Changing my career path and entering into the design world was the best decision I ever made. Looking back though, I can now appreciate that it didn’t come without a lot of hard work and at times, some nerve-racking and challenging experiences.

After working at We Are Empire for the past 9 months, I thought it was time to reflect on my journey and share my experiences of studying, finding work and growing as a designer in this ever-changing industry.

A World Away

Before I made the decision to take the leap into the design world, I had a very different creative career. I trained as an actress at drama school, and worked in the acting industry for 3 years. While I thoroughly enjoyed my time on stage I just couldn’t get the idea of becoming a designer out of my head…and I didn’t want to!

Design for me had always been a hobby - a luxury I would allow myself during my spare time - and when I found I was doing more of this than learning lines for my next play or applying for auditions, I realised I needed to make a big change.

Tentative Steps

Applying to Shillington Graphic Design College was the first step on my journey, but it did come with some serious doubts. What if I couldn’t get a job after graduating? Would companies be willing to take me on if I didn’t hold a degree in graphic design? Was I too old to be changing careers at this stage? With a good mental attitude and a ‘Sod it! I’m going for it anyway!’ mantra I enrolled on a 3 month intensive course and came out with a portfolio filled with work to help me find my first job.

I spent about a month looking and applying for work after graduating and landed my first internship at a graphic design studio in Liverpool. After working there for a month I was offered my first paid job with We Are Empire as a Digital Designer and haven’t looked back since.

It turned out that my initial doubts about changing careers did not come true after all! When I look back on my experience of finding work, there are a couple of pieces of advice I would give to new designers…

Sell Yourself

If you’re sending out your CV and portfolio to studios, put the same amount of effort into the presentation of these as you would a live design brief for a client. This is your first point of contact with them and will give them a good idea of your creative ability, ideas and design skills.

Ask Why?

Research the studios you’re applying to and ask yourself why you’re choosing to send your work to them. Do you like their work? Do any of their projects stand out to you and why? Do you feel you’d get a lot of experience with that studio if you were to undertake an unpaid internship with them?

The same applies to freelance work, if you’re trying to build up your portfolio and are being asked to carry out work for free, you need to ask yourself what benefit this is going to be for you? If it’s a project that you can really get stuck into, learn new things from and display in your portfolio then fantastic. But if you’re doing work for free and not really reaping any benefits, then maybe you need to re-evaluate what you will take on in the future.

Always Be Learning

If you land your first internship or paid job, fantastic - but never stop and settle just because you have finally secured the work. This industry is ever-changing and grows very fast, with more and more competition from every corner. So it’s vital that you keep on top of your craft, hone your skills and push yourself with your creative ideas.

Over the past 9 months I have learnt so much from We Are Empire, and continue to learn new things every day. The work I do is so varied; I could be doing a design for a new website one day, print work for a client the following, and then supporting my Creative Director on a branding project, so it really is important to keep pushing my creative ideas and skills.

Doing my own research and keeping a visual journal helps, and keeping in touch with different design trends is extremely valuable. If you want to be part of this exciting industry then work extremely hard, push yourself and the work you do to be the best it can be, and never stop learning. The hard work will pay off!

I’m so glad I made a big career change, and if anybody is having the same doubts as I was when I first made the decision, I would strongly advise you to push these to the back of your head and just go for it!