We recently connected with Bhoomi Mistry and have shared our conversation below.

Bhoomi, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

What I like about Graphic Design is that while it is a highly creative field, there are ways to pursue this profession within a nine-to-five context. One can enjoy the security and comfort of a routine while exploring interesting design challenges.

I always wanted to pursue a creative profession but it wasn’t necessarily about having or not having a ‘regular’ job per se. I’m happy as long as I can do this, support myself, and see a scope for growth in this field.

So far, I’ve taken my career as an opportunity to explore my many diverse interests. I’ve studied fashion, film-making, advertising, and journalism and have worked as a copywriter, art director, and storyboard artist. This journey has led me to graphic design. For the next few years, my focus will be on honing design skills. Eventually, my dream is to cultivate a multidisciplinary design practice where I’m able to weave in all my diverse skills.

As a former creative generalist, I’m finally starting to feel like I’m ready to commit to a practice and it makes me feel good about my place in the world as a creative person. As long as I get to achieve all my larger goals that I’ve mentioned, I’m open to opportunities, regardless of whether it’s freelance or full-time.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Once I knew I wanted to study design, I moved to the States from India to get my masters in Graphic Design at Maryland Institute College of Arts. It was the best decision for my creative career. I’m very thankful for the kind of discourses my faculty and cohort facilitated. It has greatly impacted my views on good design and the kind of work that I explore personally and professionally.

After MICA, I was a fellow with the design team at an agency in D.C. before landing my current job. Now I work as a designer at a web agency in Baltimore. We specialize in designing intuitive web experiences for mostly higher-education clients. I enjoy this work because it’s lovely to collaborate with clients in education, to make sure that the information on their website is exciting and easily accessible for prospective students. It’s a good challenge, to find the right balance between fun and formal, so that we land in that sweet spot where the client’s brand looks fresh and dynamic, without taking away from the impact of their messaging.

On a day-to-day basis, I collaborate with fellow designers, strategists, and developers to translate the client’s brand into a modular web system that can be used interchangeably to construct multiple web pages.

After discovery with the client to understand their needs, I start by sketching out some wireframes with the strategist to visually map out the content of the page. Then I start working on the look and feel and we present a few visual concepts to the client (this is my favorite part). At this stage, I explore different applications of the brand by trying out different font pairings, color combinations, and proportions. Slowly over a few months, the web system is built.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

As a former perfectionist, I had a tendency to get bogged down by details in a project or keep reinventing the wheel till it was perfect. This habit would create a lot of anxiety (because my work was never good enough for me, it felt like it was always less than perfect). Sometimes it would stop me from reaching the finish line altogether. I was also afraid to step out of my comfort zone because I didn’t want to risk being bad at something.

Over time, I’ve come to accept failure as the stepping stone to success. To grow as a designer, one needs to constantly experiment and upskill. And it’s okay to be terrible at something you’re trying for the first time because it’s important to try in the first place.

As a creative, you have to make peace with failure. It allows you to enjoy and learn from the process without tying yourself to the outcome or imparting judgment. My next goal is to put myself out there on social media and to share my work without the fear of being perceived negatively.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Like most designers, I get excited over seeing my vision come to life. It’s nice to see my projects out there in the world. It is rewarding to have tangible proof of my hard work.

It’s also very satisfying for me to see the little efforts I make compound over the years. Every day, I try to do a little better than I did yesterday, but in the moment, it feels very inconsequential. However recently when I was going through the work I did in grad school, it felt good to see that my skills have improved significantly. That makes all the effort worth it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bhoomimistry.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bhoomi__mistry/?locale=代办伊拉克产品设计技能证书〖威信%252BTG%252F飞机%253A%2540buth2788〗KoImG&hl=en
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bhoomi-mistry-3a31a41b2/