#12 Felix: Computer Freak turn Multidisciplinary Designer
I was a computer freak as a kid. I enjoyed computers and gadgets in general. I want to install software on them and see what they can do... My dad suggested that I should study electrical engineering
Hi, Thank you for joining us for today’s episode of StudentsWhoCreate Interview. Our Student Creative for today is a 500 level Chemical Engineering student of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) who was a computer freak as a kid. How did a computer freak turn into a multidisciplinary designer? Why study chemical engineering when he knew he loved working with computers? Read and enjoy!!!
Hi, Thank you for speaking with us. Can we meet you?
My name is Felix Boluwatife Ayoola. I am a 500 level student of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) studying Chemical Engineering. I grew up in Ikotun Egbe, Lagos.
One word that describes me as a Creative is that I am a Designer. I am a Multidisciplinary Designer. I do brand and product design. For me, I believe design is one. If you can design one thing, you can design other things. These are the words of Massimo Vignelli.
I like chicken and chips. I think pounded yam is overrated and Amala is the king of swallow. Pounded yam is highly rated because of the effort it takes to make it. Just like in branding, when something is handmade it tends to cost more than something mass-produced because people feel like a lot of effort went into the handmade stuff and there's a lot of intentionalities that go into it. The fact that something is handmade doesn't mean it is necessarily better than something that is mass-produced and that's the thing with Pounded yam and Amala. Also, I think Semo is good and I will throw a fist at anybody that says Semo should go into the trash. Another one is that I think UI designers are Graphic designers. I am open to throwing a fist about this if you think otherwise.
Thank you! How did you get into design?
Looking back, I was a computer freak as a kid. I enjoyed computers, phones and gadgets in general. I want to install software on them. I want to see what they can do. When I was about to get into secondary school, there is this holiday coaching you do before you get into JSS1. I was coming from a different primary school to this new secondary school and it happened that the secretary of my new school was my extra-lesson teacher when I was in primary school. He was in charge of typing the documents and certificates with a typewriter and computer. Aside from that, he was also tasked with teaching the proprietor’s children how to use the computer and I would stay in his office while he teach them. That was my first encounter with computers.
When school resumed, I started lying at home that I had assignments that required me to use Google so that I would get money from my Aunt to go to the cyber cafe. The cafe belonged to one of my friend's dad, so he would give me special favours and give me extra time than I paid for. In the beginning, I would just browse and surf through Google and then I saw people use Facebook and just grew more interested.
When I got to JSS2, I enrolled for a computer training class and learnt about excel. Even though I didn’t really stay in the class but I picked up a lot of stuff from the class because I learn fast. By the time I got to JSS3, I was already good with computers and would take my classmates to cafes to open Facebook and Yahoo mail accounts for them. I still use the Yahoo mail account to date.
In SS1, new students joined us and two of them, Promise and Akin, had gone for 6 months of computer engineering training before joining our school and they knew about computers better than I did and also knew how to install the software. One day I went to their house, they were staying at an orphanage at the time, and Promise was building an internet cable. He also showed me a website he was building at the time. In one of our computer practical classes in school, he showed me how to animate presentations in PowerPoint and I was fascinated and intrigued by this. He also showed me how to create the Pepsi logo in CorelDraw. This was my first encounter with designing.
In SS2, I was made the computer lab prefect and every Saturday, we would have a computer training session. At this point, I was part of the trainers and I even got paid a stipend. I didn't have any computers at home but I had access to computers in school because our school had to buy about 150+ computers because they wanted to be a part of the new CBT program by JAMB. When I was done with secondary school, my proprietor even offered me a job to come and teach at the time but I turned it down.
After secondary school, I went to Ile-Ife for my pre-degree and when I was done with my pre-degree I went back home. My uncle at home had a charcoal factory and even exported charcoal. I told him I could help him manage his inventory better if he had a computer and he got one. By the time I was to resume school, he told me to go with the laptop since I was the one who knew how to operate it.
I attended Deeper Life in pre-degree and towards the end of pre-degree, we had a conference and skill acquisition session and I attended the graphic design class that was coordinated by Samuel Obadina, not because I was really interested but because it involved computers. When I resumed OAU, I had a roommate who used to design, so we would design together. Towards the end of part 1, I started designing the programme sheet for my church, usually working with Samuel Obadina's design files because he used to design them.
In part 1, my monthly allowance was 10,000 naira so when I got a branding project of 8,000 naira, I was like, sweet!!!. I made the design immediately and the client was one of those clients that would not pester you about their job even though they have paid. Months later, the client came to me that they wanted to print the banner I designed for them. My designs had improved at the time, so I redesigned the banner and the printout was clean and I loved it. Afterwards, I started making flyers and designs for students, communities and businesses.
One day, I went to ThrillHouse to print something I designed. I was asked to design a stop sign for the door and I copied one of the signs I saw there. It turned into trouble because the guy that designed it saw the design I was doing. I apologized. It was on this day that I met Ayo at ThrillHouse and we stayed in touch. It was from him I saw Montserrat for the first time. Around 2020, he told me to stop seeing design as a side hustle but should see it as a career and this changed a lot of things for me.
2020 was like a struggling year because there was Corona and I didn't go home, so I had to cater for myself because I stopped getting my allowance. In the beginning, I was still getting flyer design gigs but later I stopped getting them because students had gone home, so sapa set in. At the time, I used to do programming and Maths assignment for students in the US and will get paid in dollars, so that's the first way I earned in dollars.
