Strategic Career Design

An exploration of possibilities, pathways and prospects

Prepared by Sarah Micallef for Mr. Padraig McNamara | GRP223

SARAH
MICALLEF

GRAPHIC DESIGN + MEDIA + STRATEGIC DESIGN

0401 311 108 | sarahmicallef.mypressonline.com/
Contents Page
SARAH

Interview One MICALLEF

Interview Two
Career Design Thinking Process
1 | What is?

2 | What if?
3 | What wows?
4 | What works?

Career Plan
Reference List
Interview One | Summary
Dylan Cramp | Junior Graphic Designer | Hello Social SARAH
MICALLEF

“Your degree will qualify you, but your attitude will define you”.
Dylan Cramp has been working as a Junior Graphic Designer for Sydney-based social marketing
agency, Hello Social, for the past 6 months. Currently studying a Bachelor of Digital Design via
the Academy of Information Technology in Sydney. Dylan is due to graduate at the end of 2018
and decided to undertake his first internship, with Hello Social, upon the university’s advice at the
end of 2017, which led to a full time position. Tasks performed by Dylan within Hello Social include
photo retouching, web banner design, gif creation, meme creation and concept brainstorming.

Outside of his formal design training, Dylan cites YouTube as his most frequently used tool for
teaching himself new skills, tips and tricks, in order to expand and diversify his skill set, often using
YouTube to learn things “on the fly” at work. Dylan’s skills include graphic design, the creation
of animations/gifs and video/illustration skills, however he believes that his ability to relate to
colleagues and to maintain a positive mindset are his strongest skills.

Dylan is confident that his enthusiastic attitude, personality and friendliness are what gained him
his full time position at Hello Social after his internship, stating that “I wasn’t the most skilled intern
within the team, but I was the one that worked the best with everyone else, formed relationships
and was the most friendly and relatable” which Dylan has highlighted as especially crucial within a
tight knit and socially buzzing team environment such as that of Hello Social.

Dylan firmly views people skills “and the willingness to talk to anybody and everybody about
anything and to always help whenever possible” as the Unique Selling Point that differentiates
him from other graphic designers, stating that these skills are essential within the current industry,
where “putting on your headphones and working by yourself doesn’t present you well as an
employee or a team player, and employers want communicators and strong team players”.

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Dylan’s recommendations for a fledgling designer are mainly centered on the importance of
adopting a friendly and personable attitude, building a strong network within the design industry,
pursuing internship opportunities regardless of your perceived skills and always being the person
who displays the most initiative and a willingness to learn. Dylan believes that whilst a degree may
give you the technical qualifications to work within the design industry, what is more important is SARAH
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your willingness to pitch in and help, ability to learn new skills, and your initiative to forge positive
working relationships and enthusiasm - things that can’t be taught within a degree.

It is Dylan’s belief that a student with at least two years of study left should be aggressively
networking both face-to-face and via social media (LinkedIn/Instagram), monitoring/setting up
daily alerts on job boards for internship opportunities, and relentlessly chasing these opportunities,
regardless of skill level - “always throw your hat in the ring and see what comes of it!”. When asked
what the top three qualities are for being successful as a graphic designer, Dylan’s answers were
a great work ethic, relatability and intellectual curiosity, believing that the combination of these
qualities will yield the best results for obtaining internships, transforming internships into paid
work, growing your skills and building a fantastic reputation within the design industry.

Speaking to Dylan about what his way forward might be in the industry, he stated that he believes
social media to be the future of design and that he has a view to stay within Hello Social for the
foreseeable future and potentially work his way up to a design team lead/design project lead
position. From what Dylan has observed, these positions are awarded on hard work and attitude
within the company, and Dylan firmly believes that by putting in extra hours, always volunteering
for additional responsibilities, teaching himself new skills to display initiative and growing his social
network within the business, this is achievable as his career path forward.

As a new responsibility within his current role Dylan has been tasked with being the ‘go-to’ person
for interns within Hello Social and asked whether I would be interested in joining the team to see
whether graphic design within social media would be something that I would like to investigate my
passion for. This is a fantastic opportunity that I informed Dylan I would be thrilled to accept, and
Dylan and I will be making plans to push a Hello Social graphic design internship into action for me
to participate in when the next graphic design internship cycle commences at the end of 2018.

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Interview One | Analysis
Upon speaking to Dylan in person within an informal meeting about the design industry, I was SARAH
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surprised to hear the huge emphasis which he placed on social skills, the ability to network and
the active building of working relationships with colleagues. Although I do consider these things
to be important as a result of my previous workplace experience (particularly within a corporate
environment), Dylan placed the importance of social/communication skills over technical/design
skills, stating that attitude will open up more design industry opportunities to people, rather
than ability. I was additionally surprised to hear that so many jobs and opportunities within the
design industry appear to be unadvertised and are simply created when an appropriate person
is identified by an employer, with Dylan’s position within Hello Social only being created when his
supervisor witnessed Dylan’s attitude and work ethic.

What I considered to be particularly pertinent to my career from my chat with Dylan was the fact
that I need to stop approaching my entry to the design industry with such caution and simply
go for opportunities as they arise, regardless of how developed I view my skills to be. I shouldn’t
be waiting for jobs and opportunities to be posted, instead, I should be approaching employers
asking for these opportunities, self marketing myself and taking any opportunity possible to
display my skills and make myself known. Additionally to this, Dylan also highlighted to me the
power of determining/presenting your Unique Selling Point as a designer, and ensuring that who
you are as a designer and as a person is presented consistently and authentically.

After speaking with Dylan, the change in approach or focus of study that I envision, in order to
achieve what I want involves investigating the idea of diversifying the electives studied within my
degree in order to make me a more desirable/valuable employee, whilst retaining a USP/USPs
and adjusting my focus from prioritising being the person with the strongest technical skills to
placing more of an emphasis on social networking and building relationships, to see whether I can
strike an effective balance between these qualities. This meeting was a fantastic opportunity to
begin my networking within the industry and has provided me with an excellent future internship
opportunity.

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Interview Two | Summary
Tony Ibbotson | Creative Director | The Creative Method SARAH
MICALLEF

“Effective Graphic Designers need to be part creative and part lawyer”.

Tony Ibbotson has been working as the Creative Director and owner of his own Sydney-based
design agency, The Creative Method, since 2005. Tony has been in the design industry for 27
years and graduated from Christchurch Polytechnic with a Bachelor of Visual Communication and
Design in 1991. His first job was working as a designer for Claude and Associates in NZ primarily
working with outdoor signage, after which he worked for advertising agency Strategy Creative
in NZ before moving to London, Japan and then finally Sydney to pursue creative opportunities,
resulting in the formation of his agency after deciding to just “go for it”.

