The Life of a Designer
The Life of a Designer
Kevin Macintyre, from Dundas, Ontario, has been drawing steadily since he was five, a talent that continued well on into high school. A passion for art and the willingness to work at something he loves helped Kevin decide to attend Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario following high school graduation. Known as the top animation school in North America, Kevin originally went to Sheridan College to pursue a career as an animator but instead he entered the Illustration Program: “I wasn’t accepted into the animation program, my portfolio wasn’t strong enough – however it was the best thing that could’ve happened.” Explains Kevin. With no real experience going into the program, besides being naturally handy with computers, Kevin studied such courses as life drawing, still life drawing, painting, photography, computer design, page layout and design, and printmaking.
The three-year program taught Kevin many things. For example, Kevin learned how to take a simple idea, work with it using his own creativity and talents, and turn it into something completely different. “The best lesson school taught me was to expect more from myself [and to] never settle for something that is beneath [my] true ability.” Says Kevin. Academics and classroom time aside, Art College also provided Kevin with a space to create, allowing him to build a portfolio, which often means more to employers than good grades and a diploma. Similar to going to trade school or even University, its not so much about what you learn in the classroom but how you apply it to your work outside of the classroom. A good school will teach its students to reach their highest potential but what they do with the newfound knowledge, and how far they go with it, depends on the individual.
And the learning process does not stop once graduation day has come and gone. Kevin had two plans for himself following graduation. One was to move to Toronto and become a designer, the other was to move to a retreat and lead a quiet life of contemplation. “It wasn’t about job preparation so much as trying to figure out what I really wanted to do with my life.” Says Kevin. A believer in not rushing into things too quickly, Kevin did plan two first and later moved to Vancouver where he began working at Omega Nutrition. At Omega Kevin worked as a label and package designer where he learned things they can never teach you in school such as prepping art for pre-press. During his tenure at Omega Nutrition Kevin started off doing a lot of brochure and poster design but later moved into designing labels for products. “I get a big kick out of walking into a health food store and seeing one of my labels on the shelf.” Says Kevin of his time at Omega.
Now living in Nelson, BC, Kevin has found a way to blend his two plans and works as a designer while leading a quiet life away from the big city. Using skills he learned at school and at Omega, Kevin now works at The Express Community Newspaper as a Graphic Designer/Production Person as well as the writing the weekly adventures of Roy, his own comic strip. At the Express, Kevin mainly creates ads for local merchants that go into the newspaper as well as planning the initial layout of the paper. Clients either send in vague idea or something very specific and Kevin then creates an eye-catching ad out of the initial design. The job is high paced and leaves little room for contemplating about a design for a long time period. As Kevin explains, “its like speed design. It’s more about knocking something together quickly than spending hours working on it. But it’s fun to see how fast I can come up with a good idea. The weirdest part is that the brain simply trains itself to think faster, so the good ideas still come – I just don’t have to think about something for hours to get a decent working design anymore.”
Working at the paper has allowed Kevin to bring clients into the design process but he still enjoys doing freelance work, an area he would like to expand on in the next five years. “There is really nothing more satisfying than being known enough that you can pick and choose the projects that appeal to you.” Says Kevin. For now, Kevin is enjoying life in Nelson and has some solid advice for students unsure of what to do after graduation: “Take some time off if you can afford it. We spend our entire childhood and adolescence in school and then are supposed to leap head first into a career. Take some time out to figure out how you really want to apply what you’ve gotten from school. There’s nothing worse than getting into a job you hate just because you feel you have to.” Hard work, determination, and high expectation of oneself will ultimately lead to success and allow a person to do just about anything but remember to slow down once and a while and smell the roses.
