Meet Helen: Insights into the Graphic Design Industry

Hi, I’m Helen Watts, I’m the director of Watts Design. I run a studio here in South Melbourne with my husband, Peter Watts. We cover the whole spectrum of design from branding, packaging, social media. The list actually goes on. I’ve always been arty and it’s something I loved from a very young age. And I must admit, I didn’t know what graphic design entailed.

And I actually went to uni and studied fine art and took on graphic design as my major and realized I loved it.

Once I finished the degree, I basically marched in St Kilda Road and visited every agency possible. I worked in both an advertising agency and a design studio, but this has been my life for the last 35 years. I think as a young designer, the biggest fear you have is, “Am I coming up with the goods? Am I getting it right? Nothing’s right or wrong. You know, when you go through that journey, it’s about exploration. You’re allowed to make mistakes. And I often tell my designers, if I see something’s not working. I’ll just say, okay, let it go. Let’s start again. And there’s no harm in that. But you need to be prepared to take constructive criticism. And it’s it’s just to meet an end goal. It’s not about taking it personally. This is about how we’re going to resolve the project.

To open those doors, you’ve got to fight hard. Show me why you stand out. Show perseverance in getting into the industry.

Sitting on something and not knowing where to go. It doesn’t help you grow as a designer.

I think the reason we’re still in business for 30 years is because we still love what we do and feel it’s important that we pass on that baton to our designers and make sure that they’re the best they can be.