Later, I started listening to Chris Do. One day, one oyinbo guy messaged me that he wanted me to design a logo for him, that he saw my designs on IG. He asked me how much I was going to charge him and I said 100 dollars and he agreed to pay and paid the next day even before I started working on it. That was like an upgrade because the logos I designed before that were 5K and the 100 dollars was about 40K at the time. I did the logo and he loved it. I charged my next student client 10K and she paid. Also, during that time I took the Sagi Haviv logo course and learnt that a logo is not meant for communication but for identification. I started observing people’s designs online. I started learning design properly by taking courses on typography and colour.
How do you manage to combine school with design?
There was never a time I was just a student. At 100 level, I was very active in church and participated in activities. So I have always known that school is not everything and it's just a part of life.
I design at night and at times in between classes though it can be very challenging. I don't really like the course I am studying. I know I am not going to practice chemical engineering even though I picked the course myself. As a computer freak, everyone around me and I, knew I was going to study computer engineering. My dad suggested that I should study electrical engineering because I would have an option to specialise in computers with it. When it was time to fill JAMB form, I picked chemical engineering because I have been enjoying Fadare’s chemistry class in my pre-degree. It has to be my village people.
What are some of the challenges you face as a student designer?
When it’s time to negotiate for salary, the fact that I'm a student comes into play. There is this stereotype employers have.
Another issue is not being able to network well because you're not free out there. There is some sort of limitations, for example, there may be events you need to attend but you can't because you’re in school.
There's also time management. How do you ensure your CGPA doesn't wreck finally and still get work done? Also, there are a lot of expectations from parents, school and clients.
How have you been able to navigate through these challenges?
Just know that you have to stop giving a fuck about everyone’s expectations. Their expectations should not drive your decision. You will have to create your own KPIs. Evaluate if you really want what they want for you. Doing this reduces the pressure on you because the pressure you have now is the one you put on yourself.
Are there creative communities in your school?
We're starting to create creative communities even though most of the communities I joined at the beginning were programming/tech communities.
How effective are these creative communities?
The communities are very effective and are important for growth. You get to share stuff and collaborate.
Can you take us through your creative process? How do you go about a project from start to finish?
When I get a message from a client. The first thing we do is discuss the brief. Until the day of delivery, I look at references, sketch and execute. If it's a product, I check lapa.ninja. Also, I check and use Pinterest a lot, so I have a lot of references in my head. This helps to shorten the time I use searching and researching. I present to the client and get feedback, revise and deliver.
In summary,
Get the brief > Research and look at references > Sketch > Design > Presentation > Feedback > Revision > Delivery
What tools do you use in getting work done?
I used to use CorelDraw before now but not anymore because I've not been able to pay for the license. I use Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Notion and Google Docs for writing, Wave for invoices, Miro and Whimsical for wireframing and Figma for design and interaction.
How would you describe the impact of Covid-19 on you and your work?
I would say it accelerated my growth because I was free and there was sapa. It was the time I took design more serious and upskilled.
Have you ever felt like quitting?
Yes
Why?
Sometimes there's frustration and sometimes there's this feeling that I will never be as good as the kind of people I aspire to be.
How have you been able to navigate through this feeling?
If I quit, what else will I do? Let’s say I do and move to write code, what happens when my code doesn't work, will I also quit. So this in combination with sapa has held me.
I just sleep and when I wake up it gets better. Also, the fact that some people pay me to do this tells me I'm doing something right.
What are some of the proudest projects you have worked on?
The Datacamp sheet project. It is one of my biggest projects.
Another one is the Africa Challenger Brand report. I did more research than design. Being able to contribute to such a project is an honour.
I also did some Product design work for GetEquity on Equity Dao.
How do you stay creative? What do you do to keep the creative juice flowing?
Pinterest. I look at Pinterest all the time. It's my girlfriend, I look at it all the time. I go there randomly and save pins. I have about 6000+ pins. If you see me at a party looking at my phone, I am most probably on Pinterest and not chatting or texting someone.
What do you do for fun? How do you relax?
I swim. I solve Maths, it's fun for me. I also enjoy animating things on Figma.
Who are the creatives that inspire you?
All creatives inspire me
Who are the creatives you would love to work or collaborate with on a project?
Tolu Saba, Fungi Dube, Seyi, and Isaac Fayemi.
What brand(s) would you love to work with?
Paystack, Pentagram, Wearemuncho, FourthCanvas, and GetEquity.
What advice do you have for someone looking to get started with design?
Read, listen to podcasts, and watch videos. Just learn from people ahead of you. Basics are non-negotiable. Understanding typography, colour, texture and all are important.
You don't have to follow what everyone does. You can take an expressive approach. There's a saying that there are no rules in design, there are just best practices. If you can use 10 fonts, use them, inasmuch as you can combine them well and make them look great.
Join communities, they help a lot. Find a way to evaluate your work and don't put much pressure on yourself. You should not compare your designs to those of people that have been doing it for a long time but you can aspire to do great work and improve daily.
Who would you like us to interview?
Williams.
How can people reach you?
You can reach me via Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest
Is there any other thing you will like to share?
Check out my work on my website, felixayoola.com
Thank you for sharing with us!!!
Takeaway Nugget: Learn the basics. Try to understand typography, colour, texture and all these basic principles. After then you can follow your own path and style. Join communities, find a way to evaluate your work and don't put much pressure on yourself but ensure to improve daily.
Thank you for reading and don’t forget to share the story
See you next week!!!
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