Our Junior Designers discuss how 2020 has changed their approach and offer some advice to those looking to enter the industry.
By Bernard Benny and Nakita Carey
We all recently returned to the studio. How did multiple months of WFH affect the way you work?
BB: Initially, I felt a bit shackled at home. But WFH did force a change in mindset, where we accepted the challenges and adapted our processes. We made it work.
NC: I had to reconsider the way I communicate with my team in the digital space. Where we once spoke face-to-face and had the natural cadence of physical communication, we then shifted to a single shared screen, glitchy audio, and manic cursors.
Overall, I think it’s actually improved my presentation skills. I’ve learnt to be more direct and concise, and resources like Mural help replicate the way we’d physically work in a room.
Is it harder to feel fresh and inspired when you’re outside of the studio?
NC: It felt like a novelty at first. It was a new experience I could learn from. But I found that, over time, working creatively in a team was more beneficial in person. I missed the tactility of working in a room with pen, paper, and people. I’m glad I got to experience WFH to at least find out how I work best.
BB: Digital collaboration is definitely the biggest challenge:
when we’re all in the studio, we feed off each other’s energy and excitement and the air’s buzzing with creative chemistry. You can’t beat that.
When we’re all in the studio, we feed off each other’s energy and excitement and the air’s buzzing with creative chemistry. You can’t beat that.
It’s been a bizarre and challenging year. In what ways has design and creativity been helpful during 2020?
NC: When it comes to design and creativity, you’re constantly operating in the grey. But this whole year feels like a grey area that none of us has experienced before.
I find the grey a bit unsettling — I prefer to know the answers right now — but I’m totally aware it’s where the best solutions are born. So, in terms of being helpful, I think 2020 serves as a reminder that we need to continue being adaptable as creatives and as people, and that it’s OK not to know the solution right away.
BB: You can see its helpfulness on various levels, from work that’s intended to educate the public on a global scale, celebrate the frontliners, or reframe how we see or feel about the world right now .
I love the idea that design functions as a rehearsal for the future: investigating possibilities, opportunities, and boundaries, plus anticipating behavioural changes and devising solutions that meet those needs. We could all benefit from that kind of open and exploratory mindset right now.
I think 2020 serves as a reminder that we need to continue being adaptable as creatives and as people, and that it’s OK not to know the solution right away.
Keeping with the theme of helpfulness, these are especially tough times for students and grads. What advice can you give people looking to enter the industry in 2020 and beyond?
NC: Through the chaos there’s going to be a lot of new innovations in remote communications, like VR galleries and AR e-commerce. If graduates present work that solves current issues, I think it’ll help them stand out and put them at the forefront for pioneering culture.
For all the negatives, things are moving fast now and there’s an urgency about this year that’s exciting. And with more unity in the industry in recent times, it might also be easier to connect with studios around the world.
BB: I know everyone’s hungry and it’s very competitive, but I’ve found that patience really helps. In the past, I made sure to use my downtime wisely by looking at all the work that’s out there and finding out who’s doing what. That sort of knowledge helps set you up for success — it allows you to become an Unemployed Expert, if you will.
Ultimately, if you want to shape the culture, you need to know what’s happening in the culture and how it works. It’s like, how can I deconstruct the zeitgeist? It’s important to pay attention to how the world is unfolding around you, from politics to economics to fashion — all those inputs inform design, and being conscious of them makes you a better designer.
