Nurturing Hybrid-Educated Designers
From Creative Administrative Assistants to Freelance Graphic Designers
As a Hybrid-Educated Freelance Designer, I’ve been captivated by the ever-evolving landscape of administrative roles in today's workplace. It has become commonplace to expect at least one designated admin staff to utilise tools like Adobe InDesign for crafting newsletters, developing corporate leadership training materials, brochures and more. Design is becoming even more accessible to everyone with online programs like Canva and Squarespace, leading to the emergence of hybrid roles that combine administrative and design responsibilities.
When I started out in creative admin roles (aka. formatting Word and PowerPoint documents), I often found myself juggling creative flow with an interrupted array of tasks:
answering phone calls
rolling out a rebrand
booking travel
creating diagrams in illustrator to be less “PowerPointy”
handling urgent accounting in MYOB
posting on social media
formatting PowerPoint presentations to client brands
burning the midnight oil on tender proposals
enhancing website avatars on consultant bios
the list is endless
It has led me to ponder: at what point does the creative admin filling a design role become a full-fledged Graphic Designer?
I've always harbored the desire to be creative and get paid for it. I consider myself fortunate that creative admin roles have kept me engaged and eager to learn more. Now, as I write my first post as a happy Freelance Graphic Designer with over 10 years experience working on logos, visual identity, webdesign, information design, illustratation and print design; I dedicate this post to all ‘Creative Admins’ out there, I'm compelled to share my insights with fellow creative admins who secretly aspire to be graphic designers.
It has led me to ponder: at what point does the creative admin filling a design role become a full-fledged Graphic Designer?
My transition from a Creative Admin to a Designer began when I embraced a Design and Production Role at a prominent Leadership Development and Career Transition Company. Looking back, it's amusing to recall how close I came to declining the role due to self-doubt about my PowerPoint skills. In this capacity, I provided support to twenty consultants a role shared with another remarkable designer with exceptional organisational and project management skills. My Design and Production team buddy was a PowerPoint wizard who imparted invaluable wisdom on streamlining the creation of PowerPoint decks, even those massive ones comprising up to 300 slides!
My enthusiasm for my work grew as I became known as "the creative one" – the person colleagues turned to for transforming text into visual metaphors, crafting engaging infographics and reducing slide clutter.
“Liz has the ability to ‘hit the nail on the head’ so to speak when working with the client to develop visual metaphors from text to graphic.”
Eventually, I reached a crossroads in my career journey. The time had come to explore my own path. I made the transition from a design production role to a freelance designer by reconnecting with former colleagues. Many of these consultants had embarked on their entrepreneurial journeys and realised their need for a comprehensive visual identity – websites, business cards, logos, and brand colours. They remembered me as "the creative one" and sought my services as a freelance designer.
The world of design is vast, and it welcomes those who dare to redefine their roles and capabilities.
In the end, the transition from a creative admin to a freelance graphic designer has been a remarkable and rewarding journey. It has demonstrated the potential for creative evolution within a career, showcasing how a blend of formal education and hands-on experience can create a well-rounded designer. I encourage others on similar paths to embrace their unique blend of skills, nurture their creative passion, and be brave about navigating their own career choices. The world of design is vast, and it welcomes those who dare to redefine their roles and capabilities.
