Recently I was interviewed by a website and from that I wanted to share the following five questions I was asked.

1. What got you into design in the first place?

Ever since I can remember I have been drawing or painting. There has always been a need to draw and even to this day I carry a sketchbook around with me so I have something to draw with if I have a spare moment.

2. If you hadn’t gotten into design what would you have done?

The plan was to go to Art School and do the Graphic Investigation course in Canberra, or if I didn’t get that placement at University it was to do a acting course at University, which not only covered acting but the production side of things for TV, Film and Stage as well. Fortunately for me as it turns out both places were highly contested, and I ended up short listed for both. (coming fifth out of over 500 applicants for Graphic Investigation was pretty impressive, the only problem was that there was only three places on offer!)

3. Out of TAFE, Uni or on the job practical experience which do you think is the most useful in increasing your employability?

You need to be grounded and have the basic skills to build on before you can go out and break all the rules of design. Practical experience is by far the biggest component of a job these days, especially as the industry shifts so quickly. When I was at TAFE, there wasn’t any design courses covering the internet, these days it is expected a designer will have the skills required to design websites. If you weren’t taught it during one of your courses during your time at TAFE/University you are normally required to self train to get up to speed so that if you ever want to switch roles or increase your earning capacity you have the opportunity to do so.

4. Where do you see design headed in the next five years?

It is going to be more focussed on the web, mobile devices (like iPhones and iPads) and animated point of sale/banners. The animated banners instore are becoming more common as new NAB bank branches have video screens much like the Apple store does to display animated banners in their windows rather than just having a static printed poster stuck in the window. The need to think about creating engaging experiences is becoming the top priority rather than just making a pretty poster to print out.

5. Where do you see yourself headed in the next five years? Is there something you are going to focus on, i.e. in emerging technology, or is there a particular project you are looking at working on?

As I mentioned above, embracing the new direction design seems to be taking is challenging but also much more interesting as you are no longer tied to a particular static space, which means I am going to need to look at the specifics of designing for each of the new display formats and look a the limits of what they can do. Possibly even looking at my copywriting skills to help enhance the brand or message that the client is wanting to communicate. There is always something new to learn, and I am definitely going to be looking into how to develop ebooks so clients have the opportunity to not only sell physical books but books in the ePub format for the Apple bookstore or through Amazon as digital books.

6. Ninja or Pirate?

Okay that was a sixth question, but the last one I added in to lighten the mood of the article a little bit. (and I always pick Godjira in response to that question!)