MY PRODUCT DESIGN JOURNEY

My name is Peace but everyone I know calls me Pearl 😊 and this is my design story…

My design journey hasn’t been the smoothest so far, but in all honesty, it has been the most experiential and progressive. The first time I heard about graphics design was from a friend’s brother back then during my undergraduate days. I could remember how confused I was when he was trying to explain what it meant, funny how it could be so complicated at first. I understood the whole concept of graphic design better when I saw samples of flier designs, logos, etc.

I started my design journey in the 2nd quarter of this year, and it has been an amazing one. From getting to learn about how design is used to drive top-notch growth in businesses to how it is used to bring about world-class transformation in society.

Starting was quite overwhelming as I didn’t know where to begin learning, according to the research I had done there are different aspects of design and I realized that I needed to narrow down my choices and pick a particular field and stick with it to reduce stress and workload. I knew that I needed to get a mentor that would help with my learning curve and direct me in the path I had chosen that is relevant to the field. That was how I came across an application to join INGENII FELLOWSHIP. I was lucky to be accepted and that gave me the assurance that I would make waves in the design world since I started in the right. direction.

I had to become familiar with the tools for designing deliverables like sketches and wireframes. I would try to replicate designs I see online to train my visual design skills but soon enough I realized that if I wanted to become a better designer and a good problem solver I needed to go back to the basics and understand the reasons behind design choices made by others. It seemed the universe was watching out for me and in no time Ingenii Fellowship introduced the team to DUFUNA GRADUATE TRAINING, of course, I was selected and I enrolled in Product Design. We were taught everything from scratch, we were given tasks and quizzes for every module we learn and obviously, that has expanded my learning horizon.

So far, the few lessons I’ve learned since I started my design journey are:

. 1. Hone your skills

. 2. Believe in yourself

. 3. Get a mentor (very important)

. 4. Be intentional about doing the work and put effort

. 5. Have a growth mindset

. 6. Put your work out there. Show it!

. 7. Love criticisms and feedback

. 8. Socialize and network