Joined design school because my engineering attempt didn't click. Discovered I could finally sit through a class without checking the clock.

Family viewed design as "creative" with quotes around it. Equipment was expensive; second-hand laptops became the budget standard.

Design is a craft, not an aesthetic preference. Iteration outpaces inspiration.

Typography, color theory, Adobe suite, sketching, design history, portfolio building

Two years at an ad agency. Pitched on FMCG accounts. Stayed up many nights for client decks.

Ego deflation in the first crit. "This is fine" was the unkindest review you could get.

Agency speed builds craft. Agency politics burns you out. Take what you need and move on.

Brand identity, deck design, client revisions, Figma, motion design basics

Switched from advertising to product design. Slower, deeper work. Spoke to users for the first time.

Realising visual design was 20% of UX. The rest was conversations, research synthesis, and saying no.

Product design rewards humility. The user is not the persona; the user is the messy data.

User research, wireframing, prototyping, design systems, A/B testing, dev handoff

Went independent. Built a niche practice for D2C brands. Three clients on retainer; the rest on projects.

Finance volatility. Two months without a contract teach you to keep six months of runway.

Freelance is a business with one employee. If you cannot sell, you cannot design.

Book of work that books out 5 months ahead. Mentor four junior designers informally.

Build the network during your job; you cannot start freelancing cold.

Sales, contracts, scoping, project management, brand-building on social