It's that time of year again, where students all across the country start freaking. 2 years ago I had my spell of freaking. You've graduated from university and now your thrust into the "real world". You see people all around you that have left from your class, or friends on social media starting jobs and internships while you are stuck back at home and your only main resource of your time is spent working in retail. 

It's heartbreaking. 

When I graduated 2 years ago I wasn't sure where to go from that. I didn't feel ready to apply for jobs or even internships. I felt absolutely stuck. I think what I felt was burn out. I had spent the last 7-8 years of my life going from secondary school, to college and finally university in order to become a graphic designer. And here I was at this point that I could be. I had spent all this time in education learn the skills, expanding as a designer and when I got to that last point, with my degree show finished, my energy and push to get there had fizzled out. You need a big dose of energy to keep you going when you graduate and you see everyone else doing incredibly. So today I wanted to give some advice that comes from what I realised and what I know now helped me keep going. 

Keep connected

When you leave university, your main support system kind of disappears. And I'm not talking about family or friends, I mean your tutors and lecturers. When you're at university they are essentially the ones that teach you what you need to know and give you an insight into the real world. But when you leave there's no one. So when you graduate, or try even set it in place before then, find people who are working in the industry that you can go to and ask questions about your next steps. It's so so so beneficial having that up-to-date and insightful knowledge to keep you floating. 

Sort your portfolio out
Yes this is a simple step. But make sure that before you leave university you have everything you need for a portfolio! You’ll need final deliverables & development stages from projects to show the progression. Also make sure that with indesign or after effects files that you have all the linked files in case you want to dip back in later on!

Make your own projects
Again, when you leave university, you have no one telling you what you need to be doing or creating. So the best way to do this without having freelance work, commissions or being in a job/internship is to create your own projects. There's so many ways to do this from a social feed to creating products or something else entirely. But it's mainly a to help keep your design skills fresh in your mind, it can also add something totally unique to put into your portfolio. There’s a magnitude of things you could create, but start with your interests & go from there.

Make some money
So as I've stated already not everyone gets into a job or internship right away. It happens but not to everyone. So if you’re struggling, get a part time job & make some cash for the time being. Or see how you can make money from your designs. Either way you need cash & get it sooner rather than later.

Don’t stop learning
When you leave uni you’re not done learning. The creative industry is constantly evolving with it being the digital age. Our outputs change all the time, technology & software is adapted to fit. So keep brushed up on your key skills but also make time to learn things that may set you apart.

Get out 

& lastly… 
Stay passionate!
Leaving the world of education can be overwhelming, scary & like being smacked in the face, especially if you have a slow start. Being turned down for jobs & internships can take their toll & deter you from continuing. But keep going! Stay driven to work as a designer, keep making things & be open to opportunities if it’ll push your forward.

I hope you enjoyed this post. It was built up from one of the posts I made for The Design Weans takeover I did last month. If you fancy seeing the entire collection of posts check out the instagram profile here: The Design Weans. And let me know what you thought of the illustrations I've created for this blog post via my iPad and procreate as well.

'Sup! So today I wanted to give a bit of a heads up to something I'm doing this week which is taking over The Design Weans instagram account for the week. TDW was set up by Jonny Mowat, a fellow Aberdeenshire bred designer! The account aims to showcase the work from Glasgow (or I guess Scottish) designers and give them a platform to connect with others. 

I've been taking over the account from yesterday until the 16th (this Saturday) with a mix of my life as a designer and also the story as to how I got there. I plan to be sharing everything from tips and tricks, things I did and a little bit of insight from David, the current Art Director at SevenC3. 

My basic plan is to start from the beginning of graduate life and discuss the shit you go through after graduating, to then kick starting your design career with internships and applications to then getting into applying for jobs and what to think about when you start your first full time job. Along with a few other tidbits that really helped me along in my process of getting a graduate job. 

