Saturday, 24 November 2012

The limitations of the label.

A couple of weeks ago, we had an inspirational talk given to us by Nariman Fadakar, an entrepreneur who had graduated from my university several years earlier and had since gone on to accomplish many things within the design industry. It was not only hearing of his experience that helped me but more so what he had to say when I had the chance to speak with him afterwards.

Being in the last year of my degree, I'd recently been going through the dilemma of how to portray myself and market myself upon graduating. Studying design and having interests in quite a few different areas meant that trying to narrow it down to one field was proving difficult, after all, we'd covered quite a broad spectrum of fields. I put this to him as someone who had also been in this predicament and what he advised me was very useful:

"Don't label yourself."

Its so true. Who said that we as designers, have to pigeonhole ourselves once we leave university, restrict ourselves to one particular field whether that be illustration, product or computer aided design. You cannot put a limit on your creativity, being able to explore and express yourself in many different forms is vital. Nariman himself has dabbled in several very contrasting areas of design and is still experimenting with where to go next because not everyone needs a linear plan, sometimes you just need to remain open to opportunities and see what direction they take you.

This is why I am constantly looking to expand my skill set and in turn, enjoying the possibilities that this extra knowledge opens up for me. I want to be able to jump between projects and across fields... graphics, motion, cad. I might not get to do everything but I'll always enjoy learning and challenging myself and that is all part of my journey as a creative.

You can check out Nariman Fadakar's work, here.