Tony firmly believes that the best experience comes from being on the job and that the best
informal training he has had is “each and every job that I take and client that I talk to” with “design
being the type of job that is impossible to master, it’s just a matter of constantly moving from
good to better”. He is an avid user of Lynda.com and YouTube tutorials, which he has stated that
he finds especially helpful since his degree was completed before the launch of Adobe Suite.
Tony’s informal training also includes regularly visiting other agencies to observe their practices as
well as spending time at various conferences and meetings to liaise with other creatives.

Tony’s skills include graphic design with a strong focus on packaging, strategic design/customer
liaison skills, writing skills and the “ability to negotiate and present convincing arguments”
acting as “part lawyer” in order to defend his ideas and present the best possible case for their
implementation. Tony got started in the business by accepting a “very entry level” position
straight out of university by approaching prospective employers with his portfolio of work that he
produced throughout his studies. From this job Tony learned all that he was able to, continually
and relentlessly seeking new positions to expand his skills and working his way up to supervisory
positions by “working hard, never taking no for an answer and being insistent and persistent”.

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Over the course of his career Tony has illustrated, worked with typographic and magazine layouts,
outdoor signage and “done just about every other type of design possible” and came to find his
passion for packaging when working for Strategy Creative NZ where he was tasked with working
on packaging for Unilever and Diageo, the beverage giant who owns and produces products such
as Smirnoff, Johnnie Walker and Baileys. In this role Tony came to appreciate and love the way in SARAH
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which packaging designers are tasked with telling a great story in a small amount of space, and he
hasn’t looked back since, with his company The Creative Method working almost exclusively with
fast food packaging/alcohol labeling and working with young, fresh and innovative clients such as
Guzman Y Gomez, Coco Cubano, Doyle’s Seafood and Malborough Wines.

Tony’s recommendations for a fledgling designer really emphasised the importance of working
hard, constantly growing your skills via informal and formal training and he couldn’t stress enough
the idea that “if you love what you do, it’s never hard work!” He also placed an emphasis on
working with and for people who treat you well, and that you should always maintain a sense of
self-respect and of your own self-worth as a designer, and set a bar of acceptable behaviour from
clients and colleagues. Tony also stated that it is essential to find what you are passionate about
in design and that “if there is a project that you work on until 2am and don’t even notice that it’s
2am - you’ve found passion!” and strongly recommended doing everything you can to differentiate
yourself as a designer. “Whether this is sending your portfolio on a USB attached to helium
balloons, or your logo on a pack of peanuts (I’ll work for peanuts) - do it!”.

When asked what the top three qualities are for being successful as a graphic designer, Tony’s
answers were hard work, persistence and not stressing too much. He emphasised that resilience
is key and that you need to “keep trying, spam people with your portfolio, and make people
remember you”. Tony stated that around graduation times for major universities in the area (UTS,
University of Sydney) he can sometimes receive between 10 and 30 portfolios each week and that
sometimes if he needs help with a major client project, he will often hire those who present not
only the most unique portfolio, but also the portfolio that comes at the right time, making it critical
to not only send portfolios out at the time that you are graduating, but all year around. Tony never
knows when he will need an extra set of hands and has suggested that students take action to be
viewed as unforgettable and to keep their names being discussed actively within the industry.

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Tony also had some additional practical and more personal advice to give, stating that “if I could
send younger me a message, I would tell him to not stress so much, no career or job is worth
being or getting sick over”, also mentioning how critical it is to maintain a healthy work/life
balance within design and the importance of ensuring that you have hobbies that are outside of
design in order to ensure that burnout doesn’t occur within your design career. SARAH
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He also stated that he believes awards within the design industry are a negative thing as they
only breed stress, competitiveness and anxiety. It is for this reason that although nominated by
clients, The Creative Method enters no work into competitions or awards of any kind itself, with
Tony instead believing that “The real mark of success is the success of your clients”. Additionally to
this, an atmosphere devoid of egos is encouraged within the business and Tony stated how much
of a constant struggle it is to “leave your ego at the door” and that regardless of excellent work
you may have done in the past, a designer is really only as good as the work that they are working
on at the current time - “focus on the ‘now’ of design and not past design achievements and see
other designers as your allies and not competitors - build a strong design network”.

Tony’s key piece of study advice is to “create works which are of your best quality and not in order
to just get the best marks”, because it is often these works created within your university studies
that are going to help students to secure their first internship or paid position, and therefore
these works need to be reflective of the designer and not just to fulfill requirements outlined on a
marking rubric. Tony was however careful to state that the industry conditions were quite different
back when he graduated and that he would strongly suggest that a student with two years of
study left aggressively pursue internship opportunities instead of waiting until after graduation
to break into the industry, as the industry is growing increasingly competitive. He is impressed by
bold students who ask for opportunities instead of expecting opportunities to come to them.

Tony believes that the best way to approach internship opportunities is to find what interests you
in design, find the agencies and businesses that are doing this work, formulate a unique way to
present yourself (focusing on your unique skill or Unique Selling Point) and then to mercilessly and
shamelessly market yourself to these businesses. “Take initiative, make your portfolio relevant and
never settle for less than what you want!”. “Good people, kind people, make good designers”.

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Interview Two | Analysis
Upon speaking to Tony in person about the design industry I was surprised to hear the importance SARAH
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that he placed on designers aggressively, shamelessly and relentless marketing themselves and
the way in which he considered all self promotion to be a positive thing, with designers never
being able to do enough to make themselves known, noticed and remembered. Although I
consider myself to be somewhat confident, I had previously viewed aggressive self-marketing to
be overly bold and perhaps even arrogant, believing that if an employer admired my work they
would keep me in mind. I feel that I have acquired essential knowledge in learning from a design
industry studio owner that this is not the case within design as it was within my former corporate
roles, and that within the design industry it is a constant battle to be remembered and discussed.

What I considered to be particularly pertinent to my career from my chat with Tony was the idea
that striving to be considered the ‘best’ within your career is not always a positive thing and can
not only be draining but can also be frustratingly unattainable within an industry such as design,
which is not only constantly evolving at lightening speed, but is also highly subjective, with client
success and personal fulfillment requiring prioritisation to ensure an excellent standard of work. He
also highlighted the value of valuing yourself as a designer and as a person, warning against falling
into the trap of being treated poorly just to get a foot into the door of the industry or in order to
win a particular client or project, which is great advice that I feel applies directly to me.

After speaking with Tony, the change in approach or focus of study that I envision, in order to
achieve what I want involves designing with a greater focus on my current project/projects
instead of resting on my laurels - I now know that I need to treat each project as if it is going to
be my best work and assume that each piece will be critiqued by a prospective employer and
may be the difference between being employed and passed over. Additionally to this I want to
place greater focus on ensuring that I have a more diverse portfolio, so that I am able to approach
a variety of agencies and present relevant design examples. This interview also heightens my
determination to secure an internship position asap to start building a reputation and growing my
contact network within the design industry, and has made me aware of the value of mentorship.

