Laura Mackenzie

I took the Graphic Design Course because I wanted to transition my business from business strategy into design, and have been thinking about it for a long time. I found the ilovecreatives course over 1 year ago and knew it was the one for me. I finally decided to take the leap earlier this year and applied for the GDC scholarship, which I got, so I KNEW it was my time.

I think I've realised I find the whole conceptualising part of a project really easy and love to gather inspiration, do research and plan. When it came to bringing it to life I found that a lot harder, to structure all of my ideas into something that represented it. I think I learned this during the brand design section and it was super eye opening to realise I need to structure my ideas better in order to create something.

I loved every minute of it but I think my favorite part of the course would be that it was explained in a way I could relate to and kept me interested. I didn't zone out on boring tutorials or get stuck because I didn't understand something. I also loved being a part of the Spring cohort and doing our weekly check-ins. It kept me accountable and it was so nice to see other peoples journeys at the same time as I was doing them.

My advice for someone thinking about taking the course is TO JUST DO IT. But also wait until the time is right for you and you have the time to dedicate to it. I waited a while to make sure I was in the right space and time to be able to give this course everything it deserved and I'm really glad I did that. So don’t overthink the decision too much and just take the leap because it's worth it but also to make sure you're going to commit and get the most out of it!

This is a bit random but a lot of the courses I looked at didn't teach Figma and I really wanted to learn that tool, which was another reason this course felt right to me. And I'm SO glad that I've learned it, I now literally can't imagine my life without it and use it constantly. So my love and relationship with Figma is all thanks to you guys.

I should also say that I've come out of the course feeling confident enough to say 'I'm a graphic designer' which is something I never would have believed at the start of the course!