I'm pretty excited to kick start this takeover as I have been wanting to do a blog series on this topic but have kept putting it off. But seeing as it's graduate season it seems to make sense plus I'd love to expand on the topics on the blog once the takeover is finished. I also think that because I didn't have a super smooth ride from design student to junior designer, it's good for others who are just getting into the 'real world' that it isn't always simple and easy. 

But yeah, make sure you keep an eye out on The Design Weans account this week as all the posts I make will be on there as original content for a little bit! And I'll catch y'all in the comments. 

'Sup! It's been a while hasn't it? Nevermind... Since my last post, I've definitely had a hectic 2months with getting settled in our new flat, as well as family visits and events. But the one thing that's probably kept me most occupied for the last few weeks is this years edition of #the100dayproject. 

Now I've attempted the project in both 2016 and 2017 and I also tried a #Create365 in 2015. If you've been following me for a bit you know that each of these challenge I didn't finish so why try again? 

The one thing I enjoy the most about these projects and what I learn from them is what I enjoy creating and new ways to use that creative output. Like last year I've given myself quite a simple focus to work towards with the 'goal', essentially, just to think more about how to work or create things in an editorial way that is also humorous, depicts my actual life and shares some tidbits about being a creative/designer. 

This year I also decided to play with one thing I would often stay away from, something I never felt was my strong suit- illustrating people. Or to be more advantageous (I guess?), the person I've been illustrating is myself! *insert shock, horror, disbelief* But actually so far it's gone really well. Although I still have difficulty with drawing things like hands it's been fun to think up concepts to illustrate out. 

One thing that's also driven me to illustrating myself is that being surrounded by magazines and editorial pieces at work, seeing how an illustration takes an article to life has inspired me. It's made me want to work towards doing things like that more whether it's from a typographic or illustrative point of view. And although I do have one lettering piece published in a magazine, I definitely have a lot to learn and experiment with still so I look forward to exploring these more throughout the challenge. 

At this point I'm only about 1/4 of the way through my project, so I'm a few weeks behind but I'm not letting that bother me either. In past years I've gotten caught up in being behind everyone else and feeling like I need to *perfectly* upload once a day. But the reality is it isn't always possible especially when you're working full time and having to do household things like making tea and doing loads of washing when you get home. So the truth is, I'm going to take it at my own pace and if it means I finish a few weeks later then that's fine by me.



I've dropped a few of my favourites so far form the project in this post so hopefully you've enjoyed seeing them. But if you fancy seeing the entire set, you are definitely better checking my instagram @LaurenGemmaHay or my 100 days tag which is #OhHay100Days.

Well it's been a while ain't it? My last post was in October and my goodness how things have changed since then! 

If you haven't been keeping up with me on socials (Instagram & Twitter) you will have missed that I am now working as a full time graphic designer at a company called SevenC3 in London! The past 3/4months have been a bit of a crazy whirlwind with it, from having interviews to then being invited to be part of the company! On top of the usual new job business I also moved across the country for it too. Meaning that a lot of my spare time has involved looking for permanent living options, adventuring round the area and London itself, among all the other boring adulty stuff including weekly shops and cleaning. 

But enough about what happened in 2017. What's happening in 2018? Cause it's a new year folks! 

I'm coming into this year with an optimistic and excited attitude. I already have set myself goals in my mind for things I want to achieve within my work, personal, side projects and general health & wellbeing, among other things. 

On the side project front, that's where this blog sits. I've been speaking to Morag and Laura, two close blogger friends as of late and I've been discussing with them my goals and how I've wanted to be putting more of an effort with this blog. And that starts here I guess. 

I've refreshed the ideas I have with this blog and given myself a new focus on what topics and themes I want to cover, along with giving myself a new schedule to work too. So hopefully from now, you should see a new blog post on OhHay! Blogs every Tuesday and Saturday, covering topics from developing myself as a young designer, living in London, reviews and I'd like to share some insight into my creative process as well. 

I'll be going into a lot more depth about things like moving to London and finding a job in different posts but for now that's me! I hope you're excited to follow this new chapter of the blog and I'll catch up with ya in the comments & on socials!