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Design Thinking | Brainstorming
SARAH
MICALLEF

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Design Thinking Process
1 | What is? SARAH
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• I am majoring in Graphic Design with a Minor in Media Production, resulting in skills not only
within the Adobe Creative Suite, but also in video and audio production tools (Audacity,
ProTools), having completed 50% of my elective minor subjects to date.

• I have extensive experience in customer service/customer liason (7+ years) and enjoy talking
with and presenting to clients, finding it easy to communicate with clients/colleagues at
varying organisation levels and build strong working relationships.

• I have a passion for writing content and am comfortable producing written works over a variety
of registers with passions for descriptive content, evaluations and reviews.

• I have a special interest in humanitarian issues and “under reported” new stories (social justice,
equality) particularly those produced by SBS, ABC and news outlets such as VICE.

• I have a well-established professional network via LinkedIn which I am currently expanding and
possess the strong social skills to network at a professional level.

• I have basic illustration skills which I am practicing continually via informal training in order to
strengthen my representation of concepts and my confidence in sharing sketches with others.

• I have an ability to learn new software and processes quickly and accurately.

• I have setup my own portfolio website and logo/complied a resume and cover letter in order to
assist with marketing myself to prospective employers.

• I have an enthusiastic attitude and the ability to take instruction and constructive criticism well.

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• I am well-presented, well-spoken and perform well and confidently in interview situations.

• I have traveled internationally and experienced design in a variety of locations, drawing on

these experiences to inform my own design style, interests and methods.
SARAH
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• I live close to Sydney CBD and can easily access the wide number of design agencies and
businesses in the area. Additionally to this I also live locally within an area which has a large
amount of small businesses (restaurants, cafes, cleaning/maintenance businesses, photography
businesses and personal trainers) whom I can approach in order to offer my services and
perhaps even work collaboratively with.

• I enjoy both digital and analogue design methods (painting, sketching, pattern making) and
experimenting with/combining these to produce varied and unique outcomes.

• I aspire to work/intern within a studio/agency environment in order to begin my design career.

and gain experience. I am actively signed up to and receiving alerts from a wide range of job
and internship boards (Seek, The Loop, Behance, LinkedIn, Pedestrian TV, Paddl, CSU Board,
Design Institute of Australia) in order to monitor and act on opportunities, having recently
started applying for numerous paid internship/entry level positions.

• I am open to the possibility of moving interstate or overseas for internship/paid work

opportunities and can realistically consider this to be an option that I am able to pursue.

• I have access to and utilise a number of online training tools (YouTube, Lynda.com, w3schools)
in order to constantly learn new skills and refine my existing skills. Some of the skills I am
currently looking to develop include website design skills, animation skills, CSS skills, HTML
skills, gif skills and the development of better skills in Adobe AfterEffects.

• I have an open mind and display flexibility in direction regarding my future career and would
consider a range of different working arrangements (studio/agency employee, freelancer,
contractor) in order to drive my career forward.

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• I aspire not to win design awards and to be viewed as the ‘best’ but instead to be regarded as
a valuable part of a team/project, and to be a designer which others value the feedback and
opinion of and a designer who people equate with quality rather than quantity.

• I would like to be able to use my design skills not only to promote products and services but SARAH
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also to contribute to the social good of the world/society/my community by doing things
that will positively impact people beyond just giving them things that are visually pleasing. I
recognise that I have a social responsibility to use the skills that I’ve acquired to make the world
a little better in my own way and consider fulfilling this obligation to be important to me as a
person.

• I enjoy thinking about the ‘big’ and fundamental ideas behind design, including strategic
thinking process and how businesses, products and services are not revolutionised by the
simple creation of a new logo or advertisement, but how these aesthetic features deliver
promises and fulfill the needs/desires of customers. The Design Thinking & Strategy - Good
Kitchen Case Study is something that deeply interests me and is the type of complex design I
would like to participate in, identifying underlying causes that need to be investigated and their
interconnectedness uncovered before being resolved via design.

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Design Thinking Process
2 | What if? SARAH
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• Original idea = What if I developed a diverse and original self-branded promotional package?
Extension = What if I developed an incredible and innovative set of self-branded items that
could be given to potential employers (paid work + internships) / clients in order to promote
me? This branded package could include a number of items - packaged treats with my logo on
them to showcase packaging capabilities, an “Introducing Sarah’ mini magazine to showcase
magazine/booklet layout skills, a USB/digital component to showcase video/audio and website
development skills and a range of other small and inexpensive items that the agencies/studios
might be likely to keep (coasters for their meeting room table) that would not only make them
aware of my name, make me memorable, cause a buzz, keep me in the forefront of their minds
and start conversations. The diversity of the items would ensure that there was something to
appeal to each agency, with endless potential for combinations and delivery methods. As a big,
bold, brave extension, what if I did a mass marketing drop of these packages over design dense
areas such as Surry Hills, NSW to market myself widely and attract some attention?

• Original idea = What if I decided to diversify the skills/knowledge gained within my degree?
Extension = What if I decided to change my minor from Media Production and instead
complete a more diverse set of electives, which wouldn’t result in a set minor, but would result
in a more well rounded set of knowledge and experiences? I have currently completed 2 out of
4 of my Media Production electives (Digital Media and Sound Production) which have provided
me with excellent industry relevant skills, however the remaining 2 electives (Production
Planning and Scriptwriting) may not be as beneficial to me, and I might be far better served
by investigating other options, such as Introduction to Advertising and or any of the 5
Multiplatform Production subjects which are available to study via distance at CSU. Not only
could studying subjects outside of this Media Production minor make me more appealing to a
wider range of employers, but could also expand the potential roles which I could work within
and may even help me to discover a passion within design that I hadn’t previously considered.

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• Original idea = What if I decided to pursue internships opportunities / a design career
overseas?
Extension = What if I decided to expand my internship/job search internationally and started
applying for positions overseas (I’ve traveled and have a good idea about which countries I
would target), just applying as opportunities came up with agencies/businesses that I would SARAH
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like to work for, and seeing what comes of this. My husband works in I.T and has remote work
options, and we have only a small number of family members in Australia, so if one or both of
us wanted to move overseas for the duration of an internship, with a view to stay depending on
whether additional work could secured within the country/appropriate government permissions
were granted for this, the option for an overseas internship or to work overseas is a very real
possibility. This is especially exciting since it opens up the potential of working for a wider
range of companies and in a wider range of roles than those available within Australia. This idea
could also see my skill set viewed as being in high demand, filling skills shortages that exist in
particular countries and could make more attractive as a well-traveled design professional.

• Original idea = What if I created a social media/marketing campaign for myself?

Extension = What if I decided to use social media tools such as Instagram/Facebook and
physical promotional items such as stickers and posters/flyers to create a social media
campaign to announce myself to the design community as a designer and to cause a buzz and
create curiosity around my name? This campaign could be solely online, solely physical or could
use a combination of both methods, which would give it flexibility to target potential employers
both overseas and in the local area. What if the campaign was staged similarly to that of the
‘Pretty Shady’ campaign by Soap Creative, involving the building of hype, countdowns, small
reveals and then a huge and exciting payoff in the end? This idea not only aims to get my name
discussed in the community but also aims to showcase my strategic design, graphic design
and marketing skills, covering a range of competencies with a single idea. This idea could be
scalable depending on the area that I choose to conduct it in (large = Surry Hills / small =
Reservoir Street of Surry Hills) and the length could be extended depending on how much time,
expenditure and hype I wanted to be associated with the undertaking. And what if this idea
was captured by someone and shared to social media and went viral? This idea appeals as an
exciting way to interact with the design community and create an experience for an audience.

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• Original idea = What if I decided to complete a string of short internships in order to bring me
closer to identifying my design passion/desired working environment?
Extension = I am currently very unsure of exactly where my passion lies within design so what
if I completed a short (maybe 2-3 days a week for 3 months) series of internships within a
variety of agencies with different specialisations (magazine layouts, packaging, branding, SARAH
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illustration, social media) in order to identify not only what type of work really inspires and
engages me within design but also what special skills I might possess and what type of working
environment within design might be best suited to me? (corporate, casual, collaborative etc).
Upon traveling to Surry Hills, Sydney to conduct my design professional interviews for this
assessment I was lucky enough to have time to explore the area and see the vast amount of
design agency types within this area, all of which I am able to access easily via public transport
and many of which specialise in different types of design as to make the area a diverse design
community. This could provide me with an ideal opportunity to explore many different types of
design in quick succession in order to make a well informed choice about which types of design
career and working environment might be suitable for me to purse. And what if the offer of a
paid position/mentorship/freelance work came from one of these internships?

• Original idea = What if I decided to promote myself as a design business immediately?

Extension = What if I decided to immediately start marketing myself as a small business/
freelancer to the plethora of small businesses which are situated in close proximity to where
I live? I already have a portfolio of work live on a website, have mockups for business cards/a
logo ready to be printed and have a suitable home office space to work out of with adequate
facilities for entertaining clients, so this may be an option. This option could see me working
with a wide variety of local clients, forming a supportive networking of small business
owners, helping to improve and contribute to my community and would see me establishing
an independent name for myself within the design industry sooner in order to commence
my design career. I already have a range of skills to offer as a freelance designer and am
confident that any requests that were outside of this skill set I could either self teach myself
via online tools such as Lynda.com or YouTube or additionally, I could partner with other small
businesses (photographers/web designers) in order to complete tasks. This could be a fantastic
opportunity to just ‘jump in’ and accept work as I felt comfortable doing.

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• Original idea = What if I decided to take on additional formal/informal study in order to
broaden my skill set?
Extension = What if instead on just relying on the skills gained through my degree in order
to gain employment, I decided to take it upon myself to learn additional skills which would
broaden my range of knowledge, make me a more attractive/valuable prospect as an employee SARAH
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and would better equip me to start my own business or perform in a freelance capacity? This
additional informal study could be via the way of online resources such as Lynda.com, Alison
Online, Skilled Up and w3schools or could be formal such as short courses offered through
TAFE NSW, The Australian Institute of Technology, JMC Academy and SAE Creative Media
Institute. The possible areas in which I could gain additional skills are endless and I could use
this method to up skill in areas where my skills are lacking (web development, AfterEffects),
learn new skills in areas where my skills are non existent (photography, animation) or I could
use this method to additional strengthen my USP or to give myself a wider rage of USPs? A
broader skill set and formal recognition of these skills has the added benefit of potentially
unlocking a special skill set or passion I wasn’t previously aware of, would look fantastic on my
resume and could even act to elevate me above other job/internship candidates. What if I met a
whole group of new people in the industry through informal or formal studies?

• Original idea = What if I decided to more actively network with the local (Sydney) design
community in person?
Extension = What if I started to more actively network with the Sydney design community,
to build relationships with other designers and to more noticeably make myself part of the
booming social ‘design scene’ within the city?. My interview with Dylan Cramp highlighted to
me to increasingly social nature of design and the way in which graphic designers are expected
to engage and build relationships with others, and perhaps making a point of attending events
such as design shows, trivia nights within the Sydney design district (a social activity which
many agencies participate in after work) and just generally making myself seen, heard and
striking up relationships/forming friendships within the community. What if this was really
beneficial in order to kick-start my design network and to give people a face behind my name,
instead of being a singularly digital presence who just exists behind a screen, randomly adds
people on LinkedIn and sends unsolicited portfolios to agencies and businesses?

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• Original idea = What if I attempted to pair my special interest in humanitarian issues and “under
reported” new stories with my interest in design?
Extension = What if, instead of simply marketing myself to potential employers as a ‘graphic
designer’, I instead branded myself as a ‘designer for social change’ or the like and specifically
targeted my job and internship applications to agencies and businesses which share my special SARAH
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interests and in which I could use strong strategic skills, which could include Global Vision
International, SBS, World Vision, Projects Abroad or similar organisations, using my interest
and passion for social issues and humanitarian causes strategy as my Unique Selling Point.
The ability to facilitate positive change within the world and to feel as though I am making a
difference is important to me and by approaching employers that share my interests rather
than just focusing on more traditional graphic designer agencies and roles, this could lead to
a greater sense of fulfillment for me personally and professionally and could also allow me to
become a specialist designer within a targeted industry rather than more of a generalist.

• Original idea = What if I decided to actively seek out a mentor?

Extension = What if I decided to target particular individuals instead of particular businesses/
agencies in the process of seeking internships and becoming a design professional? What if I
conducted research in order to identify these individuals and approached them directly, being
bold and brave enough to ask as to whether a mentorship would be a possibility, essentially
creating my own internship opportunity in order to benefit from the skills, experience and
knowledge of a particular person, performing agreed upon tasks in return? My interview with
Tony Ibbotson from The Creative Method was not only a fantastic learning experience but also
really highlighted to me not only the wealth of professional experience that Tony has but also
the wealth of practical ‘life experience’ that he has within the industry, showing me the value
of the type of knowledge and experience that cant be taught within a degree. If I was able to
identify an individual whose career I deeply admired, who had already lived experiences within
the design industry which I was wishing to explore (working in a small business, working in a
large corporation, working as a freelancer, running their own business, working internationally)
then it is possible that I could benefit immensely from the guidance and advice of this person.
I could also consider the possibility of working with multiple mentors for short periods of time,
with these mentorships also acting as excellent network building opportunities.

