Finding My Passion Again in a Sea of New Beginnings: Thoughts from a Final Year Design Student
With one chapter of my life almost coming to an end and preparing for the next, I thought I’d use this time to reflect back on the last few years of my university days as I commence my final year as a design computing student. This includes the many ups and downs I’ve experienced alongside all the memories I’ve made which have eventually led me to where I am now in the present. So how did a spontaneous one-day decision to switch my career path end up becoming one of the best choices I made for myself and my wellbeing? And while I do advise everyone reading this to not do what I did, I also think it’s not necessarily a bad thing to take risks here and there and get out of your comfort zones sometimes. 😉
🍂 Autumn: Early Beginnings
As a child who grew up surrounded by individuals who expressed themselves through different mediums of art, whether it was through tattoos, paintings, photography or digital art, it was no surprise as I grew older, I found myself heading into a creative pathway. With that being said, once I finished high school, I was excited to start studying Visual Communication to pursue a career in graphic design. However, something I didn’t expect to experience was this inevitable slump I went through as I progressed with my studies.
This slump eventually led me to feeling more anxious and uncertain about my future and where I wanted to go.
The passion I once had for creating designs slowly felt more and more like a chore rather than something that used to excite me. I felt like a jellyfish floating amidst an ocean filled with the unknown, and that scared me. A lot.
Rather than continuing to spiral down this rabbit hole of negativity and self deprecation, I knew deep down it was time for me to press reset on where I was at and start to make changes for myself.
❄️ Winter: Pressing Reset
It was around this time 3 years ago that I woke up one morning and found myself reaching out to a student who, at the time, was studying a Bachelor of Design Computing at the University of Sydney. Through this, I was able to learn more about the degree and the amazing opportunities I could get from pursuing this pathway. At this point, I had only heard of the term UX/UI Design, but never knew what it was.
After this interaction, I had only become more curious, and continued to dabble into my own research, opening as many tabs as one could have the day before submitting an assignment and, before I knew it, I found myself on the University of Sydney website clicking apply now on the same day.
Fast forwarding to the present, my chat with Shivani Chand, a Design Computing Alumni and SUEDE’S 2023 Publications Director led to our series of endless matcha latte runs after class, the many mental breakdowns from Uni projects and a constant streamline of support for one another as we navigated this strange small world as just two design undergrads. 🪐💛
While this switch in degrees was not all too different, as I was still very much in the creative design field, I was incredibly glad to have made this spontaneous decision. The things I was expected to learn in Design Computing (now named Interaction Design) was vastly different to what I was expecting. What made this degree so enjoyable was the fact that despite the core focus of the degree being UX Design, all the units you learn between your first year and last, delve into diverse areas of design.
I think it’s incredible to enable students to gain an understanding on what field of design they want to dabble into. I never expected how much I’d come to love 3D Modelling until I took the unit DECO2018 in 2021, during my first semester. In my third year, the unit DECO3100 allowed me to incorporate my skills in UX design, illustrations and coding which was incredibly fun (but also stressful every time my code just stopped working with no explanation). I had a lovely tutor, Anastasia Feshina, an amazing Product Manager previously working at IBM, who made this unit incredibly engaging and worthwhile. I was able to build a Data Visualisation website that focused on raising awareness on the decline of coral reefs and the impact it poses on biodiversity.
I finally began to enjoy design like I did in the past. Maybe even more.
I’ve made many long lasting memories with friends who I’ve met through this degree and University societies like SUEDE (Sydney University Experience Designers Society) and GDSC USYD (Google Developer Student Club) which I was a part of from 2022 to 2023. I had my fair share of leading and working with a team of creative and tech members as a Co-Creative Director before I became the Social Media Director and worked closely alongside the Branding and Marketing team to help promote our events and club activities.
This experience definitely came with a few challenges, especially when working with a very large group of students from different areas of study and the responsibilities we had to ensure collaboration and event planning ran smoothly. While there were some bumps here and there, I’m very grateful for all the friends I’ve made from this experience and the support we provided for each other, because at the end of the day, it was a pretty fun time.
While everything was going fine and well, one thing that was living rent free in my mind was the constant stress of finding an internship by the end of the year. The multiple changes to my portfolio and trying to make it up to par, updating my resume and the application stages for interviews had me like:
Feeling stressed was an understatement.
Just when I almost gave up trying to look for an internship, one day, in the middle of my shift at my part-time job, I received a call from the recruiter for a tech company that I had previously interviewed for and I was fortunate enough to receive an offer for the role of a Design Intern at Cover Genius!
My hands were shaking for the rest of the shift if I had to add.
🌸 Spring: My Internship Experience @ Cover Genius
So, what is Cover Genius? Cover Genius is a Series D insurtech that protects the global customers of the world’s largest digital companies. The team I worked with focuses primarily on all things product and marketing design. With that said, I had the opportunity to learn more about the research, softwares and processes that go behind the development of the products, and how the design team collaborates with other departments to ensure our products meet the needs of our customers.
