Harvey Werb studied online with IDI towards a BA (Hons) Graphic Design degree. He found that online study was a better option for him where he could have an education and work at the same time.
Harvey joined us at the IDI Graduation 2017 to celebrate completing his degree. We talked to him about how he got used to the pace of online studying as well as the relief of handing in his work at the end of a busy period.
Harvey’s Design Work
“Throughout my studies I have become familiar with a range of recent and contemporary design practices, and the contexts in which graphic design is produced, socialised and dispersed.
“I have familiarised myself with various challenges facing graphic designers, and undertaken a series of design briefs. I believe divergent thinking is an extremely important skill if you are to become a successful graphic designer, when choosing between layout methods, typography and colour choices. I made many design decisions throughout my course: from identifying my target audience, to which typefaces to use, before finally choosing the designs that work best in terms of context and composition.
“The James Bond work shown is from my Final Major Project, where I designed the collateral for the next 007 film. My ‘Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit’ artwork was the outcome of my ‘competitions’ module – this also features my poster designs and stationery designs for ‘The Design Museum’.”
Video Transcript
Where have you come from to be here today?
I’ve come from Devon and flown up from Bristol airport into Edinburgh. I’ve got my dad, my step-dad, my mum and my grandma to come with me which is nice.
What brings you to the Graduation Ceremony today?
I think that sort of after all the hard graft that went into it, really, it would have been a shame not to have actually come up and met everyone. It sort of makes it feel that little bit more real really with actually seeing everyone, as opposed to just being online.
What made you chose to study online with IDI?
I think it was that at the time there wasn’t really a lot of other options. It was either go to university or get on and do it earlier, and I think part of it for me was to get on, earlier on, get it out the way, then I can carry on with work and things like that s opposed to going off to uni at 22, 23 and then sort of getting into work later on in life.
What were the highlights of your studies with IDI?
Blimey, there’s loads. From meeting new people and studying and the sense of achievement after each block of work each semester is good. The twelve weeks leading up to it and then finally handing it in was quite nice.
Were there struggles along the way?
I think early on for me, because I wasn’t, I think it helps if you’re more willing to put all your commitment in and of course I started out a little bit on the, I don’t know if lazy is the right word, but a little bit on the slower side because it was a very different way of studying to what I was used to before. But as long as you follow the programme it’s there for a reason.
How have you developed as a designer during your studies?
I guess I’ve learned a lot of new techniques. I’ve learned to do more research as opposed to just jump in and doing the first idea that comes to mind, which I used to normally. It’s about different things, different techniques, different materials and it’s increased my confidence in what I do, a lot of work I’ve done for clients and stuff that has come from what I’ve studied and what I learned when I was studying.
So, what’s next?
I have my own business doing digital design at the minute anyway and I’m also starting a new company selling online parts, so of course there’s a lot of banner advertising and advertising to go along with that, which is obviously from my communication and graphics background.
What advice would you give to any new students studying with IDI?
Probably the most important thing is to actually make sure you do follow the course week by week and if you do get a little bit behind just make sure you catch up and don’t leave anything until the last couple of weeks because it’s not advisable. It makes it more hard work at the end of the day and there’s no need for it to be if you follow the process and that’s definitely something I learned in my last sort of year when I was that much older and I actually saw the end goal when I was actually forward thinking a bit better to following it properly and having more communication with tutors and peers, made a massive difference.
Would you recommend studying with IDI?
Definitely. Completely. I think it’s a good alternative to going off to university and studying. I think it allows you to do other things alongside and from my point of view, I’ve felt that I’m more, I’m further ahead than a lot of my friends who’ve only just kind of finished at university because obviously I’ve studied and worked and you don’t really have the debt side of things.