Hang out with better student designer than you!

September 17, 2019

You are a beginner?
You feel lonely and you can’t progress?

That’s normal.
Most beginners feel shy when they start.

If you are in this case,
Do you hide your design drawings and creation?
So no one can see your things?

Hiding is the best way to protect ourselves from critics.
As you can’t possibly fail if nobody sees it. Right?

But you got to realize you are building a dangerous fence
around you that stop you to become the designer you dream of.

Your lack of confidence makes you stagnate.
Today I wanna make sure you don’t trap yourself in an Ivory tower.

Let me tell you my story.
I hope to help you stop building fences,
and start building bridges to connect yourself with other students of your school.

TIP: Pursue your dream. We all start beginner.

My Design school didn’t recruit on sketching skill.
But on motivation, and creative potential.

The school is interested to know how passionate you are first.

Not knowing how to sketch as a candidate was fine.
It’s a skill that can be acquired.

There was no direct correlation between the initial sketching level and the success of a career after graduation.

Students could practice and gain amazing sketching level.

I remember at the entrance exam selection of my design school.
It was a competition. The number of seats was limited.

We had to give our best.

All students needed to go through 2 phases:

A creative drawing test on paper
(The idea matter more than the quality of the sketch).
A 1-to-1 motivational interview.

My sketches were so clumsy and amateur!
But I succeed to communicate my ideas
and show my passion to them to create a better world as a Designer.

The school called me: I was selected!
It was just the beginning of the journey… : )

TIP: Stop hiding. Hang out with better student designer than you!

Few months later, I started my design school in Paris,

I realized students came from so many different backgrounds and countries:

Some abandoned their studies (Engineering, Marketing…)
Some came from art school
Some were already design professionals or in reconversion
Most were only 18, just graduated from High-School
(I was 22 and I was already graduated of a 3rd-year diploma in Business and IT)
…

What I liked, it is never too late to start a Design career!

The first year of the Master’s Degree of Design has no design specialty yet.
It gathers multiple interests, and students have various goals.

We were all mixed in the class.
And it created interesting interactions.

But basically,
we had all different levels.
And most students didn’t know ho to sketch.

Learning how to draw was truly not easy.
But a few students stand out from the promotion.

They inspired me. We shared the same high passion
for Product design and became friends.

While some students decided to “hide”.
I wanted to compete with them.

I observed how they draw, learn their techniques. Study together.
And we shared opinions on each others homework.

That is how I kept my head high and progress.

It was not optimal learning.
As we had to figure out a lot ourselves.

But I wanted to be part of the top 10% students of the school.

Even if you start a beginner.
Be ambitious and humble.
Don’t take anything for granted.

Focus on positivity, and feel gratitude.
You’ll make miracles!

Hope it helps!

Cheers,
Chou-Tac

PS: If you wonder what specialty we can choose from my Design school: