Here’s to Second Year; it’s been a blur.
As noted above, I am Eugene Ekuban and yesterday I received my results for the final module of the year and thereby finished on the year. During the academic year, I’ve been exploring different areas of practice and trying to find what parts of the creative industry really interest me. Outside of study this year has been challenging, seeing the best and the worst of humanity, has left me to reflect. The juxtaposition of heightened social unrest as the softening of social distancing ushers in the new normal has led me to internalise a lot of thoughts.
Through the year I have worked on brand identities, customer experience case studies and editorials. In doing so, I have found that I love two areas of practice, in particular, creating branded experiences and creative directing (specifically photography in the context of a campaign). Both these spaces overlap and complement each other and support it I am looking to develop my understanding of consumer psychology as well as develop motion and film skills.
The growth I’ve experienced over this academic year has not been solely technical but I’ve engaged with a behavioural science course that bettered my understanding for myself and how I work. Finding this balance has meant that I don’t burn myself out and work efficiently whilst still being social and building my technical skills. See my breakdown of what a working week appears for me whilst on campus.
Over the year I’ve been lucky enough to get onto some freelance projects, which has helped me focus my workflow and reflect on my creative process. Knowing that this is an idealised version of my workflow I don’t expect it to break down this smoothly but it’s great to have a framework to lean on. Outside of that I have been lucky enough to gain some work experience with some of my favourite studios, with a couple more in the pipeline for life after COVID, all this is again establishing my internal value, and actually making me value my work higher.
Although my personal likes include sports, cars and music, all of which I enjoy equally and deeply I don’t force them into my work, again finding a balance between my personal and professional life. Going forward though I would love to be able to bring my creative ability into those worlds creating branded experiences in sports and racing hospitality or digital marketing for a music artist. Fortunately, I have again been able to experience small doses of this and it’s making the future all the more exciting!
Upon reflection, I have since created a list of career goals which I’ve shared with my tutor and I look forward to achieving them, the first being to graduate with first-class honours. My career goals are varied and span wider than being a designer, but involve things such as travelling on a project as well as teaching at some point. I am sure I will disclose these in more detail at a later time.
My essay’s and contextual studies through the year have left me really informed on ideas such as inclusivity in the creative industry, the breadth of branding and the importance of the customers' journey. Ideas that are hopefully echoed through my work and in my work to come.
All very exciting times going into final carrying a strong first but until then I think that’s it, thanks and God bless.