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Design Thinking Process
3 | What wows? SARAH
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• Idea 1 | Development of a unique and inventive self-branded promotional package

This idea is inspired by my interview with Tony Ibbotson and involves the selection of a small
and diverse range of items which describe my capabilities and personality, and the compilation
of these items into a self-branded promotional package. The package would be contained
within a small box (the 10” x 8” x 4” Custom Mailer Box available from Packlane.com would be
ideal) which would be branded with my logo, portfolio URL and contact number in my chosen
colours of red and white. The selection contained within the box would include a set of durable
and attractive coasters (strong and stable), mints in a medicine box (small, powerful and fresh),
a notebook/notepad (organised and ever ready), a USB (Quickly absorbs information and is
flexible - would also contain my portfolio) as well as a mini magazine or booklet that introduced
me, provided information about my skills and competencies and tied all of the promotional
products together into a single, coherent unit.

This idea aims not to entice businesses by the lure of ‘free things’ but instead to my showcase
design skills in packaging, typography, product design, stationary design and digital design,
with these different areas of design covering the majority of businesses which I would wish to
market myself to, ensuing wide appeal and interest. A breakaway/tearaway business card would
also be integrated into the packaging in order to display creativity and originality, as well as my
ability to think laterally in order to add a ‘twist’ to traditional design. This packaging could be
delivered to either a targeted set of businesses or a mass drop of packages could be conducted
throughout a design agency dense area (Reservoir Street of Surry Hills is ideal as there are 12
design agencies situated within this single street) or the packages could be widely dispersed
throughout the suburb for wider effect. This idea utilises the ‘wow’ factor to surprise, and more
importantly, actually shows my abilities in a tactile way, which engages far better with people
than a cover letter or CV. This idea would pair fantastically with a wider promotional campaign
(as detailed in idea 2) for increased engagement, exposure of my name and attention.

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Idea 1 | Sketches
SARAH
MICALLEF

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• Idea 2 | Creation and implementation of a promotional campaign
This idea is inspired by my interview with Dylan Cramp and involves the use of social media
tools such as Instagram/Facebook/Twitter and physical tools (flyers, stickers, posters, balloons)
in order to create and implement my very own social media campaign to promote myself as a
designer and showcase abilities within print media, digital media, strategic design and social SARAH
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media campaigns. This campaign would be divided into separate stages including The Initial
Teaser, The Countdown - Day 5, Day 4, Day 3, Day 2, Day 1 and then The Reveal. The Initial
Teaser would take place a week or 2 before the countdown and involve the placement of
posters along the noticeboards, buildings, trees and bus stops within Surry Hills. These posters
would be A4 in size, colour (both white on red and red on white for variation and attention) and
would feature my logo as an abstract mark, devoid of my name in order to create curiosity in
the audience and present a ‘puzzle’ that has no immediate solution and for which no additional
information is available. Teaser text such as ‘July 2018’ would be included on the poster to build
suspense whilst deliberately withholding details. I am currently connected with a large network
of creative agencies via social media platforms and could post a similar teaser online to engage
digitally and widen my audience/the campaign impact, with a campaign hashtag also being
utilised such as #whoissarah which could be added to physical promotional items.

This initial teaser would be given a short period of time to cause a buzz and foster conversation,
with The Countdown being launched shortly thereafter, whilst conversations are still occurring
and curiosity exists. Once the month specified in the Teaser arrived, an arbitrary date would
be selected as to create unpredictability, upon which the Day 5 postcard slips featuring a QR
code which linked to a countdown screen (masking my portfolio) would be scattered around
Reservoir Street and surrounds at an early hour. Day 4 would see stickers being placed around
the area, (designed to be dispersed and shared) with Day 3 bringing balloons, Day 2 flyers and
Day 1 a simple poster announcing that ‘tomorrow the wait is over’. Hints could be integrated
into the feature item for each day of the countdown. Once the countdown was over (the next
day) my self-branded promotional packages could be delivered and placed at the doors of
the 12 creative agencies in order to complete the campaign by revealing myself as the product
being promoted. Relevant social media posts for each day could be included throughout this
campaign and the potential for engaging with the design community via this idea is strong, as
is the opportunity to make my name known, my skills seen and to craft a narrative.

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Idea 2 | Sketches
SARAH
MICALLEF

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• Idea 3 | Completion of a range of internships
This idea is a refined version of a plan I have been constructing since my first year of study,
and which has been additionally inspired and informed by my interview with Tony Ibbotson
and information provided by the CSU Careers Advisor service. The idea involves researching
and identifying a range of agencies, studios and businesses which undertake types of design SARAH
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in which I am interested (packaging, media, social media, typography work, digital work,
website design) and applying for/requesting internships within these places for short periods
of time. My research of internship opportunities has revealed that the standard arrangement
of internship opportunities within the graphic design industry appears to be 2-3 days over
3 months and if I commenced this plan in my 2nd year of study this would give me the
opportunity to potentially complete between 5-6 internships before my graduation in Oct
2019. These 5-6 internship opportunities would not only yield industry experience and letters
of recommendation, but would also assist me in building a wider and more diverse portfolio,
building my social network within the design industry and would also allow me to identify the
type of environment that I would like to work within and the type of design that I would like to
undertake, instead of waiting until after graduation to identify this.

After definitively identifying the 6 areas of design/agencies or businesses I would target

within this idea, the next step would be to conduct an analysis of my portfolio to ensure that
sufficient pieces from each design type were present in order to convey an interest and basic
skills in the specific type of design offered by the organisation. Following this, my cover letter
would be tweaked and personalised to suit each application, with these applications being sent
electronically where internship positions were digitally advertised or delivered by hand where
I had identified an agency/business to approach in order to specifically request an internship
position. It would be beneficial for me to pair this idea with my proposal to combine my special
interest in humanitarian issues and “under reported” new stories with design, by thinking
laterally to include organisations that are not strictly design based (SBS, Unicef) within my
‘places to intern’ list. This idea would be extended to include overseas agencies/businesses by
also including these for consideration. This idea would see me approaching internships with the
intention of gaining a wide array of experience rather than just to gain a job, displays immense
initiative and could even identify a suitable mentor for career guidance and advice.

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Idea 3 | Sketches
SARAH
MICALLEF

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• Idea 4 | Completion of additional formal/informal study outside of my degree
This idea involves the identification of an additional set of skills beyond those gained within
my degree and the acquisition of these skills using both informal and formal methods. My
research of the graphic design industry has greatly informed this idea and has highlighted the
desirability of HTML, CSS, UI, Social Media/Marketing, Mail Chimp, Photography, Animation, GIF SARAH
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creation, Adobe Muse and high level audio/video skills, with these being the most frequently
listed skills within the desirable criteria of advertisements for junior/mid weight graphic design
roles, and are skills which I believe would work well to complement my existing skill set. This
idea would see me investigating the different ways in which these skills could be acquired
(formal education, informal education, offline or online) and working to balance additional
education with the academic demands of my degree. This additional study could be a pursuit
that I dedicate a designated amount of time to each week (e.g Sundays or 30mins per day) or
could instead be goal based, such as ‘learning basic HTML by June’. Regardless, this idea should
involve both a consistent pattern of study and the construction of portfolio pieces using these
new skills in order to reinforce my learning and showcase these skills to potential employers.

