Hello 2026 ♡
Happy New Year!
I had a much needed couple of days to settle back into my life in Australia before resuming work, but still had a pretty rocky start to the new year. Too many thoughts swirling around my head so in a way work was good for a while to take my mind off things, but then it quickly got to a point of the thoughts manifesting in the form of panic attacks and getting in the way of my work. I’m lucky to have my friends & the internet.
I wanted to reflect on my growth as a designer & illustrator the past 6 months. I feel very capable and confident in my technical abilities... this is what I’ve trained for my entire life!! I like that I’m confident in my opinions, a reliable team member, super speedy, and extremely detail oriented. The power of medicated ADHD!
Apart from design work, we’re nearing the end of illustration (back-to-school) season. The past couple months have proved to me that I am good enough, and that I am capable of being a professional illustrator! I always shied away from the idea of drawing full time— probably a combination of imposter syndrome and the fear of losing my love for illustrating if I did it full-time. But the past few months at this job have taught me that I am definitely capable. People love my work, and in order to continue to grow I simply need to be more confident & experimental.
I’m very lucky to have this job... It's a super close drive, full of lovely people (a few Malaysians?!), air-conditioned (next week it may go up to 48°C...), and most importantly they let me be creative with my designs! I also really appreciate the guidance from the sales team/my (design) team members on how to make my designs more commercial (to sell better!) since our products are very mass-market. While I’ve learnt a lot from others about the commercial design world, I’ve in turn shared lots of trend insight as the youngest & most online person on the team lol. Whenever I get too stressed or upset, I just have to remind myself that I’m getting paid to look at colours, scroll on Pinterest, draw & have iPad time. What a life. The depression is a constant vignette creeping in at the edges, I just have to remember to practice gratitude & create more art for myself.
Until next time, I hope life is kinder to all of us. ‧₊˚✩ 🍀₊˚⊹
Listening: Galore & choke enough - Oklou