Media. It’s a wide-reaching term for a varied industry. Media is also one of our biggest pathways – home to some serious talent across animation and VFX, graphic design, videography, photography, content creation and more.
Our Birmingham media students, tutors and alumni have worked together to create an incredible media zine that you can view. To spotlight this incredible work, we’re bringing you a series of interviews with the people behind it.
First up, we spoke to Sam, a recent Graphic and Digital Design graduate to find out more about how it was created and what it’s like to build a career in graphic design. Read on for more.
Hi Sam, tell us about yourself
I’m Sam, I’m 19 years old and I recently graduated from Access’ Graphic and Digital Design course at their Birmingham campus. My design style is mostly composition-based, as I love seeing the art I can create from something as simple as a photo and some text. I also consider myself a branding designer as well, as I love creating branding identities to post onto my graphic design page on Instagram (@thesrnarchives).
In my free time, my other hobbies include Formula One, photography, video games and shopping. I’d say my hobbies influence my design work quite a lot, especially Formula One as I enjoy creating graphics linking to it, including a challenge I’ve set myself to design and upload a poster inspired by the location of that week’s Grand Prix weekend.
Your graphic design work recently appeared in Access Birmingham’s media zine. Tell us about how that came together.
My tutor sent me a message regarding the zine, and asked me to write up a small introduction to myself and send my brand logo while she collected the work that she wanted to include in the zine. I’m so proud to be on the zine and show off my work to anyone who might read it.
What made you want to build a career in graphic design?
I’ve been studying graphic design since Year 10, so it’s definitely something I’ve enjoyed for a while. I think my interest stems from my love of being creative and my desire to show that creativity to other people. I also really love the idea of going out into the world, looking at something like a poster or a logo and being able to say “I made that”.
How do you approach a new design project? What’s your go to equipment?
I feel the most important thing to do when starting a new project is to search for inspiration and create visuals while generating ideas. My favourite method of generating ideas is through moodboards. I’ll often create multiple moodboards to present to clients, allowing us to agree on a general style and aesthetic before moving forward. An ideal moodboard for me will consist of colours, typography and packaging/posters that match the aesthetic I’m looking to achieve.
What are you looking for in a finished project, and what’s your favourite piece you’ve created so far?
For my finished projects, I want to achieve something clean, coherent and that conveys the message that I am looking to put across. I also want something visually appealing to my audience, which is equally as important, as nobody wants to look at something that doesn’t look good to them.
In terms of pieces that I’ve created, I think my favourite design that I have created depends on the type of design. Branding-wise, my favourite has to be my ‘Change’ branding for my Year 2 FMP, as I feel like I created a brand that was quite in-depth, consistent and effective. I’m also very proud of the mockups I created.
Poster-wise, I think my favourite design is either my ‘Doomsday Blue’ poster – inspired by the song by Bambie Thug – or my ‘China’, ‘Canada’ or ‘Baku’ entries for my F1 weekly poster series.
How was your time at ACC Birmingham? How do you feel it contributed to your career?
My time at ACC Birmingham was an absolute blast. I thoroughly enjoyed working with the tutors on my projects, getting to collaborate with artists on other courses – such as the time I got to create a logo for one of the music students – and just being in a nice and positive working environment. ACC has definitely helped me kickstart my graphic design career. I learned so much about building my brand and portfolio, how to market myself and pricing, as well as working on my professional skills.
You’ve gone on to study at university. How’s that been going?
Yes, I recently started studying Graphic Design at Manchester Metropolitan University and have just been given my first brief/project. At the moment I’m focused on settling in and finding my feet in a new environment, but I’m very excited to be able to show my skills and hopefully grow as an artist even more.
What’s next for you in your career? What are you working towards, and what are your hopes for the future?
I plan on continuing my studies in graphic design, gaining connections as I do so and hopefully entering the world of work as a freelancer, allowing me to be in full control of the projects that I do and my design style. Eventually, I hope to be able to work with McLaren F1 as a graphic designer, creating social media content for something I am so passionate about.
Meanwhile, you can find me on Behance and Instagram to watch my journey and to see my work! I definitely post more on Instagram than Behance so if I were you, I’d 100% follow me there!
If you’ve got a passion for media that you want to build into a career, consider one of our Media courses.
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