauty of being a junior designer is that you’re in a position to learn and grow! If you’re fortunate enough to be part of a company that supports your growth and provides the relevant resources for this, don’t miss the chance to grow!
I’m also lucky enough to have some really great mentors around me that is always great to pick their brains and work beside them. Namely our lead UI Designer, Rupert who has supported me every step of the way and continues to do so!
Since starting at TotallyMoney, I’ve been able to work with some amazing people everyday, and despite any mistakes I make, all they ever expect is that I try my best. I’ve learnt to make sure I work hard, work smart, and best of all, play hard. I’ve also realised the importance of taking a break from time-to-time, as too much of a good thing can become a bad thing.
With that in mind, I hope these tips can help at least one person out there with a much greater understanding of how you can begin getting ahead as a junior, and remember that no matter what you aim to achieve in life, if you put your mind to it, things will eventually pay off!
