As a kid, you’re often asked, “What do you wanna be when you grow up?”. Some people reply with the usual, “doctor, teacher, or astronaut.”. But I said I wanted to be an artist. Not a very good answer for someone living in an Asian household.
Most famous artists don’t make money until they die, and even then, there’s a slim chance of making dough. At 19 I still hear similar questions, just in different ways, “‘What would you like to do after uni?” “What kind of job are you looking at with your degree?” The list goes on.
And honestly I don’t know. As a student doing a double degree in design and media (specialising in objects, graphics, and PR and advertisements); I don’t know. When I first looked at the degree in high school, I had thought “yeah, the main course is design with the side of media.”, not really thinking much of what would happen after the digestion of the degree. I just went with the flow, thinking everything would work out and I would think about it later.
Entering uni was hard enough for me.
BAM!!! Covid-19 hit, and my very first term of first year was cut short and everything went online. It was harder making connections, making decisions, and actually getting the most out of my design degree.
Most of the information I got from it was through friends who were doing the degree or just the design handbook in general. There was no real place I could go to for specific, support or to access resources. And before you get all up in my face saying you should have just researched more or talked to the course LiC or something, it was so difficult and tedious just to talk to someone about the degree. I eventually found an actual rhythm of the degree, but after this, I found myself worrying what to do afterwards.
There wasn’t much guided information on how to land an internship, how to make a good portfolio, and the different design jobs outside of uni. I was overwhelmed with stress, but underwhelmed with information. I talked to people within my degree and gained some knowledge and felt a sense of reassurance.
Now, I often sound like I have a clue but I’m just faking it ‘til I make it. But still, as soon as someone asks me what I will be doing after my degree, I’m absolutely stumped. I don’t even know either. I don’t even know how I would even get a job, using the degree I paid thousands for.
Helping find a community
With the constant conversations with fellow students, each and every one of us found a common thing. We each felt lost, confused, and unsupported. But as all good designers do, they find the solution to the problem. Chloe Chan, a design student, was the one leading to finding the solution to the problem, and this solution turned out to be a society.
But not just any old society. A society where design students or other students who love design gather together, hold events, and have conversations on ways to improve designs and promote themselves.
This idea took shape in the form DDESSOC. Although the society is small and new, it holds big ambitions to help other design students find a way into the design industry and a way of self-expression. It started out as a group of design students who also felt the same problems I had and we hope it becomes something much more!
