Knowing that I was going to set up my own business, I had to work out what it was going to be. I’d taken two days off work after my yoga retreat the previous October. Without the clutter of day to day should ‘s and things to do I’d found clarity of thought. For two days I gathered images, things I’d made or designed, quotes I liked, things I’d achieved, my support network and images of branding, products and services that I liked. Most of the images are things I’ve designed or made, things like quotes I found on Pinterest. I’m slightly addicted to that!
I collated my research in Power Point. It’s great as a non-precious ‘digital scrap book’ when it’s about capturing ideas, rather than a polished presentation. I created a page for each main story that was coming together, printed it off and pinned it to a board in my studio. It’s a little faded now so here is a snapshot of some of the original pages.
I really enjoy this part of the process. I’m a problem solver. Give me a good brief and I’m fired up to understand the customer, seek out a style direction and get designing.
The biggest message I took for these was what I’d achieve and what I enjoyed. I never stop being creative. As a child I was always making things and had a curiosity to understand why and how things where made. I decided that graphic design was my direction. With
my background in homeware, fashion and textiles I could offer a something different.
I still have the boards on my wall. I believe that visually seeing something everyday keeps you focused. In fact, not only have I established a successful graphic design business but I’ve also established myself as a printmaker. If you’d have said that to me back then I would have thought it was an impossible dream to have a portfolio of jobs!