Tell us a bit about yourself
Hi, my name is Roo (She/Her) and I am based in South London. I am a freelance artist and actor and I have been working as a freelance creative for the last 4 years. My creative practice is mostly theatre and film-based, varying day to day from learning audition scripts to proof-reading script submissions, sourcing costumes for theatre productions, to building set structures and designing logos and marketing flyers for upcoming performances.
Did you have any specific expectations or hopes when you started this programme?
Before starting the Flipside training programme I had little to no experience with digital design or digital art. I was very good at working creatively in a physical way and was curious to see how I could transfer those skills to the digital design sector and improve my creative toolbox. I expected to struggle in the beginning and to feel out of my depth, perhaps in a similar way to how I felt at school or university when I was outside of my comfort zone. I think a lot of creatively minded people can relate to those fears and concerns, but being outside your comfort zone is exactly where we should be when learning and playing with art and design.
With this in mind, joining Flipside, I knew I would learn a lot of new skills very quickly (and hoped I could keep up with it all) and that I would get a clearer insight into the digital design sector working with the agencies involved every week.
I was particularly looking forward to the prototyping of our digital design apps (which was one of the main learning tasks in the course). I knew I would find this aspect of the course intimidating as all the model structures and prototypes I have designed in the past have been using paper and pen, or building a model set design using cardboard and glue. I was surprised (and exhilarated!) to be encouraged to start my prototyping journey in the same way, even in the digital sector. My mentor explained to me that there is no right or wrong way to begin a design process, digital or not, so however those creative tools come naturally to you is how you should continue to approach the creative work. In bridging my thoughts on design in this way, the learning with Flipside all began to click into place.
Can you share a memorable moment from the course?
A standout moment from the course has to be the sharing sessions at the end of each workshop day. Seeing how my coursemates were progressing and offering encouraging support to one another was invaluable. If there was an area of your design that you just didn’t feel quite clicked, there was always someone on hand to offer you a guiding idea, whether that was a mentor or fellow creative!
What are some key learnings that you want to share with our audience?
My biggest learning was that creativity exists in every context –even in research for my final app design. I found I had to be creative and playful to get people to interact with my research questions honestly, for example, in pitch practice, I had to be creative to get my audience on board with my vision. The creative element of digital design existed at every moment of the course, and it was easy to get caught up in technicalities and forget that. As my confidence grew from week to week, I was able to apply all areas of my design passion to creating a prototype I was truly proud of. Thank you Flipside for starting me on my digital design journey!