Paul Davies - 2008 Graphic Design Graduate

Graphic Design Alumni Paul Davies

19 February 2009

From outback Tennant Creek and tropical Darwin, to Wesley Institute and the business district of North Sydney…it’s been an exciting journey for Paul Davies already, and it’s only just beginning!

After finishing Wesley Institute’s Graphic Design degree at the end of 2007, Paul spent a few weeks finetuning his existing portfolio and designing a digital portfolio of his university work and freelance material. Modifying his folio to emphasise elements of his skills which were more suited to each job won him interviews with graphic design studios around Sydney.

He found Zlata Creative, a package design company in North Sydney, to be a good fit for his skills and personality. “I admitted I wasn't particularly experienced in package design and would need to learn a lot, but with the skills gained at Wesley, it didn't take long to get in the groove.”

The company specialises in package design for big clients in commercially booming Dubai and India, as well as in Australia and New Zealand. “All products need a design to attract buyers and also to inform them as to what they are buying - we design the pretty pictures you see wrapped around the stuff you buy in shops.”

A typical day for Paul sees him liaising with clients, participating in design meetings with the eight other designers, and balancing his workload of design jobs throughout the day. He also generously lends his design skills to friends and charity groups, often designing at home after work.

According to Paul, the best part of his job is being paid to be creative! “I have done quite a lot of illustration since working here and it’s a lot of fun. Also the people are great, it’s a fun workplace when the conversations span the room.” The worst part? “Not as many holidays as in Uni life, and longer hours.”

Paul credits the course at Wesley Institute for at least some measure of his success. “I was equipped to make a confident entrance into the world of professional Graphic Design - with a good grounding in common sense. I still had a lot to learn and the lecturers encouraged us to knuckle down and not expect to be a hot shot in the first year of work. With a lot of hard work we can go a long way.”