365 Days of Design = Completed

The Idea

The idea was to design something every day for 365 days (typically a poster). I’d use my Instagram to share my developments, document my journey and to create a collection of work that would be suitable for my portfolio. 

When this challenge started I was almost halfway through my third year at University. I had 6 months left before I graduated and was feeling that distinct fear of uncertainty that the future often seems to hold. I decided to use that fear as motivation to dedicate my time to better my skills, become more efficient and allow myself some creative freedom. I briefly worried about sharing work that it didn’t find to be of the best quality, but I reassured myself that this entire process isn’t about designing anything good, it was just about designing something. As long as I was learning with each design, then I was succeeding.

So with open arms, ready to accept rubbish designs and a whole lot of learning, I began.

The Execution

So January 1st 2024 arrived, I designed my first poster, and I thought I was the next Paula Scher.

Soon enough the days turned into weeks, and a routine started to fall into place. I had to make sure I was allocating enough time to design something worthwhile. I was juggling my third year of university, a part-time job, keeping on top of typical daily chores and maintaining some sort of social life, so making sure I was organised was crucial.

Although a big commitment, the challenge grew to become a vital part of my day, helping me step away from my final major project at university and explore different avenues of design. It further allowed me to explore my creative freedom and provided a way to express myself and have a little fun without the need to impress anyone. By spending just an hour a day really grasping the principles of design, creating work started to become more of a jigsaw that I was piecing together, rather than just throwing something onto a page and hoping it would magically fit together.

The Purpose

My designs started off very conceptual and experimental, giving myself time to just get whatever I wanted to onto a page. It let me feel like a kid again, doing crafts for the first time. It was fun, exciting and a little silly.

But around day 75 was where I was able to knuckle down and started creating designs with purpose, many of which were influenced by 90s magazine advert design. This was the week where everything clicked into place, and the puzzle looked complete. To this day it is still the work I am most proud of throughout this entire journey.

But it wasn’t just the design outcomes that were improving, my efficiencies have gone up a notch. From using keyboard shortcuts, to navigating around programs with ease, the designs became quicker as I saved on time.

Designs that would have taken me an hour to do in the beginning, now only take 20 minutes, because I understand the fundamentals of design so much better.

I also now have an entire journal of designs that were influenced by my thinking, feelings, interests and expertise on that day.

The Upper Hand

The biggest difference during the last 12 months was transitioning from university into my career. On the 19th June, at the halfway point, I had my interviews at Bright Blue Day for the role of their Junior Motion Graphics Designer. I spoke with both Bobby and Jamie during this process and my 365 days of design came up as they looked through my portfolio. We talked about the challenge and my love for learning and wanting to better my abilities. I explained how I thrive off of growth and I openly admitted that I don’t know everything, but I want to. Which, in my opinion, was one of the key factors to me securing the job. 

The challenge alone showed to them my dedication. My dedication to learning, dedication to commitment and dedication to put my time and energy into something that I love. I was able to adapt, follow a routine and show that I had the self-discipline to hold myself accountable and be a force for change. All things I know they found favourable, whether they’d admit that themselves or not.

I found this challenge had become my little pocket of time to reflect on my day, my interests and the things going on around me in the world. It became a way to show the person I was on that day, what I was thinking or feeling. It became so much more than just a design a day—it became a collection of the person that I am.

The Results

My knowledge of design has grown massively and my execution of designs has vastly improved. But my love for design has been reignited. I even started to push these designs further during this process by exploring colour correction, creating animated posters, and even doing some illustration work.

I want to reiterate that the key thing to take away from this whole project is that it was never about designing anything good, it was just about designing something. As designers we get caught up in questioning our abilities and imposter syndrome is something myself and other creatives experience far too often. Designing an amazing piece of work is always going to feel great, but sometimes you design something awful. However, the knowledge gained will always be of incredible value.

I thrive on learning and seizing opportunities to better myself, so this last year has pushed me creatively. It taught me incredible self-discipline, to put time into the things that bring me joy, and that truly you can do anything if you just put your mind to it.

2024 has given me the most amazing start to my career and I have the girl that I was at the beginning of last year to thank for truly trusting herself.

Completing this challenge has been bittersweet. I feel a little lost without it, but it’s time to allow myself to grow in other areas. I know that the last 12 months have shaped me into a better creative, and that the next year is about pushing myself, continuing to learn, to grow and most importantly, have fun.