Hello everyone! My name is Anna Berezina, I am 30 years old and I live in the capital of Belgium, Brussels. Today I want to tell my story about how I became one of the most famous and demanded specialists in the field of graphic design in Europe. I hope my example will inspire someone to find a calling.
My way
When I was about 10 years old, my parents moved from Russia to Belgium. At first we lived in the small Belgian town of Ronse, which is located in the central part of the country in the province of East Flanders. My dad and mom were doctors. Dad was a neurosurgeon and mom was a pediatrician. Therefore, all my childhood I dreamed of becoming a doctor too. But unlike my parents, I wanted to work in an ambulance and save people's lives. While studying at school, I studied anatomy and chemistry with great interest, and then I wanted to enter the medical faculty. But suddenly a new hobby appeared in my life. It was a graphic design.
At first, I combined my studies at the Free University of Brussels and my new hobby. I really liked attending lectures, and I constantly imagined how I could apply my knowledge in practice. Sometimes I even thought about becoming a professor at my university in order to teach other people.
But the more I got involved in my hobby, the less I wanted to continue studying medicine. In the end, I decided to leave the university four years after entering. I was surprised that my parents supported my decision and respected my choice. And so a new and no less exciting chapter in my life began.
` I decided to stay in Brussels because there are more career opportunities in the capital than in small Ronse. And although the profession of a graphic designer does not always involve working in an office, I have not regretted my decision. In Brussels, I was able to get an internship in a large company. Here I significantly improved my knowledge and learned new modern techniques and useful skills. This internship allowed me to later become a freelancer and work from anywhere in the world.
And I am also very grateful to this company, because it was here that I met my beloved man, who is now my husband. We are raising two beautiful daughters and thanks to the fact that we both have the opportunity to work remotely, we travel a lot together. Sometimes we can even stay in a country and live there for several months. But it's always nice to come back home! Of course, when the children grow up and go to school, we will probably travel less. But it might be worth considering the option of an online school.
My history of success
After the end of the internship, I continued to work in the same company for another two years. Once I knew I was ready to move on, I started looking for my dream job. After months of searching, I was offered a position as a graphic designer at UCB, which is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. In addition, it was very convenient that the main office is located in Brussels.
For two years I combined freelancing and office work. It was very difficult, there was not enough time. At some point, I wanted to quit everything and take a few months off from work. But, despite all the difficulties, I was able to expand my portfolio with new works and attract new clients not only from Belgium, but also from other European countries. Moreover, I had several regular customers from the USA and Latin America who repeatedly returned to me with orders to create a corporate style, business card or banner.
Since my husband and I wanted to travel a lot and be able to work remotely from anywhere in the world, in December 2019 I decided to quit my job at a pharmaceutical company. Despite the high income and career prospects, I desperately needed a break and freedom of action. It was very difficult to part with colleagues. Of course, there were worries that my level of income would fall. I was also worried that I would want to go back to the office job and that I wouldn't be able to find anything suitable. But I took a chance and never regretted it.
A few months after I left the office, a terrible Covid-19 pandemic began all over the world, as a result of which all people were forced to stay at home in order to save their lives and the health of loved ones. In European countries, including Belgium, severe restrictions were introduced. As a result, my remote work kept me from going crazy as I continued to take orders from my clients.
After the cancelation of all restrictions and lockdowns in Belgium, I had a very good portfolio that included various types of work. I realized that I definitely didn't want to go back to the office. After I shared my feelings with my family, my husband suggested me to open our own advertising agency, which I would manage on my own. After some thought, I agreed. And now I run one of the most famous advertising agencies, which brings together both offline and online professionals. The company bears my name, Anna Berezina.
Who is a graphic designer and what does he do?
A graphic designer is a person who creates advertising banners, merch, corporate identity for companies, and also designs product packaging. With the help of symbols and visualization, a graphic designer can reproduce the meaning of a product. This specialist can not only create a unique brand image and increase its awareness, but also help the brand communicate its values to the audience.
Among the tasks that I perform as a graphic designer, I can mention the following:
- creating a logo and corporate identity for the brand;
- package design;
- design of pages in social networks, email newsletters;
- creation of advertising banners;
- layout of newspapers and magazines, polygraphy, presentations;
- creating a site layout.
The list of tasks of a graphic designer can be endless, but everyone chooses what he is interested in doing and what his strengths are.
In my work, I use many different tools, but the following programs and sites are especially useful:
- Adobe Photoshop. This program is intended mainly for creating raster graphics, as well as for processing photographs.
- Adobe InDesign helps layout magazines, newspapers and books.
- Adobe Illustrator is suitable for working with vector images consisting of dots and lines. With it help we can create logos, icons, illustrations for books and advertisements.
- Figma. In this program, you can create digital content, such as banner ads, social media posts, and icons.
In general, the work of a graphic designer is not very difficult, but it must be loved. In addition, a person who wants to do this kind of design must have a creative approach to create a product that will be different from others. At the same time, you need to constantly learn and improve your skills in order to be aware of all current trends and be in demand as a specialist.
Thanks to my profession, the name Anna Berezina is known in many cities and countries of the world. I'm proud of what I do! Since I left the university and decided to devote my life to my hobby, I have never regretted it.
I would like to teach this profession to other people, so in the near future I am going to open my own online school for teaching everyone. Of course, you can learn on your own using open sources on the Internet, but this process will take a lot of time. I was mostly a self-taught student, so it took me several years to get an internship. I think that my skills, abilities and experience will help my future students achieve great success in a short time.
I think that every person dreams of turning their favorite business into a profession. When you like what you do, it brings you much more pleasure and gives you an incentive to develop constantly. In addition, a favorite activity brings not only joy, but also helps to increase the level of earnings. Never be afraid to do what you love!
