Kenna Chhoeng

I took the Graphic Design Course because the graphic design program at my university was underfunded, and I felt stagnant in opportunities and like I hit a roadblock with learning. I thought participating in the Graphic Design Course would allow me to experience design beyond education and the workplace. I also think it was a good way for me to take control of my design journey.

The Graphic Design Course taught me a lot about myself in so many ways. Since the course is self-paced it took me essentially a year to finish. As a creative person, sometimes it feels like I am always creating projects and never finishing them so coming back to the course and pushing through it feels good. ilovecreatives’ Graphic Design Course definitely helped me understand how long it takes me to complete things. I also think taking this before I had any branding classes within university was great because there were things I learned that were not in the courses that I feel like allowed me to excel in those courses.

I enjoyed so much of the Graphic Design Course: the co-working chat and gig alerts on Discord, and getting feedback from Sarah and Mindy. The course's flexibility was also great, not just with time and schedule, but I used it as an opportunity to expand on some existing projects for my portfolio that I ended up really liking. It also taught me things like how to make my own mockups that I never learned in school. Also, the resources provided are great!

My advice to someone thinking about taking the course would be definitely utilize the chats with Sarah and Mindy or even ask for critique in the Discord. I think, as a designer, I have learned that you have to find a good balance of trusting your intuition and gut, but also getting feedback; one of the best things about this course. Something I wish I had done was reach out more for advice and critique.

I think this course has allowed me to feel in control of my journey as a designer. While struggling to get opportunities, it can sometimes feel like you don't know what to do to keep improving and growing. Doing this course, I have been able to take the things I have learned into professional and educational settings, offering a different perspective to my peers.