In this week’s lecture, we had a very special guest, Ronan McKinless, who gave us very useful and insightful information on the digital design industry. He explained the many different roles you could be apart of such as UI, UX, Digital Design, Product Design and Service Design. I think I would be interested in the UI side of things as it’s more about the visual aspect of the brand, rather than the structural aspects such as wire-framing and prototyping which would be what a UX role would consist of. However, I would also consider Product or Service design as it’s a combination of UI and UX. As much as I love designing the overall aesthetic of a brand, I am interested in the layout of the app and how it will function. Therefore, I think a nice balance of the two would be great for me personally.

Ronan also discussed the differences between working in a large and small company. He explained that there’s pros and cons to both. Working in a large company means that you are a small piece in a big puzzle. As well as this it can be quite cut throat if things go south. However, the opportunities that can come from working in these companies are very valuable, as you get to work with other brilliant designers and learn from them.

Whereas working for a smaller company means that you play a bigger role in a smaller team. The environment is a bit friendlier as you get to know people a bit more. The company itself is a little bit more niche, which is a nice trait. This part of the lecture interned me as I initially thought that I would love to work for a big company as it’s quite impressive. Although, working for a smaller company seems suitable for me, this is something I will consider for the future, however, I won’t get too worked up about it as I think they’re both great options and I think the only way of figuring out what suits me is to actually experience it rather than assume.

Another topic of discussion was whether or not you wanted to go down the entrepreneurial route. Ronan advised us not to start freelance as a young designer as you have limited experience and clients. This makes perfect sense to me as I think it’s important to work in the industry for a while and meet people and learn new things. Becoming an entrepreneur is something that I would consider as I think it would be really cool to come up with something and creating a successful business/ brand out of it.

Overall this weeks lecture was really useful at helping me start to think about were I want to take my career and the options available to me.