Industry Insider: Bambi-Bell

AMBER CRAWFORD is the graphic designer for Epona clothing, an ethical clothing company supplying college-wear to universities across the country. As well as juggling the responsibilities that come with the job she also keeps a blog called Bambi-Bell where she writes of her hobbies and daily observations. Her career path in the design industry as well as her commitment to her blog make her the perfect candidate for this Industry Insider post!

1)  What made you choose graphic design as your career?

I studied Product Design at University and always assumed that’s the career I’d go into until my final year which is when I really started questioning my plan for after my degree. I realised all my best and favourite work was graphics based, so with that in mind I decided that once I finished uni I’d take time to figure out exactly what I wanted career wise. I worked full time in a Wetherspoons and also as a freelance graphic designer, that’s where I realised I wanted that to be my career. I started off doing free work then quickly progressed onto only paid work which definitely helped motivate me.

2) What parts of your job do you find interesting and why?

The most interesting part has to be the ethics, I’ve always had some interest in clothing and where it’s manufactured so getting to work for a company where I’ve been able to learn about every stage of our clothing’s life is incredible. From learning about our farmers and factories to seeing how screen printing works and how the garments look in the shops once finished. I’ve learnt an incredible amount about organic cotton, fairtrade cotton, fair share and fair wear, the company is constantly looking for new ethical standards to reach so it’s a pretty cool thing to be part of.

3) What does a typical day in your job involve?

That’s a really hard question! A typical day tends to vary depending on the time of year, but as I’m answering this during our busiest work period I’ll base it on now. I’ll usually head into the office anytime between 8-9:30am depending on how big my workload is, getting in early means there’s less distractions, meaning I can get through lots of emails before my inbox is flooded. Most of my day will be spent creating artwork and mock-ups for customers and emailing them over for their approval, once I’ve had the approval I need to process the artwork so it’s print ready and send it over to our Customer Service team to then process the order. Along with the artwork side of things, I also run all of the social media and our website, so a chunk of time is typically spent on updating all of those and dealing with any enquiries we may receive via social media sites. In between the above work, I’ll keep a close eye on my emails and reply to any questions or artwork issues that arise. I also essentially manage most, if not all, of the marketing for the company, which is something quite new for me, so I’m very much learning as I go which is awesome as I’m getting to expand my knowledge and take on new challenges through my current job, something I’m sure many people don’t get to do unless they change jobs completely! On top of that I also manage two other sites which both require separate artwork, information and tracking, there are various other small jobs I do around the office such as managing stationary and IT so I can definitely say my job involves a wide range of tasks. My job is very much a juggling act and no two days are the same, it’s probably the part I enjoy the most about my job, it keeps things interesting and enjoyable.

4) What made you want to get into Graphic Design? Was there a specific moment when you fell in love with it all?

I think I fell in love with Graphic Design while I was freelancing, I was taking on such a variety of different and challenging projects, some of which I took on purely to try out new things. By challenging myself I began learning so much, as I found myself spending lots of time researching different techniques. I love creating new prints, logos, marketing materials and other branding, just using all of the inspiration around me and channelling that into something new I can create is exactly why I love graphic design and fall in love with it on a daily basis.

5) Did you take any specific classes or do any internships to help you gain experience and get into this job?

I think any experience within design studios is invaluable, over the years I’ve spent time at an architecture firm and also a lighting design company. Although both made me realise the careers I didn’t want to go into, I did learn an incredible amount at both. Design crosses paths everywhere, so even if it’s not exactly what you want to do, you’ll likely find many skills that are transferable. Along with experience a good degree is vital, although I studied BSc Product Design which many think is specific to designing products, its actually a lot more than that. It’s important to know that even the classes you might find pointless at uni, you need to work hard at as you never know when those skills may come up. I had a wide range of classes including business, manufacturing and maths and these have allowed me to become a more well-rounded designer and has probably given me a slight edge in interviews.

6) Can you think of any classes or extra curricular activities you done at university that have aided the work you do better?

The main extra curricular type thing I did at university was working as a Student Ambassdor, it really was one of my favourite experiences. I worked the full 4 years while I was at uni, and I was also part of their engineering specific ambassador programme which included working with secondary school children to build solar cars to race each other at the end of the year. I also did various bits of freelance work for friends and family while I was at uni which meant when I was applying for 3^rd year placements I could actually prove that I was organised and keen to work hard. I always tried to do more than the minimum, as I knew the job market was highly competitive so I knew I needed something to keep myself motivated and also give me a slight edge on others.

7) What inspired you to get into blogging?

It was pretty therapeutic for me, my first ever blog was back when I was in secondary school, I kept it totally private from family and friends as I used to vent on there quite a lot and write a lot about all the mental health struggles I was having. I deleted that blog a couple of years after I started it, despite having quite a large number of followers, I hit a stage in my life where I wanted to ignore everything and that was part of it. The main reason I started up this blog was because while I was a uni I wanted something different to do, I wanted something that wasn’t  related to my ‘career’ plans, I just wanted a little space on the internet I could write about stuff that interested me and would keep me inspired with life in general.

8) Do you see your blog as a means of showing your passion for your subject?

My blog is quite a mixture of topics, I only write about stuff that I genuinely find interesting or that I’m passionate about. One of the biggest and consistant passions I write about is mental health. I try to write posts every so often as trying to get rid of the stigma that’s heavily attached to those suffering any sort of mental health problem is something very close to my heart. Having suffered with various mental health problems over the years, it’s something that is very important for me to write about. My passion for my blog is writing about life, whether it’s the good, fun and exciting or the bad, ugly and upsetting, and I definitely hope that passion comes across in all of my posts.

9) Did you take any particular classes or courses growing up that lead to your choice to start blogging?

