A fresh start...
Fast forward a few years...almost a decade in fact. It's been quite a journey these last few years. One of which I hope I'm on the better end of. The journey has been a tough one but it has got easier. Particularly last year in 2017, when I rediscovered my love of design once again, after a tough battle with mental health issues at the start of the year. Something which seemed to come and go over this last decade. Perhaps it was due to unsuitable work environments and some unrealistic pressures that caused undue stress over time. But for whatever reason, the health issues returned in full force even though I hadn't been working for more than 8 months...
I was determined to get better and move on with my life.
So I was in the care of a new doctor since I left my last workplace. This new doctor saw the best and worst of my health and was able to keep me on a even keel for the last year. To him I'm so grateful. Not only did I get better health wise, in the space of a few months, but I built up the courage to reinvigorate a love I had lost in design and I started to pursue it once again.
This time I approached it rather cautiously...
I started looking out for casual work and even approached some recruitment agencies to see if I could get temporary work. Nothing really came up, but then I took a look at a post on the FaFFs group on Facebook and saw the opportunity to drop a line to show my interest. A week later I was called in for an interview and then the following week I started working as a Web Designer for two days a week in Surry Hills. I was a little nervous. It was my first real design job in over a year. I had nothing to worry about though because it all worked out well and the company turned out to be pretty cool too.
In the short time I was there I learnt a lot about UI design and got the opportunity to try out some new software; trying my hand at some UX work. UX design is something I'm still learning, so it's not a natural skill of mine. Thankfully the UX/UI Designer there was super patient to show me the ropes and guide me a little bit...so I never quite felt out of my depth. It was easy enough to ask for his advice and get some direction if needed. Thanks Boris!
My time there was cut short after I had to stay in hospital due to a complicated pregnancy. But it was a very good learning experience and one that helped clear my head and strengthen my skills and focus in Web Design.
The placement motivated me to start progress on my freelance work again, so these last few months I've been slowly building a new website for myself.
I couldn't have done it without the help of a superbly skilled front-end developer. Thanks so much Bohdan!
The new site will be launching soon and will hopefully get a bit more attention when I start ramping up my job/client search.
The learning never stops either with Web Design. With this in mind, I decided to check out what was available at TAFE in UI/UX Design. This coming May, I will start a short evening course in UX/UI Design at the Enmore Design School, which I'm really happy about. Hopefully I'll get to meet some pretty cool teachers and students too. I'll use this blog to write up anything I find interesting in class.
I also recently did a short workshop at General Assembly on using the Sketch app. It was pretty easy to grasp and much simpler than the complexity of Adobe Photoshop (where everything seems to be hidden in a menu somewhere...). I'm definitely going to start using this application when doing custom design work, as the pros really outweigh the cons.
I'll leave you with a short job application video I submitted not long ago. It's not the best video but I feel it shows how far I've come as a designer. Thanks to all my family and friends for believing in me and supporting me. I owe you one.
I was determined to get better and move on with my life.
So I was in the care of a new doctor since I left my last workplace. This new doctor saw the best and worst of my health and was able to keep me on a even keel for the last year. To him I'm so grateful. Not only did I get better health wise, in the space of a few months, but I built up the courage to reinvigorate a love I had lost in design and I started to pursue it once again.
This time I approached it rather cautiously...
I started looking out for casual work and even approached some recruitment agencies to see if I could get temporary work. Nothing really came up, but then I took a look at a post on the FaFFs group on Facebook and saw the opportunity to drop a line to show my interest. A week later I was called in for an interview and then the following week I started working as a Web Designer for two days a week in Surry Hills. I was a little nervous. It was my first real design job in over a year. I had nothing to worry about though because it all worked out well and the company turned out to be pretty cool too.
In the short time I was there I learnt a lot about UI design and got the opportunity to try out some new software; trying my hand at some UX work. UX design is something I'm still learning, so it's not a natural skill of mine. Thankfully the UX/UI Designer there was super patient to show me the ropes and guide me a little bit...so I never quite felt out of my depth. It was easy enough to ask for his advice and get some direction if needed. Thanks Boris!
My time there was cut short after I had to stay in hospital due to a complicated pregnancy. But it was a very good learning experience and one that helped clear my head and strengthen my skills and focus in Web Design.
The placement motivated me to start progress on my freelance work again, so these last few months I've been slowly building a new website for myself.
I couldn't have done it without the help of a superbly skilled front-end developer. Thanks so much Bohdan!
The new site will be launching soon and will hopefully get a bit more attention when I start ramping up my job/client search.
The learning never stops either with Web Design. With this in mind, I decided to check out what was available at TAFE in UI/UX Design. This coming May, I will start a short evening course in UX/UI Design at the Enmore Design School, which I'm really happy about. Hopefully I'll get to meet some pretty cool teachers and students too. I'll use this blog to write up anything I find interesting in class.
I also recently did a short workshop at General Assembly on using the Sketch app. It was pretty easy to grasp and much simpler than the complexity of Adobe Photoshop (where everything seems to be hidden in a menu somewhere...). I'm definitely going to start using this application when doing custom design work, as the pros really outweigh the cons.
I'll leave you with a short job application video I submitted not long ago. It's not the best video but I feel it shows how far I've come as a designer. Thanks to all my family and friends for believing in me and supporting me. I owe you one.
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