Jessica Aumonier
BA (Hons) Graphic Design
“As a more mature student, online study just makes sense and with the right organisation and dedication, there is no reason why it should have any sort of a negative impact on your current lifestyle.”
Jessica Aumonier is one of many IDI students studying online on the University of Hertfordshire accredited BA (Hons) Graphic Design course. From a young age she has had an interest in design. She excelled in art at school and enjoyed trying her hand at digital photography during her GCSE years. Her artistic endeavours finally led her to graphic design which she discovered to be the subject most suited to her skills:
“Being a naturally communicative person, I eventually found that I had an eye for advertising design layouts and creating clear, visually aesthetic pieces. I soon began to help out friends, family and local companies with their promotional and marketing material design and I’ve never looked back!”
Jessica began a career in media sales, where she found that her enjoyment of graphic design had not depleted, with the visual side of the job appealing to her the most. She soon began to consider making a career move to the graphic design industry:
“From the get-go I found myself getting very enthused about certain clients’ adverts (and recoiling in horror at others). I decided that I could actually do a much better job at creating half of these advertisements myself.”
Jessica’s confidence in her ability soon led her to dreaming of pursuing a career as a graphic designer:
“Graphic design seemed like the obvious choice for me. Firstly, I love computers and find myself able to express myself and create much better designs on a computer than on paper. I also really enjoy interacting with people and so the idea of working closely with clients and building a rapport with them appealed to me too. “I love the fact that graphic design is so communicative, a real visual language. It’s fascinating to think that my designs could potentially talk to thousands of people and be seen on billboards, magazines or on screen.”
The opportunity for employment in the graphic design sector and the opportunities a graphic design degree would open up also appealed:
“The career possibilities are vast. There are so many different avenues to explore and later down the line I won’t be limited in what services I can offer. It’s very true that no two days are the same in this field and I find that really exciting.”
Jessica eventually began to look for an online course that was flexible enough to fit into her life, which is when she came across IDI:
“I felt so relieved to discover that that my dream was actually a real possibility! I wasted no time at all in contacting IDI and applying for a space on the next enrolment.
“IDI ticked all the boxes for me: a good choice of subjects, the choice to study part-time around my current commitments, no need to find time to go to a campus, and most importantly, a good reputation with a connection to a real and well-respected university (The University of Hertfordshire).”
Pleased with her decision, Jessica is now thoroughly enjoying life on the BA (Hons) Graphic Design course:
“Studying with IDI is very simple. The study site is well laid out, easy to navigate and the induction week that you take part in when you start your course is very informative and shows you everything you need to know.
“Everything is incredibly user-friendly and stress-free, allowing you to focus 100% on the work you’re doing without worrying that you will struggle to upload work and communicate with your peers and tutors.”
Jessica believes one of the highlights of the course has been the support from her graphic design tutors and IDI staff:
“I honestly don’t feel at any sort of disadvantage not being in a classroom. I can message my tutor any time, day or night, and they will respond swiftly with an answer to whatever I have asked. I like the fact that sometimes I get a response up until midnight some nights! So I don’t always have to wait a day or so for a reply, which I would have to if I were in a physical university building.”
With her newly learned knowledge and skills, Jessica is very much looking forward to a future career in graphic design:
“My plans and aspirations see me taking a new direction in my professional life and pursuing a design career. In 10 years’ time I hope to be working as a middleweight or perhaps even a senior designer, either in an agency or in-house, or working for myself as a freelance designer.
“Freelance is definitely in my future plan at some point, although whether it will be within the next 10 years I just don’t know.”