Some of the skills I have identified to obtain could be easily acquired via informal study (HTML
and CSS) whilst the development of my audio and video skills might be better conducted
within a formal learning environment (where industry standard equipment is able to be
utilised) such as JMC Academy, as I wish to make my audio and video skills one of my Unique
Selling Points and further formal education would be advantageous to achieve this. Skills
such as photography would be best developed by arranging to spend time informally on the
job with a creative professional in order to reinforce any informal online learning undertaken
and to gain confidence and practical experience which I can then refine and further develop
independently. The efficiency of this idea would be greatly increased by grouping similar skills
together (Animation/GIFs, Mail Chimp/Marketing) in order to identify comprehensive courses
(both informal and formal) or other ways of acquiring and refining multiple skills at the same
time in order to expedite and condense my learning. This idea would be additionally well
complemented by the diversification of the elective subjects within my degree, ensuring that
I am gaining the widest skill set possible in order to expand the potential options within my
career, present me as a versatile candidate, give me a competitive edge and greatly diversify
my portfolio of works whilst building a strong USP/s and specialisations.

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Idea 4 | Sketches
SARAH
MICALLEF

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• Idea 5 | Immediate establishment of my own design business
This idea involves taking a big, brave, bold step and immediately commencing the process of
posting ads via social media promoting myself as a graphic/strategic designer, dispersing my
business cards/brochures within my local area and overhauling my portfolio site to appeal to
small businesses/individuals rather than large corporate customers or design agencies/studios. SARAH
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Inspired by my interview with Tony Ibbotson this idea focuses on just ‘going for it’, working
hard and having enough faith in my skills and capabilities to take a chance on myself. My
current skills set could see me offering a wide range of services including graphic design, audio,
video, basic web design, strategic design, logo design and print design (posters, flyers, business
cards) with the option to introduce new services and offerings to clients as I learned these
skills within my degree, via additional informal/formal education and through the course of my
practical design work. This idea not only would see me immediately starting to gain practical
design experience for real-world clients, but would also allow me to grow my portfolio with live
projects, to build relationships/a reputation within the local design industry, and to commence
my career design sooner than if I chose to instead focus on competing internships.

Another exciting opportunity that could come from this idea is the possibility of partnering with
another small local business/local creative in order to create a combined practice that offered
a wider array of services. It is also possible to look at conducting in work in a specialised
capacity such as strategic design, focusing on developing better strategies for small local
businesses to provide them with competitive advantages in addition to excellently designed
products. With my experience in customer contact, customer liaison and my presentation skills
I believe that I could confidently interact with clients in order to discuss devise and implement
design solutions, with the huge array of online learning resources or even outsourcing to other
professionals acting as support for projects which were challenging or required more advanced
skills. This business could operate as a boutique practice with highly individualised and
personalised support, which fills a current market gap within my current community which has
a large range of graphic design businesses which operate as online-only businesses and provide
poor levels of customer care and support. This idea allows me to expand my skills within a
live environment, displays ambition and could lead to strong partnerships within the creative
community, scaling with me as I grow as a creative professional.

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Idea 5 | Sketches
SARAH
MICALLEF

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Design Thinking Process
4 | What works? SARAH
MICALLEF

• Idea 1 | Development of a unique and inventive self-branded promotional package

Evaluation - This idea stands to be innovative and impactful by functioning as an interactive,
engaging and fun way with which to showcase my skills to potential employers, rather than
providing them with a solely written testament to my skills and capabilities in the form of
a resume, cover letter or the mockups within a portfolio site. This idea aims to present me
as memorable stand-out from the sea of other applicants seeking to break into the design
industry, and to anchor my name in the forefront of employers minds. This concept is creative,
inclusive and is also highly flexible and adaptable, in terms of how many items are featured
within the kit, the delivery method, the appearance of these items and the personality and
design capabilities which are conveyed through the item selection, all of which could be altered
to suit different situations and paired together to craft varied narratives.

The estimated cost per kit, inclusive of the box, magazine, coaster set, USB, mints and notepad,
would be approximately $15.64 (based on the minimum order - quote obtained from Promotion
Products) however many promotional products vendors require minimum orders of between
100-250 items, which could see initial outlay of the kit equating to $1564 - $3910 for a minimum
order and upwards of $55.75 per kit if minimum order amounts weren’t met, making the
potential financial outlay for this idea exorbitant for items which may not be used, kept or make
an incredibly huge impact on those receiving them. It would be additionally difficult to justify
this cost when these funds could be better spent producing a high quality and more universal
promotional tool (such as 400gsm matt cello-glaze finish business cards, seeking professional
assistance with developing my portfolio website or developing one wonderfully unique
promotional item such as a USB multitool) which are more likely to appeal to a wider range
of individuals, better express professionalism, make a more meaningful impact and are just as
likely to see me being remembered. In comparing estimated investment vs return and potential
impact on the creative kit as a whole, this idea is not deemed to be a strategically sound option.

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• Idea 2 | Creation and implementation of a promotional campaign
Evaluation - This idea has real promise to provide a definite ‘wow’ factor to potential employers,
to cause a buzz/conversation within the design community, to engage with the community in
a fun way and to really announce myself to the community as a graphic designer, making my
presence known and noticed. This idea is innovative in the way which it utilises characteristics SARAH
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of product promotion (teaser, countdown reveal) and is impactful by targeting a wide group
of people and utilising both physical and digital/social media components. Additionally to this,
the costs of this idea would be minimal (printed balloons, flyers, stickers, my time and travel
expenses to conduct the work required) and could realistically be actioned for approximately
$275 (no minimum order on these products from Promotion Products). This idea is hugely
ambitious, however, despite the brave, fearless and direct nature of this idea, there are many
areas of serious concern which exist regarding the implementation of this campaign, which
range from littering issues which could arise from the City of Sydney Council, to environmental
issues as the majority of the items used are not biodegradable and would be placed on the
ground with the potential to be carried through the city and critically impact wildlife.

These issues would require additional investments of time to be rectified, including visiting the
site a second time each day to remove the excess promotional material that had been planted
that morning, making the physical requirements of this campaign quite demanding. Additionally
to this, is it also important to remember that the individuals being marketed to in this case are
design professionals and as such, have exceptionally high standards for what a good campaign
and good design do and do not entail. Being a second year student with limited experience it is
entirely likely that my execution of this campaign would not rise to industry standards and has
every chance of being interpreted as sloppy, hokey and gimmicky, standing to ruin my name
within the industry and tarnish my reputation before I had even entered the industry. A softer
and more professional approach to this idea stands to create a more successful outcome, such
as investing time in creating a series (1 or 2) of highly polished posters which can strategically
be placed within the area, including my name, logo and URL to create some interest and
attraction, which will be discussed because of their quality and not their quantity. The high
probability of an undesirable outcome as well as the excessive time commitments required to
conduct this campaign results in this idea being deemed to not be a strategically sound option.