Coming into this internship, while I had a small understanding of what was expected from me as a Design Intern, there was a lot to grasp and get used to — as is expected for any new role. This being my first internship, especially in the field of insurance technology, I was nervous to say the least, but still super eager to start and learn. I rocked up to my first day in my corporate fit only to realise that was definitely not the type of vibe in the office (face palms).
The company embraced a more chill and relaxed atmosphere. This had me taken aback at first, but I quickly adapted. I met up with my buddy, Kim Anh Ngo Bui, who also happened to be a Design Computing Alumni and someone I had previously met during our studies together, so it was very nice to see a familiar face in the office! From there, I was able to meet the rest of the Design team at Cover Genius and began to make the most of the 5 months I was there.
Our team always had weekly coffee runs after the meetings we had in the morning and on some days, those coffees were much needed (if you happen to walk by Edition Roasters, their matcha lattes with a shot of espresso is a must-have 🍵). The company also provided free lunch on Thursdays and it was very fun trying to guess what cuisine the lunch we would be receiving every week was. The most notable lunch moment was the ramen bar for Lunar New Year celebrations in the office! The day was filled with red pockets, and non-stop fortune cookie readings.
The first few weeks involved me trying to understand the company, its visual identity and branding guideline, and the types of design assets I would be expected to create. I was initially assigned to projects to support the other designers before becoming the main designer of different projects that came through. When my manager assigned me to my first design task, the only emotions I could remember feeling in the moment was ecstatic. I was grateful to have the trust from my manager and team to create designs for the company but also eager to finally apply my skills in real world projects. Despite being the sole designer for the majority of the tasks I was assigned to, my team always made sure to provide any support or feedback when needed and that was reassuring to know.
I had the lovely opportunity to also be able to work with individuals outside of the design team. Since Cover Genius is a global technology company, it also meant that I was able to work with people across the world! It was funny heading off from work only to chat with workers who are only just starting their day from the other side of the world.
There were many highlights that made the experience during my internship so worthwhile and although I can’t list them all here, here are some of the honourable mentions I can include: I had the opportunity to be a part of the team that worked on the Global Retail Protection Report project as well as being able to design the pride merch designs for the whole company to use during Mardi Gras! 🏳️🌈
It was really awesome to see all the translations and graphs for the reports come together in the end, and I had the most wonderful time collaborating with the marketing and design team on this project. As for the Pride Merch designs, it was surreal to see the designs I created being used everywhere in the office — seeing the stickers on my team’s laptops to workmates wearing t-shirts with my designs — it was incredible to see and I’m so very grateful to have been given the opportunity.
⛅ Summer: Reflection
My experience is just one of many. I contemplated and dwelled a lot when it came to deciding what I wanted to write about. For the last couple of weeks, like many designers that I know of, I was a bit surprised to be going through a bit of imposter syndrome even after completing my first internship and to be really honest, a part of me wasn’t entirely sure if I was going to go through with writing my story as I felt a bit of doubt within myself. This opportunity to reminisce on my journey as a design student however, felt very cathartic and if it wasn’t for this writing piece, I wouldn’t have realised how much I’ve grown as both a designer and as an individual.
This feeling of lost and doubt with my career journey is something I tend to experience once in a while. In my first year of university, going through this notion would often cause me to spiral because it scared me a lot not knowing what my future would look like and whilst I still share the same thoughts as I did three years ago (but only to a smaller extent), I found a better way to cope and deal with these emotions. I was able to learn how to lighten the situation before it spiralled and that to me signified a sense of growth within myself that I had not noticed until now.
It is the little things that make a big difference in your journey of growth.
With everything that’s been said, a part of me still understands there’s an endless thread of opportunities for me to reach out to as a means of growing and learning and that’s something I often look forward to everyday. While it is a bit nerve wrecking realising my days as a university student are coming to an end, I’m excited for what the next chapter of my life has installed for me.
For those that that stuck by to the very end, thank you so much for taking the time to read my story.
About
Christina is a final year Design Computing student at the University of Sydney. She is passionate about creating designs that not only captivates but also serve users of all backgrounds and abilities. By blending in her creativity and user-centric thinking skills, she strives to make products and experiences more inclusive and user-friendly. In her free time, she likes to read novels, go café hopping and immerse herself into the world on video games like Honkai Star Rail, Stardew Valley and Final Fantasy XV.
Check out Christina’s LinkedIn here!
SUEDE is a society driven by students passionate about designing everyday interactions, services, and experiences. SUEDE aims to bridge the gap between theory-based education and practical industry-based learning. We help students be better prepared for the workforce while also creating a community centered around design.
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