I didn’t take any classes or courses, everything I’ve learned has been organically or through my normal school and university classes. I definitely prefer learning though teaching myself, there is so many books and articles online that you can look up and I tend to try and learn new things myself as I feel I stay more motivated that way.

10) Can you tell us a little bit about a typical day blogging for you?

I’ll be honest, usually it can be quite chaotic! I’m trying to juggle writing posts around a busy work/life schedule, which often means attempting to write more than one post in a day or evening. I try to take all of the pictures I need in one go, edit and then just sit down to type up everything, as otherwise I’m likely to get distracted and run away with ideas. I do tend to write quite late at night, as there’s little distraction which allows me to just focus and get a lot of writing done, plus I’ve suffered with insomnia for years which definitely gives me lots of time to write!

11) How do you manage your time to run your blog efficiently and consistently?

I’m trying to stick to a better schedule and regular posting days to help organise my ‘blogging life’ a little more as sometimes it can take quite a back seat. I’ve got a big list of blog ideas written down which definitely keeps my motivation going. If I’m not crossing any of them off it’s usually because I’ve haven’t been writing at all which means I need to sort myself out. I think having exciting things to write about makes it a lot easier to stay efficient at blogging, when I’m doing lots it’s great for my writing and allows me a buffer off time when there’s less going on as I’ll likely have posts already scheduled.

12) Where do you look for inspiration when the writers block hits?

As bad as it sounds I just look around my room or think about things I’ve done recently and just sit and write a short post about something asap. I find that as soon as I get one post out, even just a short simple one the inspiration starts flooding in. By the time I finish the post I’ll have 10 ideas for the next ones. I don’t always publish these posts, I just find writing through my block opens my inspiration up and gets the ideas flowing. I think it’s important to find something that works for you, try out lots of different things and you’ll soon find a way to work through the block.

13) As I'm a reader of your blog, what do you hope I take away when I read your posts?

With my general posts I hope you can learn something new, find them funny or just have a good read about something interesting. With my mental health posts, I want readers to find some strength in what I’m writing, whether it’s to open up and talk to someone, seek help or just know that they are not alone is the most important thing for me. I took a lot of comfort from reading different blogs growing up who also wrote about their mental health struggles, it’s very important to engage with others and if my blog can help even just one person with their mental health that would be amazing.

14) Are there certain topics/genres you stick to when you write your blog posts or do you like to write whatever comes naturally at the time?

I tend to just write whatever comes naturally at the time, a little like how my mind works, I really enjoy writing about a wide range of topics, as that’s life! My life is full of so many different amazing experiences that I want to write about everything, whether it’s good or bad. Plus, it keeps it exciting for me as I don’t even know what’s round the corner for my blog sometimes.

15) Has having your blog opened any doors or provided you with any opportunities that you wouldn't have had otherwise?

My blog has definitely given me new opportunities, from attending different events or being offered to work with brands is definitely pretty cool and something that wouldn’t happen otherwise. It’s not something I actively seek out though, so I’ve probably not had as many opportunities as other bloggers as I never started blogging for free events or products, so anything I do get is a total bonus to be honest.

16) What advice would you give to someone starting their own blog?

Really think about why you’re starting the blog, with the huge surge in blogs and people wanting to, I guess, recreate the whole Zoella story, I think it’s really important to know why you want a blog and what you want to write about. Don’t get into it for freebies, it’s honestly unlikely you may ever get anything, getting those things comes from hard work and writing good content, it’s not something that will just fall into your lap.

17) What in your opinion makes a successful blog?

Creating interesting content for readers, I feel like whether you have 1 follower or 100k, creating amazing content is what makes it successful. Some of my favourite blogs have way under 500 followers and they hold my attention far more than blogs with over 100k followers. Of course in the eyes of many the number of followers will dictate how successful your blog is, but to me it’s all about the content, whether it’s just well written or using great photography or whether you’re doing something totally new.

18) Are there any bloggers you admire or try to emulate?

I do love a lot of different blogs, but I can’t say there is any I’m actively trying to emulate. If you’re a blogger who’s sticking at it and writing great posts I’ll likely admire you’re talent or dedication, but there is many of those types of bloggers on my reading list so I don’t feel like I could name particular ones.

19) What apps/purchases really helped you with your blog? Do you have any programmes or items that you use that really help step up the quality of your blogs appearence/content?

The most important purchase for me was my own domain name, it immediately makes your blog look 100x more professional, team that with a nice layout and good quality images it’ll immediately step up the overall quality of your blog. Having a blog was part of the reason I invested in a DSLR camera back in my first year of Uni, it’s the camera I still use and travel with so I definitely highly recommend picking up a camera you can rely on to give you good quality images. Now that doesn’t meant it has to be a DLSR, you need to learn and practice taking great pictures, as just having a good camera won’t equal great pictures, and purchasing some sort of photo editing software would also ensure you’re imagery is the best it can be – I personally use Adobe Photoshop for editing all of my images.

20) Do you feel that a blog is a helpful tool in pursuing a career after university?

It’s definitely a very helpful tool in pursuing a career after university, it can showcase a wide range of your skills and if you keep to it consistently while job hunting it’ll show potential employers that not only do you have a creative hobby but also shows that you can motivate yourself.
 

21) Finally, if you had one piece of golden advice to give someone with a struggling blog following, what would it be?

Don’t focus on the follower number, granted that’s easier said than done but focus on creating amazing content and hopefully the followers will eventually find you. Focusing on follower numbers will just dishearten you and may even lead you to writing about things that you’re not passionate about, which even if the count goes up, you’ll likely be just as miserable or give up writing altogether.


You can view Ambers blog here: Bambi-Bell