“…it is all about facilitating a collaborative environment.”

— BENJAMIN HORGAN

Tell us a little about your experiences since graduating. Where have you worked? Where do you work now?

I am a qualified graphic designer and am passionate about using creativity and design thinking to amplify the work of academics, humanitarians, and scientists, and to effect system changes on a national and global level. I’ve spent the past 5 years (since graduating) overseeing brand and visual communication for the Minderoo Foundation, one of Asia’s largest philanthropies ($2bn AUD) and Tattarang, one of Australia’s most significant private investment companies. I was directly involved in the transformation of both organisations’ operations over three years of rapid growth, and the critical role of a professional brand identity in those processes. I have had amazing opportunities to work closely with C-suite leaders behind multiple global corporates as well as highly visible artists and social media influencers.

In my time at Minderoo Foundation I had the privilege to meet and work with Dr. Julia Reisser (former chief scientist of the “Ocean Clean-up”) across many projects for Minderoo’s "Flourishing Oceans" and "No Plastic Waste" Initiatives. Having kept in touch over the years, an opportunity arose at the end of 2022 to join ULUU as Creative Lead. With the experience gained at Minderoo Foundation and Tattarang not only in design process and branding, but also my wider knowledge of modern slavery, ocean health and plastics crisis to name a few, it seemed the right time to be comfortable "feeling uncomfortable", again. So, here starts my journey into making the ULUU name known around the world as THE material to replace plastic.

How did you get your first graphic design job?

Following advice of all lecturers, I was to not miss the opportunities the grad night presented in networking and beginning a relationship with industry professionals.

My experience at North Metro TAFE had me laser focussed on our Advanced Diploma Industry graduation evening in year 3. I remember in first year hearing some amazing stories of where designers had ended up because of successful networking on grad night. On the evening of our graduation, I met Tina Mash MISTD. At the time she lead all creative services at Minderoo Foundation (MF) and Forrest Family Investments Private Office - Tattarang (TATT). I had received great constructive feedback on my portfolio from lecturer Leigh Wood that I was able to action for the Graduation night. As a result, Tina was impressed with my work and in the new year, 2018, offered me a 2-week internship with MF/Tatt.

Through a lot of hard work, sleepless nights and long hours my 2-week internship turned into the 5-year adventure it has been. It was an incredible experience being able to take all the practical knowledge learned from TAFE and my previous academic background (architecture) at UWA into an environment that was akin to a start-up. I found myself in a unique position working with academics, humanitarians, and C-suite leaders to translate big ideas into engaging visual comms.

There have been many highlights over the past 5 years, here are a couple:

1. the opportunity to work with the director and co-founder of international human rights org "Walk Free" on the evolution of the logo mark and brand guidelines as a graphic designer as well as supporting the director as a photographer - one of my images is credited in Vogue Australia

2. the opportunity to lead design production for “Flourishing Ocean's” first edition of the Global Fishing Index. It was sent to and read by Sir David Attenborough, he then sent a personal letter to Andrew Forrest expressing his gratitude for the Index. Andrew was kind enough to gift those who worked on the index with a framed print of the letter, now one of my prized possessions!

What is post-pandemic Perth design in need of most?

Designers don't just work at agencies - there are many avenues if you know how to look. A strengthening of the design community that is less competitive and more collaborative.

What advice would you give to Graphic Design students studying at NM TAFE right now? Include CERT IV, Diploma and Advanced Diploma students preparing to graduate.

The best advice I have been given in the past few years is from former Nike CMO and Telstra CMO Joe Pollard: “Strong opinions, loosely held”

I find myself repeating this as a daily mantra – if you choose to go down the path of design as a career, you will realise at some point or another it is all about facilitating a collaborative environment. It’s liberating to go into a client meeting knowing all you know about design and then being able to adapt your perspective based on what you learn from the client, that you didn’t know before – it all adds up if you are willing to listen.

Treat every project like it is for a real brand and a real client. Don't do the bare minimum to pass - interrogate the purpose of everything you put forward. Why should a business/client pay YOU for YOUR services. What is your unique design perspective and ethos? Treat the Graduation industry night like a job interview.

What do you think are the most important qualities in a graphic designer?
What makes a good designer?

These are my top qualities, not just to be a graphic designer but to be any good creative:

• Ability to listen

• Ability to ask critical questions and think critically

• Ability to adapt

• Ability to have fun

• Ability to be patient

First and foremost is our ability to listen. The client may not have the language to explain to the designer what they want for themselves or the business they represent - so it is our job to listen and to interpret key themes and ideas - paint the picture based on what the client is saying, this is where we will notice the gaps and know what to ask of the client regarding clarification.

As designers we can expose ourselves to many creative solutions all the time, building a toolkit for our reference. It's about using our accumulated design knowledge, our own design database in our minds to offer unique solutions to clients.

The creative industry can be fickle so it’s important to know your creative self – what environments work best for you, when are you most productive, when are you most creative – what fills your cup so that you are having fun when you are designing - no matter the client, no matter the job, pressure or lack of pressure – if you want to be creative every day and have fun, you can do it – it really does come down to your outlook. Knowing this will allow you to build far more genuine relationships with people/clients so that you don’t become someone who “over promises and under delivers”.

Our design career is a marathon not a sprint – take the time to do monotonous design tasks as it builds technical confidence.

Some clients get it (yay we love these clients) but some clients just don’t, that is why they have come to you – In moments of creative frustration, I think it’s important to consider thar we are in service of the wider design community and wider education of our industry. We must try to be patient when clients don’t quite get it and take the opportunity to educate and share our passion for creativity with them.

Please list some awesome new developments happening right now in the design industry. What should we be focusing on to future-proof our course?

The obvious one is the introduction of AI tools, like with canva a smart designer will learn to use these as supportive tools rather than wholesale solutions.

Again, a bit obvious, target audience: because of social media management reporting tools we are learning more about our audiences and what they want to consume. We are seeing audiences differ across social media platforms meaning content now differs across IG, TW, TIKTOK etc. Understanding audience behaviours and what audience you have on your platforms is fundamental to nailing visual comms that are engaging. Designers need strong understanding of human behaviour, especially in spaces where you want to change behaviour through design.