Foteini Spyridakou BA (Hons) Graphic and Media Design As we have found ourselves stuck at home, it leaves for a lot of open time to reflect on our year away from university. This time of both isolation and working from home has helped to further establish to me the power of not only communication, but also language and professionalism. The way I define professionalism personally, is through ones ability to quickly adapt to any situation that appear to them while maintaining a level of respect. And that was something I had to keep closely in mind when I was working on both of these big live projects. To start with my first internship, communication was a big aspect of creating a harmonious working environment. Meetings were often long, and through digital means, where often words held little meaning in comparison to an image that could clearly show the client, what I was thinking and how I was going about solving their personal problem. In my other internship I was granted the ability for a short time to communicate face to face with my employer. It was such a nice experience, finally having the experience of exchanging ideas face to face, get feedback live and work simultaneously. However, this was short lived as the start of the pandemic was starting to become something that could no longer be ignored, we had to restore back to working from home and through digital ways. I had the benefit of having practiced this form of communication over a long period of time, so I knew how to navigate this. I made extra effort to keep everyone up to date, sending messages, updates of the illustrations ever couple of hours on my progress. I think one of my biggest realizations was figuring out that not everyone that I communicate with, always understands what I am talking about or my way of thinking. In every industry there is specific terminology, ways of speaking that often come naturally in discussions between people of common industries. And that goes for all industries not only the creative one. However, I came to find that sometimes we can get lost in the terminologies we are used to, especially in an industry such as this. In the beginning there were a few times were I caught myself using words that my clients might not have been familiar with. I had been so caught up in this interaction between my peers who had similar experiences to me that I kind of expected everyone to know what I was talking about. But in the real world that isn’t always the case. Over time I had to find ways to work around that issue, and the way I found was the most effective, was by making sure to explain everything us much as possible and in as much detail as possible. Feedback was also something I had to always take into consideration. It enhances an idea that I already knew so well which was the client is always right. But now instead of being taught this inside the walls of a school or a university, I was seeing it in practice. However, I learned that there is an undertone to the truth behind that idea. To an extent the client is always right, they have a specific vision in their head, and my job was to turn that vision into a reality. However, there where times where I could see flaws in that reality, small mishaps which would either make the process that more complicated or wouldn’t work at all in the aesthetics they were looking for. I learned that my best option was to put to practice giving them the vision that they had in mind, as well as a revised version of what I wanted them to see. That way by comparing the two they would make the final decision on what they deemed better. It was my job to find the middle ground, and I was lucky to be surrounded by people who where open to conversation. Who cared about my opinion and often shout it out. I felt that I was part of the team not an addition. And that was the case throughout all my experiences.
We have such a powerful tool. The ability to communicate through visuals, when words fall short of meaning. Seeing that in action was rather an emotional experience, because when I couldn’t express myself through words I could find comfort in being able to bring my thoughts alive through the use of illustrator especially during calls, where there I could edit work live and have the client interact with it, give their opinion, see what worked and what didn’t. When before we could have spent hours bouncing back and forth ideas and missing the point, with a little bit of effort, time, and care we could all see the idea come to life. Having the ability to do that is powerful. And I think it made me realize just how important people like us truly are. Being able to tell stories through so many different ways and forms. And when I say stories I don’t only mean through a final products, but also through the process of reaching that final product. The series and ideas that may didn’t get developed fully, but helped drive the outcome to somewhere else.
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