I’m juggling multiple jobs, which is definitely not untypical for recent design graduates; graduating into a pandemic and moving twice in the span of six months made the job search tough and I resorted to internships and volunteering to improve my skills and
expand my network. I’m now concentrating on founding an EdTech startup with two friends; we are aiming at revolutionizing SexEd in schools and making the topic inclusive, comprehensive and fun. It is definitely not typical for new design graduates to become founders, especially for women – there should be more of us!
A lot of my time is dedicated to developing a webapp from scratch; framing the scope of the project, talking about the needs of our minimal viable product, illustrating, having meetings with our advisors and applying for grants. At the beginning stage, nothing is unique, everything is new and frankly a bit scary at times. Me and my partners are aware, however, that we are learning for future business ideas as well and that our experience can be beneficial in different areas of our personal growth. I am also investing time and effort into building a career as freelance designer & potter, since I will move around quite a bit for the next few years, and having a client base that I could take anywhere would be great for my financial security.
Working with people that have rigid visions of a product and won’t take any input from somebody more knowledgeable, or anybody else for that matter. I learned to save my energy for the “big”, most impactful decisions, and gave up on negotiating smaller things fairly quickly. I was the only designer on the team and didn’t get paid for my work either, so I decided that it was best for my mental health to not get too invested and simply try to do my best.
I consolidated my belief that having an intercultural and interdisciplinary approach to building either a team or a social circle is crucial for both generating creative ideas or having captivating conversations. I am trying to keep my vision open for different influences and to enjoy the process of learning new skills – it is keeping me excited about “design”!
Currently, the startup is my biggest “project”, but I am also excited to help creating value for BI alums as part of the BIAA team. Another huge project is to create an online store and start selling pottery and illustrations, which has been a dream of mine for a long time.
Enjoy your time in the colorful city of Berlin, be social and explore new hobbies or areas in the city – there is no time like this one to make friends and question what you want in the future. But also, be prepared to leave uni at some point 🙂
