MELBOURNE BASED GRAPHIC DESIGNER, ANNA REES-JONES DISCUSSES FINDING HER FEET AS A NEWLY GRADUATED DESIGNER DURING A PANDEMIC.



HOW DO YOU DESCRIBE WHAT YOU DO TO PEOPLE YOU'VE JUST MET?

‘I spend way too many hours looking at my laptop screen making pretty pictures’. Jokes aside, personally I view graphic design as visual communication with a purpose. I feel like there is a misconception that graphic designers are all about aesthetics and making things look good when really at its essence it’s about solving problems. So I guess a simple way to sum it up would be ‘creating visual work that looks good but is also useful.’



WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON AT THE MOMENT?

A lot of branding work! I have been freelancing at an agency for the last couple months, and we have been lucky enough to have a lot of work coming through, so that has kept me very busy.



HOW HAS LOCKDOWN 2.0 BEEN TREATING YOU AND HOW HAS YOUR CREATIVE JOURNEY BEEN THROUGHOUT THE HURDLES OF 2020.

I think like anyone the second lockdown has been rougher than the first both mentally and creatively. I feel like creatives put a lot of pressure on themselves to be using this time to up-skill or pump out loads of work. l was lucky enough to pick up some freelance work right before lockdown so that has definitely kept me busier than usual.

2020 has been a weird one. I feel like this has been the year where I have finally started finding my footing in the creative industry. I spent a lot of the first lockdown exploring my own creative process, both skill and style wise, and ended up pumping out a lot of personal work. I feel like the pandemic gave me a lot to think about in terms of the future and the kind of work I want to be producing.




IS THERE A PLACE YOU FEEL MOST INSPIRED?

Funny enough I feel most inspired going about my day to day life. I’ve been lucky to grow up in Melbourne, Australia which has been a massive blessing as it truly seems to have everything; great food, galleries, live music, parks, you name it! I feel like all of these aspects have fed into my work and are what really get my creative juices flowing. However, the restrictions with COVID have definitely forced me to get more creative in where I find inspiration.

Social media is also a wealth of inspiration for me. I’ve always been a big fan of the community on Instagram creating posters on black backgrounds (surprise surprise) and in general seeing creatives work I wouldn’t usually see. However, I am careful to not spend hours and hours scrolling and posting as I believe the focus should be on the work itself, not the platform.



WHAT'S SOMETHING YOU ARE SUPER PROUD OF THAT YOU'VE MADE?

It’s hard to say - I am still navigating early days of my career. During the first lockdown, I illustrated a tile with the slogan ‘stay home’ encouraging people to follow the lockdown rules. I didn’t realise but people seemed to resonate with it enough to share it around, even those I have never met. It was pretty exciting to see my work circulating on Instagram especially being relatively new to the design industry.

HOW HAVE YOU DEVELOPED YOUR CREATIVE CONFIDENCE?

Social media has played a huge role in building up creative confidence. It took me a couple years but I finally set up my design Instagram during uni. At the start I was pretty nervous to post and found myself second guessing whether it was ‘good enough’ to share. However, over the years I’ve realised that it’s all about the process and there really is no thing as ‘bad work’, it’s all a learning experience. This year has been a bit of a breakthrough for me creatively and the community on Instagram has been super supportive.



WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE BIGGEST HURDLE, YOUNG FEMALE CREATIVES FACE?

Although there are definitely other industries with more obvious gender imbalance, I believe design is a male dominated industry where women often have to work harder in order to gain recognition and feel the need to prove themselves. Fortunately, I haven’t encountered any difficulties myself for being female, but I am aware of the challenges that are out there.



WHO DO YOU DAYDREAM ABOUT WORKING WITH?

Oh man, that’s a good question! I’ve always been a massive fan of Beci Orpin, her style is truly unique and so fun. I love how her work sits between design, illustration and craft, embracing both traditional and modern methods, something I always struggled to embrace about my own work. I’d love to somehow collab with her, especially if it allowed me to dive more into my illustrative side. In regards to design, Braulio Amado is one of a kind. The visual energy of his work is iconic, I would be really interested in learning his process.



WHAT WAS THE LAST THING THAT REALLY INSPIRED YOU?

Last year and into the start of 2020 I interned at a gallery called Lamington Drive, which is run by Jacky Winter. The whole experience was truly incredible but one of the highlights were the opening nights of new exhibitions. One of my favourite memories is the opening night of ‘Spring Time 4’, an exhibition that showcased work by local female artists. Not only was the night a massive hit with the community but it gave these women a platform to put themselves out there and gain confidence their work, making it an inspiring memory for sure. I guess this is my round-a-bout way of saying I would love to do a solo show of my own in a public space someday.




HAVE YOU GOT ANYTHING EXCITING COMING UP?

Hopefully being able to leave my 5km bubble! No, in all seriousness I have been pretty excited to finally score some stable design work during the pandemic with some fun clients so that has kept my spirits high.


Right now, I’m just taking things day by day and counting down the days until lockdown 2.0 ends.


Check out more of Anna’s work via the following links:

annareesjones.com
@itspronouchedreece






































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