EMILY THOMPSON

Emily is a Communication Design student based in Germany

“People always say, you need to fail to produce something good. And I always think ‘whatever’. But it’s true!”

Chloe Briggs (CB): You joined the course with a very open mind about which direction you might go and it became clear at some point that Communication Design was where your strengths are. Can you identify when that was, or what made you realize that?

Emily Thompson (ET): Yes, I remember at the end of the first semester, when I had my talk with Taylor Holland, we talked about Communication Design. We spent half an hour talking about it and I had enjoyed all the assignments we did in class, so I just kind of went with it.

CB: So, what are these strengths that you have? that means that this is the field for you?

ET: I just really enjoy doing it. I could spend hours selecting types and changing around things to make the image and text work. I guess it just feels right.

CB: What would you say is the most challenging thing, but also something that’s been good about the online format?

ET: I think one thing that has been good for me is that I could not constantly check what other people were doing. I would just do what I wanted to do, and then on Fridays, we see what everyone else came up with. But I think that was also the hard part because I’d sometimes spend the week working on something but then be insecure about whether I was doing the right thing - I was unsure if I had done enough work or maybe too much.

CB: Do you feel you’ve got more confidence in your own judgment now? I think you have an ability to be self-critical, without it preventing the work from coming. Is that true?

ET: I think there’s a very thin line for me. When I’m not happy with something I’m like: “It’s not good! I don’t like this! I don’t have any good ideas”. But when I try and take a step back, which is a hard thing for me to do, that’s when my ideas come. Yeah.

CB: What you’ve just described is useful for people to read. This honesty about a creative process. I think it is often the case when you’re almost at despair with the work that something new grows or is seen, or learned, and that’s fine. You just have to be tough with the process.

ET: Yeah, I mean, people always say, you need to fail to produce something good. And I always thought “whatever”. But it’s true.

CB: I feel, you all have been very supportive of each other. Everyone is really delighted to see each other’s successes...

ET: Yes, I feel like that also makes it less scary, because at the beginning I was always very self-conscious about my work, and I’d get nervous to present but as I have got to know everyone it felt less intimidating because everyone is really nice!

CB: If you could meet Emily starting the course in September last year? What would you say to her?

ET: I’d tell her not to worry. At the beginning, I was worried about meeting everyone and my work, maybe not being good enough. But there was never really a reason to worry. And, at the beginning I was comparing my work with other people, but I have realized that everyone just has a different way of working and different styles. There is no way of comparing.

CB: That’s true, it’s impossible, and I hope you feel that each of you individually have been seen, and you know that your strengths are totally different. We often laugh about how yours are so different to Terence’s, don’t we? At the same time there is great appreciation for each other’s skills, thinking and quality of work.

ET: Yeah, and it’s nice to have the Friday meetings where we meet people who have other interests and other ways of working, because I find that really inspiring. It gives me ideas that I would have never otherwise thought of.

CB: Yeah, the learning really comes from each other, doesn’t it? I see that so clearly.