The Most Unhinged Thing I Have Done?

Back in 2018, right after secondary school, I didn’t know a thing about design beyond making little photo collages with text on my phone.

Then one day, I walked into the best design and print shop in my town at the time and asked to see the manager.

I told him when I got in, “I need a job. A job as a graphic designer.”

He looked at me and asked, “Can you design?”
“Yes,” I said confidently.
“With what?”
“Photo Collage,” I replied.

That was the actual name of the app.

He laughed for a really long time.

Then asked, “Have you ever heard of CorelDRAW or Photoshop?”

That was literally the first time I had ever heard of them, but was I going to disgrace myself?😂 I think not!

So, I said no but I doubled down, insisting that I could design.

After asking me a few personal questions, he told me he liked my audacity.

He said, “You know nothing about computer design, yet you walked in here to ask for a job.” And then he gave me one.

Not as a full designer, of course. More like an intern. I’d learn from the students already there, then turn around and teach the younger ones. And I got paid for it. That’s how I earned my first salary and how my design journey started.