Featured image: Lisa Silva

Our new Graduate Stories series uncovers the diverse experiences of Manchester Met alumni, exploring the reality of life after graduation and highlighting career achievements. We shed light on the different paths graduates take, share relatable and honest advice, and provide practical tips for students who may feel uncertain about their next steps.

Lisa Silva is a Portuguese graphic designer and illustrator who graduated from Manchester Met in 2023 after completing her BA in Graphic Design.

During her studies, Lisa led aAh! Magazine’s Graphic Design Collective as Graphic Design Assistant, working on several issues of the print magazine including The ENERGY Issue and The CHANGE Issue.

She won the Outstanding Contribution to Student Media award last spring at the 2023 Student Media Awards. This award recognised the “immense pride” Lisa takes in her work and commitment to the organisation and production of the spring/summer issue.

Lisa shares advice on job interviews, building creative networks, and resilience in the creative industry.

Describe your career journey after graduating.

Since graduating, I’ve been working full-time as a graphic designer for a tech company. I’ve also done a few freelance projects in my free time. I started by applying for studios and agencies in Manchester and other cities across the North West/East of England, but unfortunately, I haven’t had any luck yet! Right now I’m considering forming a collective with a few friends because I miss working with other creatives regularly.

Did you have any university experiences that helped guide you on your career journey?

I feel like aAh! Magazine in particular was a good experience for me. It gave me a lot of confidence to give and receive criticism, which is essential to work as part of a team. It also helped me understand how much I like editorial and art direction. 

Doing an internship while at university and going into portfolio studio visits were the other two experiences that helped. They made me go out of my comfort zone and be confronted with new people and situations that seemed unfamiliar. Slowly you learn how to cope with unpredictable circumstances and you become more resilient.

What’s your advice on interviews, applying to jobs, or work experience?

It will sound like a cliché, but ‘be yourself’ is probably the most important thing. People are not out to get you. Most times, they just want to have a conversation and are keen to know more about how you work. If you know what you want to accomplish with your practice, you will come across as confident. I suggest doing a few trial runs with friends and family, just to make sure you keep it short and easy to understand for people less familiar with creative work.

Another piece of advice I’d give is to keep networking. Keep in touch with your tutors and your creative colleagues, because a lot of work can come from word-of-mouth. Also, don’t try to fit all the criteria when you apply for something. Do you only meet 80-85% of it? Apply anyway. Women can especially prone to falling into this trap. You have nothing to lose!

What skills did you learn at university that benefitted you after graduating?

Number one would be presenting your work and making yourself clearly understood, while showing others you ‘know what you’re doing’. Being able to present ideas and outcomes is essential at any workplace; chances are, you’ll be doing it at some point, either to other creatives or clients.

Learning how to communicate effectively is something you get more and more with practice. I quickly understood that talking about my work as I would in a simple conversation is okay, and progressively the nerves became less intense. Showing your clients that you know what you’re talking about will make them respect you and your design choices more too.

What have been some key experiences working in a creative field?

You need to be quite patient and resilient. Clients are always going to have strong opinions – even when they pretend they have no expectations at all. It’s quite important to ask a lot of questions and not to be embarrassed for doing so. Defining boundaries is important, especially if people ask you to do things you’re not comfortable with, either with your art or with your time.

Making money is still important, and sometimes people like to beat around the bush with this, which I think is a crazy thing to do. You still need to eat and pay your bills, so be prepared to mix up your passion projects with some less exciting ones.

Finally, and if you’re looking for a full-time job instead of doing freelance: keep at it! Keep applying, keep making stuff, and most importantly, surround yourself with the right people. It can be difficult to be rejected a lot, but it’s not a reflection of your commitment to your practice. It is quite hard out there when you have to compete with over 100 people for one role. Start new projects when possible and keep updating your portfolio. You never know, you might get a chance tomorrow.

Do you have any advice for future graduates?

The biggest advice ties in with some of the things I said about my experiences in the creative field. Don’t take rejection too personally and if it does get difficult to deal with, reach out to colleagues and other creatives that understand the position you are in. You can even get together and do something about it, you can start a new project. They may even have a contact of someone you can work with for a while. Don’t lose your creative network, that’s the most important thing!

Interested in getting involved with your student magazine? Check out aAh! Magazine’s opportunities for student journalists, editors, graphic designers, illustrators and photographers on our get involved page and follow @aAh_mag.