In this week’s episode, we’re joined by Allie Toney – a super talented young designer who actually works with us here at Design Cuts. Allie brings a great perspective to the show in terms of what it’s like to be a young designer fresh out of college. It was fascinating to hear what graduates are feeling as they find their way in the creative industry, as well as getting a first-hand look at the creative college experience.
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Show Notes for This Episode:
[1:00] Today we are joined by a Design Cuts team member – the very talented Allie Toney
[1:45] Allie is a recent graduate of the University of South Alabama
[2:30] We celebrated Tom’s birthday last week on May 16th
[3:40] Allie shares her design experience and how she got started with design
[4:15] She was always passionate about photography
[4:50] Allie studied under Diane Gibbs at the university and fell in love with design
[5:20] She loves being able to help visually translate a client’s message into a design
[5:45] Diane connected Allie with Design Cuts and this was her first job out of college
[7:00] Diane helps connect a lot of young designers with people who need help
[7:35] She also has her own live podcast called Design Recharge
[9:20] Allie enjoys being able to work remotely for Design Cuts, despite the time difference challenge
[10:00] She feared the Design Cuts job wouldn’t work out and questioned her design experience
[11:15] In time Allie learned what the Design Cuts expectations and design style were
[13:30] Being able to chat/video call with the Design Cuts team made a huge difference for Allie
[14:15] Also setting up a Trello board has been incredibly helpful
[15:20] The Slack conversations make Allie feel she is part of the Design Cuts team
[16:40] Tom feels bad for never having the time to offer Allie guidance with the design work
[17:00] When managing a remote designer, it’s also your responsibility to help them get better
[18:30] The importance of a young designer working under the guidance of an experienced designer
[19:30] Tom did a lot of contracting work back in the day with little learning focus
[21:20] There are website where an employee can add a review of the company they work for
[22:00] The difference between finding work as graduate graphic designer and graduates from other industries
[22:30] Ian worked as a sale assistant after finishing university
[23:20] Tom asks Allie how is the landscape for other graduate designers
[24:30] Your first job as a graduate might not be what you want
[25:15] Smaller communities and the benefit of knowing people
[26:30] Preparing yourself for when opportunity comes knocking on the door
[27:15] Finding how to get in front of people and getting your portfolio ready
[28:00] It’s important to find a company that is a good fit for you
[28:30] Allie had a look at Design Cuts and added graphics that we would be interested in her portfolio
[29:15] Job applicants not tailoring their CV and sending the same to all companies
[30:15] For a job application Tom redesigned the company’s website
[32:00] Companies doing longer more in-depth interviews
[33:40] Lisa finding a designer who told her what she can do for her
[34:20] Thinking what you can give to the company
[36:00] Allie’s positive attitude in her work at Design Cuts
[37:20] The importance of having a positive attitude and wanting to learn
[38:20] Respecting the designer’s feedback and being willing to make changes
[39:30] Allie prefers giving a few different options for her work
[40:30] Graphic design is a process and it usually doesn’t come out right on the first time
[41:30] Allie has a few graphic designer friends who are not happy with their jobs
[42:50] Dustin quit a job because he was scared of his boss
[44:20] Integrating yourself into a community of people with similar interests
[45:10] Interacting with people you admire
[46:30] Allie has lot of variety in her design project
[48:00] The benefit of being a jack of all trades in design
[50:00] Niching down brought a lot of work for Ian
[51:00] Have something unique and stand out
[52:00] Think where you want to be in the future and if your current work fits into that
[53:00] Niching down is not a good fit for everyone
[54:00] Give yourself time to figure out what you want to do
[55:00] Ian suggesting setting up a YouTube channel to show your work process
[56:40] Recording your design process in college and showing this to potential employers
[57:10] Allie re-did all our tutorial YouTube covers
[59:00] The perspective and the mindset of going into a project
[59:40] Seeing the effects of your work
[1:00:30] Think of redesigning as spring cleaning
[1:01:10] Doing work for free and showing the testimonial of the benefits
[1:03:20] Tom suggest the hosts should mentor young people
[1:04:20] He wonders what are the common conversation college students are having
[1:05:00] A lot of conversations are about projects and surviving
[1:05:40] Leaving the college bubble and going out in the real world
[1:06:15] Not having the road map for finding a job once you leave college
[1:07:00] Allie looks at the different paths her friends took with their design work
[1:08:20] The danger of comparing yourselves with more experienced designers
[1:09:20] The grass is always greener on the other side
[1:10:30] The different experiences of design graduates and non-graduates
[1:11:15] All designers sharing the common self-doubt trait
[1:12:30] Allie wanted different things in college than what she wants now
[1:13:40] She asks the hosts how they dealt with self-doubt and what brought them back to design
[1:14:10] Lisa knew her she was getting experience and the job was just a stepping stone
[1:15:00] Ian almost became an electrician half-way through
[1:15:40] He made a like/dislike column for all different types of design work
[1:16:10] This helped him focus on the things he liked
[1:17:00] Getting to your end goal is not a straight line from A to B
[1:18:15] Feeling a lot more confident as you grow older
[1:19:00] Tom gradually moving towards community building
[1:19:45] It’s a journey and you shouldn’t be stressed by it
[1:21:00] There’s plenty of time and there are so many opportunities coming your way
[1:21:40] Do more, try more
[1:22:20] What would the hosts recommend to people not happy with their work
[1:22:50] Tom recommends expressing themselves creatively on the side
[1:23:20] Looking at the good side of the job is Lisa’s suggestion
[1:24:10] Jobs that are helping you in finding what you don’t want to do
[1:24:50] The importance of having a source of passive income
[1:25:45] This will help with transitioning from one job to the other
[1:26:30] The 2 avenues: money and passion income
[1:28:20] No matter how lost you feel, it’s all going to be okay
[1:29:30] Everyone struggles with something
[1:30:00] It was lovely to have Allie on the show
[1:30:30] Thanks so much for listening to this week’s episode
“A must for every creative freelancer (or those aspiring to freelance). Thank you for being so… honest! Such a wealth of information from people I admire who have ‘been there and done that’. Listening to the podcast every week feels like I’m among friends. Can’t wait for more episodes!” – AG_GD
What a relief to hear this podcast and Allie’s POV on having a broad range of styles and abilities. Comments in previous podcasts had me doubting my own niche, which as always been being a swiss army knife for my clients — able to handle virtually any task related to their branding and marketing needs and able to adapt to styles that suit the market/brand. Its something I’ve always considered a strength and helped me be a standout and valuable long-term team member. Not to mention, as pointed out, its so refreshing to jump from one style to another! I think it really broadens horizons and keeps the jobs fresh.
Hey Christina,
Thank you so much for your comment and we’re so glad that this episode has really been beneficial to you and your projects!
It is awesome to hear that you really enjoyed hearing about Allie’s creative journey and that you felt her perspective was really refreshing, we really appreciate your feedback!
We really hope that this episode has helped to spread some inspiration to other designers that consider themselves a swiss army knife, it is great that you use this to stand out to your clients and we can’t wait to share our next episode with you Christine :)