WHAT TYPE OF DESIGNER AM I?

I like to think of myself as a chameleon. Someone who can move through various circles: relationships, friends, environments, places and spaces. As a young designer just beginning her career, I wanted to carry that same charisma towards the working environment I was about to find myself in after finishing my MFA. So far, I’ve tried my hand at interior design, set design, working as a PA on said set, as well as exhibition and experience design. I’ve learned from people who have plenty of experience, and from people who are also just starting like myself. I’ve taken the taken the time to try my hand at different fields: at some point or another in my life, I had thought to myself “hmm, I might want to do this.” And so I did.

But now that I’ve just finished school, I find myself at a cross roads. What type of designer do I really want to be? Do I see myself in the world of interiors, working with residential clients, or at a Museum, where I can influence and educate possibly hundreds, or even millions, of people? Or how about working on sets for TV shows that will be aired for years to come? Each opportunity sounds interesting, affording different clients, atmospheres and situations. Especially as a female designer of color, of which we are so rare!

I write all this because I am uncertain, and unwilling, to choose one. I believe myself to be a citizen of the world: as evidenced by this blog and portfolio alone, I do not simply categorize myself as a designer, but also travel writer, model, and sometimes interviewer. I am a lover of new things, of cultivating culture and relationships through the people I encounter. I strive to create passionate environments, whether it is in interiors, in exhibits or experiences, or on sets. The work I want to achieve in my career is a triangular formation that connects my passions, expertise and learned skills: it does not simply present a space, but rather, tells an enriching story.

I suppose this post is more of letter to myself, as a reminder that my talents, and my intuition, will carry me far. However, this is also written for other young designers and creatives out there. Those who might struggle with being put in a box, of just one “thing.” Follow the passions that led you to seek this career in the first place: what spoke to you the most when you thought to yourself" “what might I like to do?” And I certainly do not think that whatever you are doing now, you must do forever. As things and circumstances around you change, so do you. Explore the ways and intuitions you are feeling today, and let tomorrow come.