Stepping into the world of design throws a creative resource into various crossroads of confusing questions. At IndieFolio Network, we are in conversation with our community which encompasses over 50,000 professional creators, 1000+ creative experts, and 3000+ recruiters. Combining analytical with experiential data in collaboration with experts, we wanted to address a few of these questions to make the life of a creator easier by some extent.
This article flags of our initiative to induct creative resources into the professional design sphere through industry insights and real stories. We are stoked to have one of the hottest Indian digital agencies – the Mumbai and Bengaluru based Schbang as collaborators for this article. Schbang is an integrated marketing solutions agency, with a digital heart!
Schbang’s team is a talented crew of over 200 creatives, from multiple creative fields across a spectrum of industry experiences. Anyone from a fresher to an art director with 15+ years experience makes up the Schbang collective and together they have created some award-winning campaigns for clients of the likes of Hot Wheels, RAW Pressey, Amazon Fashion, Kaya, BBLUNT, Fevicol, Fevikwik, Ashok Leyland, Finolex Pipes, and others.
Schbang is one of the major recruiters of creative talent and we wanted to know what are the most ubiquitous questions that keep pressing on the mind of their designers. According to Neha Poojara, Chief Learning Officer at Schbang, these would be;
“Should I become a professional graphic designer?”
“Do I get to work on my own ideas?”
“What are the challenges of handling client projects?”
“How is the life of a designer at an agency?”
Well, if you have been pondering on similar questions, rejoice! It’s the right thing to ask 🙂
We asked three top performers from the Schbang team, Aditi Kadu, Jayesh Dhanmeher, and Faisal Qureshi to share a slice on how to handle the profession and grow as designers on a daily basis.
As a Design Lead at Schbang, Faisal Qureshi provided us with insights on the challenges he faces as a designer and how to take them on?
“As a designer, the biggest challenge I face is the quick turnaround time for conceptual creatives. However I have managed to convince my team and in turn, the client that given adequate time on a creative, I can deliver my best and do complete justice to the brief, also reducing the back and forth on the approval process.”
To be in tune with the perpetual countdown (read: deadline) you have to constantly put your grey cells on overdrive. Faisal’s method of tackling this is to establish clear, achievable timelines and then go back to the client with clarity. Key takeaway – Do not try to give improbable deadlines just to impress the client. Schedule for a realistic timeframe and ensure on delivering as per that.
Check out Faisal’s project for Finolex. Observe how his design sense is not restricted to one platform but focussed on a 360 approach including digital and print mediums.
Before even professional challenges come our way, a bigger battle is to convince your own self on choosing design as a career. Jayesh Dhanmeher recounts his inspirations for embracing design as the chosen path:
“Throughout my childhood, I always lean more on the creative side of things. While studying I had a friend who was pursuing design as a career which really got my attention and I thought maybe that is the field for me as I always felt I could express myself better with my designs. Best thing is, I feel like I still learn something new every day as designing is what I love.”
The bottom line is – you know design is your calling when you don’t mind learning something new in design every day. Jayesh is a Graphic Visualiser at Schbang and we love the way how he plays with words. Check out his work on the Fevikwik campaign here.
Another major conundrum from professional designers is an apprehension of losing out on pursuing own creative ideas due to client projects. But, for Aditi Kadu, Senior Graphic Visualizer at Schbang, the fun is in adapting and including your own ideas on client briefs. This makes the project more fun, and the output more magical.
Aditi shared with us her roadmap behind a stellar campaign for Godrej Experts, where she merged the client’s requirements with her own inspirations.
“Godrej Expert is a very homely brand which talks about its shades. So on the occasion of Father’s day, I made this project to show the shade of our Father. I thought of showing a tribute to our fathers where he stood by our side in every phase of our life in all our thick and thins. But my biggest challenge was how to integrate “the shades of our father” with the brand also keeping brand space in mind.
So I went down to the root of Godrej Expert, that is Hair. I then made a hair strand tell the story of a father starting from our birth till we grow up.”
As creators, the onus will always be on you to implement and improvise on your creativity to overcome challenges, be it personal or professional. However, being a designer at an agency is busy, chaotic and creative. To nurture the talent, an inclusive culture is of paramount importance and Schbang has successfully stitched that as part of their identity.
Faisal, Jayesh, and Aditi, along with their team thrives on the open culture Schbang provides where everyone gets the chance to showcase their talent and is endorsed by the company at all times.
A big thanks to the Schbang team, Faisal, Aditi, and Jayesh for contributing to this initiative. IndieFolio will be back soon with more edition’s on how to imbibe professionalism as part of your routine.
