Rob Watson - Visiting Professional

Rob Watson from Raw design studio came in to talk about his career in design and some of the project he’s undertaken. 

Rob got a job at a studio straight after uni, and then after 2 years, set up his own studio. This studio was successful but after a while he decided the way they were working just didn’t suit him and he wanted to change things up, so him and his wife who also worked at the studio, streamlined it by letting everyone go, working just as the two of them at home. This meant that they were spending less money and had time to do other things, such as self led projects and travelling. Together they have completed a lot of design projects with clients such as the BBC and the Premier League. They’ve also created products, and some interesting self directed projects.

What I found most valuable about Rob’s talk was when he talked about his career progression. I currently would like to work for a studio straight away when I leave uni because I think its good to get the insight into the industry, and you’ll learn so much more. However I have always thought at some point I would be interested in either freelancing or setting up a studio so it was really encouraging to hear him talk about how he did exactly that. I also thought it was interesting to hear about how they have produced a few products on the side; not only are these fun projects which they are passionate about, its also something that they can sell and get some money for on the side. Not only that, it can be a piece of work they put on their site or that gets a bit of press, which could ultimately lead to them getting more work similar to that. Ultimately it was just really refreshing to hear from a designer talking about how many different possibilities and opportunities there are out there, its not just working for a studio or freelancing, to a certain degree, if you work hard enough you can do anything you want. 

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