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• Idea 3 | Completion of a range of internships
Evaluation - This ambitious, brave and confident idea stands to be highly impactful in not only
developing my skill set with practical experience but also stands to innovate my career by
allowing me to actively investigate the variety of workplaces/design types available, providing
me with experience in order to qualify me for more advanced internships/paid roles and SARAH
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potentially even securing me a role within the industry. The networking opportunities within
this idea are priceless, as is the opportunity to be exposed to a wide variety of senior staff
members in order to assess their suitability as mentors who may be able to provide me with
advice and guidance in order to shape my future career. This idea displays a huge amount of
initiative in pursuing unpaid internship positions, boldness in approaching targeted companies
who may not have opportunities available in order to see whether these can be made available
and stands to make my name known within the industry through persistence in pursing
opportunities and my work within these internship roles. The further development of my
portfolio, resume and cover letter as a result of the implementation of this idea would also be
highly advantageous, resulting in more polished, professional and industry appropriate works.

Challenges that could be present within this idea include the successful balance of internship
opportunities with paid work and formal study, which has the potential to result in burnout
and severe amounts of stress if time is not managed well, a schedule is not adhered to and
tasks are not adequately prioritised. Additionally to this, the constant shift between internship
positions and workplaces/procedures within this idea which includes 5-6 internships may
be jarring/confronting, with measures such as easing into positions and requesting a buddy
potentially mitigating these challenges. The largest challenges associated with this idea are the
psychological challenges, which include fear of not being able to perform to the expected level,
fear of not being accepted/liked, fear of not being able to form connections with others, fear
of not being viewed as ambitious, hardworking and proactive enough. These fears are typical
of the majority of changes within a working environment/life and will require courage, strength
and persistence to overcome with the potential payoff of this idea being immensely impactful,
with the ability to revolutionise my career and massively impact my future direction. This
exciting, dynamic, forward thinking and effective idea is deemed to be a strategically sound
option that stands to produce dramatic positive impact and allows me to actively shape my
future by taking full advantage of an existing concept designed to aid with industry entry.

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• Idea 4 | Completion of additional formal/informal study outside of my degree
Evaluation - This practical, logical and highly strategic idea has immense potential to be
extremely impactful and innovative by not only allowing me to acquire an endless range of
new skills, but also encouraging me to expand my focus beyond strictly ‘design related’ skills
by further developing some of my Unique Selling Point skills such as writing a wide range of SARAH
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content/media/strategy. This idea provides me with critical opportunities to build my social
networks within the design industry and to even potentially identify a strength or passion
within design of which I was previous unaware and which may dramatically alter the future
course of my career itself. This idea aims not only to impress potential employers by the range
of my skill set but also makes a flexible asset to any business who can contribute more actively,
and widely increases the amount of positions that I will possess the required skills in order to
apply for. The skills I wish to acquire via additional formal/informal study are widely targeted
within the design industry and apply to both national and international opportunities, equally
increasing my desirably and competencies within both of these markets.

This idea presents its own unique set of challenges that include the balance of formal study
with informal study/2 sets of concurrent formal studies and the stress associated with this, as
well as drawing large amounts of time away from my degree studies and having the potential
to negatively impact the quality of my assignment/work and my academic outcomes. However,
with the implementation of careful scheduling, prioritisation and bundling similar skills together
maximise efficiency and minimise time investments, it is extremely possible that my degree can
be well complemented and even strengthened by the acquisition of a range of skills via formal
and informal study. Another important factor that should be kept in mind regarding this idea is
that care will need to be exercised in order to ensure that my desire to gain an extremely broad
and diverse skills set does not result in me being an overly generalist designer who does not
possess any specialisations, does not have any Unique Selling Points and doesn’t have a real
passion or skills for any particular sort of design, rather functioning as a just a set of hands and
eyes for when a project requiring a diverse skill set arises. This idea will require strong focus,
dedication and the ability to distinguish between which skills should be finely honed and which
more broadly known, in order to strike an effective balance between being highly diverse and
uniquely specialised. This idea is beneficial and is deemed to be a strategically sound option.

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• Idea 5 | Immediate establishment of my own design business
Evaluation - This big, bold, and extraordinarily ambitious idea aims not only to innovate my
career by transforming my focus away from that of working within an agency (undertaking
internships) but also stands to be extremely impactful by potentially changing the entire
direction of my career within the design industry. This idea focuses strongly on the concepts SARAH
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of emotional fulfillment and community participation, as well as growing myself as a designer
at my own pace and taking strong accountability for my own career development, setting and
steering my own career course independently. This idea is exciting for the freedom it could
offer, the chance to belong to a strong-knit small business community, and the wide range of
clients that are available to assist within my own local area, as well as the opportunity to begin
doing something that I love in a professional capacity sooner. Financial outlays that would
be associated with this idea include costs for business cards, signage, website development,
business registration/ABN and additional marketing/advertising costs, all of which are not
overly exorbitant and should be able to be successfully conducted with a combined budget of
approximately $3250 for high quality and professional grade advertising options.

Despite the myriad of opportunities and the vast potential associated with this idea, a number
of serious challenges are present, the biggest of which is my lack of experience running/
managing a business and working with clients on real-life design based projects. Although
confidence is a large factor within customer contact, so is experience and the business would
be commencing as a brand new establishment that had no previous customer reviews, ratings
or work in order to inform clients decisions and persuade/motivate them to bring their business
to me. Additionally to this, it is very likely that in order to gain business I would result to
lowering the prices of my services which not only undervalues my services, but can also build
an impression of poor quality and serve to harm other local competing businesses by starting
a ‘price war’ to be awarded work. I also lack even basic skills in bookkeeping, invoicing and
accountancy and although I am confident in the acquisition of new technical design based
skills in an as-I-go capacity, something as integral to a business as money management is a
skill I would like to master before making emotional and financial investments. This idea as it
currently stands is not deemed to be a strategically sound option, but should be considered for
future reassessment upon the growth of my skills and network within the design industry.

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Combined Strategic Outcomes
• Creative Solution SARAH
MICALLEF
The creative strategic solutions that stand to have the biggest impact on my future career and
career development are those of completing a string of short internships in a variety of design
environments and completing additional informal and formal study outside of my degree. These
will be paired with the ideas of altering my 2 remaining elective subjects, seeking a mentor,
approaching agencies directly for opportunities, developing of a high quality business card and
multi-tool as my mini marketing pack, tailoring my portfolio more closely to appeal to the type
of businesses/agencies in which I wish to intern and developing/strategically placing a small
amount of marketing posters within the Surry Hills area to promote myself.

• Proposed impact
The proposed impact of these creative strategic solutions are to assist me in being viewed as an
ambitious, creative and well-rounded individual to potential employers, to aid the construction
of a positive reputation within the design community and to make my name known. The impact
of completing internships is immense and will provide me with the beginning of a strong
network of contacts within the industry, where the pursuit of further education stands to open
doors for me via expanding the amount of internship and job opportunities that I will be able
to access. Networking within the design community also has the potential to unlock additional
internship opportunities, as does having the boldness and courage to simply ask.

• Evaluation
I believe that the combination of my creative strategic solutions has the potential to greatly
impact my future design career and could very well see me achieving my goal of becoming
a well respected and socially conscious member of the design community. Whilst equally
strong as solutions, time and resource priorities should be provided to the creative solution of
completing a string of short internships, as additional formal training will only become integral
later in my career and breaking into the industry in order to determine my preferred type of
design and working environment is essential now, well in advance of graduation.

34
Career Plan Brainstorming
SARAH
MICALLEF

35
Career Motivational Board

1 2

3 4

5 6

8 9 7

36
Career Plan
My envisioned career 3-5 years from graduation SARAH
MICALLEF
After my first internship within Hello Social (social media design) in Dec 2018, I decided to turn
down a job offer from the company and instead mercilessly and tirelessly promoted myself to
other agencies in order to secure internship opportunities and investigate other types of design. I
completed an internship with The Creative Method (packaging - Tony Ibbotson agreed to mentor
me indefinitely), Bauer Media (typographic work), Adgroove (web design), SBS (video and
audio design) and Woolworths Group (print media/graphic design), with my internships at SBS
and Woolworths Group being unadvertised positions that I was able to secure through directly
approaching the employers in order to state a case as to why I would be a beneficial intern. During
my internships I completed a large amount of informal training in web skills and marketing skills,
focusing my primary drive on developing exceptional skills within Adobe After Effects in order to
further solidify my USP of being a strong media based graphic designer. This training was often
undertaken at opportune times such as on the train home from work, and was balanced with a
paid library technician job which I performed 3 days a week, and my internship positions which
required a commitment of 2 days a week.

My last internship ended in Dec 2019 (2 months after my graduation) at which time I was
invited to join Woolworths Group as a junior graphic designer. I accepted this job and spent
approximately two years here doing print and digital design work. Whilst at this job I decided to
make further a formal investment in my USP of media, completing a Diploma of Screen and Media
via TAFE NSW at night. As the end of this course drew near I now had paid work experience
within the design industry and an additional qualification for my USP and decided to make
my move back into the world of media, accepting a position with WIN TV in Woolongong as a
graphic designer and relocating. Due to the small team at WIN and a lack of resources the job
was difficult, challenging, but also gave me an entry into the world of paid media. I continued my
education, studying a Graduate Cert of Management online via AIM. Having stayed connected via
LinkedIn with my internship manager from SBS, a role in Sydney as a graphic designer was listed
and I applied, won this role and moved back to Sydney.

37
4 years after graduation it is the year 2023 and I am a graphic designer who works for SBS,
within the Sydney office in Artarmon. I work within a large creative team of 35 people which
encompasses broadcast designers, motion viz designers, graphics specialists and strategists in
order to deliver a comprehensive range of services to the organisation, covering entertainment
programs, news programs and special feature pieces, with the intention of raising social SARAH
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awareness and giving a voice to minorities and marginalised groups. The creative team is split
into smaller teams and the team of graphic designers which I work within consists of 7 people,
with me being the 2IC for the team lead, covering people management and team representation
duties/management liaison duties when my team lead is unavailable. Daily duties within my job
include, collaborating with production teams to develop the look of shows, pitches, and features,
designing/create graphics for daily newscasts, specials, commercial and promotional spots and
mentoring the small group of 4 interns which work within the team.

Although I entered in the organisation as a graphic designer, the reason that I selected SBS as
a workplace was not only to ensure that I was working in an environment that aims to shape a
better world, but also because of the immense opportunities that the organisation has for me
professionally. My employers invest copious amounts of time and money into my development as
a person and a professional via a yearly Personal Professional Development Plan, and although I
have only been here for one year, I have already been sent on numerous formal courses in order
to refresh and strengthen my skills in video and audio, as the position of Broadcast Designer
within the SBS program The Feed has become available which I have applied for and my manager
has endorsed. The move to this position utilises my USP of video and audio, fulfills my interest in
social issues and will see me moving to a more close knit team within the organisation which will
also allow me to more strongly utilise my strategic skills in order to have an more active voice in
the direction of the design, the campaigns implemented and will give me a far greater amount
of autonomy and creative power within my role. I am respected by my colleagues, challenged
positively on a daily basis and although I am currently extremely happy within SBS and am excited
for my transition into a new role, I am also continuing to keep my options open, actively keeping
a lookout for partnership opportunities and accepting small amounts of freelance work on the
side for small businesses, with a view to transfer internationally within SBS or even travel as a
roaming designer in the near future. I’m interested in developing my strategic skills further to assist
struggling communities worldwide.

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In order to achieve the future that I envision, the following steps will need to be taken in the
remainder of my study

• I must firstly, secure a 3 day a week paid position (preferably in a library) to fund my
internship endeavors. More time and effort needs to be dedicated to this pursuit. After this I SARAH
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will know which 2 days a week I have free with certainty, and can commence internships as I
wish. I can also continue my applications for paid internship positions and junior positions.

• I need to touch base with Dylan and ensure my internship opportunity within Hello Social.

• I have now identified my 6 target areas (social media design, packaging, typographic work,
web design, video/audio design and print media/graphic design) and although social media
design is covered in Hello Social, I need to identify the best agencies/companies with which
to intern within the other areas. My career plan provides some preliminary suggestions as to
the organisations I intend on commencing my lists with.

• I need to have copies of my business card made once the design is finalised at the end of
grp224, with the multi-tool also being produced, as this forms my mini marketing pack.

• I need to approach Tony Ibbotson directly to ask about the possibility of a mentorship, as I
believe that due to his wealth of knowledge he would make a fantastic mentor.

• I need to research the graphic design team at SBS and make contact with their leader -
internships opportunities are rare there and I believe it is essential for me to secure a spot.

• I need to keep developing my portfolio as I learn new skills and complete new internships.

• I need to write a definite list of new skills and research the best ways of obtaining these,
research formal education for my media USP and adjust my electives for session 3, 2018.

• I need to actively relationship build with the design community, both in person and online,
forming a strong network and getting the scoop early on available positions.

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Reference List
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“In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be
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