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Why I do Graphic Design

Genesis


 I started as an artist , wanted to be a musician since 2007. This was after Cadibury Delite organized an art event where the first rapper will be given an iPod, the second a tee and the third a gift hamper. I could not resist the offer so I wrote lyrics and shared with my friend Ondiko, who agreed to help me with the chorus. When the day came I was the only Form Two student to perform, the crowd cheered me up loudly and felt frightened. I moved to the stage, my legs shaken, requested a beat which I had never heard before: Still by Dr Dre. Words couldnot come out my mouth clearly I felt a failure and left the stage. Guys laughed at me so I had a point to prove and became obsessed in music. During prep time when others were studying for exams, I was busy writing lyrics. I could not stop, with a friend we even started our own Fright Night Fury on Fridays on Fridays evening and we had audience who cheered us. I decided to build my life around music, I bought the post for Insyder I (magazine seller) and Entertainment Chairman (Ent I). I was not rich I borrowed money from my friend Derrick.

Exodus 


 Being so much occupied I lost focus of my studies, I finished with a mean grade of B-. Parents had high expectations but I failed them, they though I would get sponsored to further my studies. I had other ideas I thought of Shang tao Media Arts College where I could best learn music production. I promised my parents it will only take 6 months for me to start earning hehe. What I did not like about the college at that time ws that we had to take all other units not related to music which I did well in some, like 3Ds Max I could model very well but Animation was hard. I passed Music very well did well in Video Editing as well. After getting my certificate I dropped out to join a music label Trackali located in Mbagathi. The core producer and the producer were lecturers at the college but were fired which I found out that they were heroine addicts. I escaped narrowly through the help of my cousin to a Biyafra Number 4, where I decided to commence my studies.

 I convinced my mother to buy me a computer and thoughtfully she bought me Dell GSX 80 my first desk top. I started to skip classes once more while busy making beats on my own. They did not sound that well but I loved them so much and got thrilled whenever I opened FL Studio. Months passed and I relocated to Mathare my own single room where I only smoked weed and created beats wrote lyrics on them and luckily second floor my neighbor had a studio. I recorded for free so much fun. I used my school fees to purchase big sub woofers and mid ranges even high frequency ones. Time passed by I could not comprehend. One day I was sitting at a cliff in Mathare Area 4, I was not thinking about suicide but how I wasted my life. My parents commited themselves to me, I let them down terribly, I had grown slender and weak. I could not stop smoking I could not stop lying to my parents to send me fees which I squandered. I cried and called Mom I wanted to return home.

 At home my parents felt scared when I told them what has been happening, they did not trust me but always had high hopes in me. I once again convince them to start a game shop, A playstation where I made few shillings . It was a way to keep me busy, I thought I could do another course BBIT and proposed to my parents once more, they resisted but once more agreed to take me to Kenya Methodist University Mombasa Campus. I started very well, I performed well in the areas of interest, I liked Psychology and Software Engineering since it felt cool to be called a geek and trouble shoot alot of computer problems. Then I met another failure Alex who always complained that we were poor because others were driving to college. He some how convinced me we get so 50 000 Ksh to buy a gun and rob M-Pesa agents. I contributed 30 000 Ksh and he sold his laptop for 18 000 Ksh. But later we were conned and all the money was lost through movement and food. I did not mention it at home but I had Ksh 6000 left which I decided to buy local breed chicken and send them home.

 I continued with the Barchelors of Business Information Technology course but hated that the syllabus was very old and IT is ever evolving, I decided to study programming languages on my own. I started with HTML 5 at college it was just HTML then I got introduced to bootstrap my ex girlfriend I loved bootstrap, then again I jumped into CSS, CSS3, JavaScript, Ruby, Ruby on Rails, EmberJs I was just moving around like crazy. Even today I can understand a script but I cannot build even a website. So one day a friend of mine called Jose a musician whom we loved making beats together, shared an event via Whatsapp which was to happen at Swahilipot Hub and the event was sponsored by NASA. I attended and got to new about the place, I made new friends a geek Ibrahim, Brighton, Kevin Barasa and John Nzila known as 'Kay'. Kay was a graphic designer, a slender guy with rasta, smart and always with a pencil. I liked how he operated how he created logos, his design process. He also like the fact that I could make beats and we traded talents hehe. He mentored me through Graphic Design, Collecting briefs and designing.

The Call Back


 At Shang tao we were taught Photoshop, Adobe Flash but I was not fully immersed but SwahiliPot Hub Kay just spark my interest a very real one. I also thank SwahiliPot Hub because many of my friends pursued their interests and some even dropped out of college for their passion. Our mentor Mahmoud Noor always inspired us that we don't strive to be rich but to bring a difference to the community around us. Once more I dropped college but now I focused on Graphic design. Kay later on relocated to Nairobi and I was the in house designer at the hub. I designed posters and was amazed that my first clients loved them and paid me. I could not draw well at the moment so I heavily relied on the Photoshop shapes which limited me in some way. I got curious with what other designers could achieve and watched alot of YouTube tutorials to bring myself to speed with the industry.

 I realized that Graphic Design was larger than I could comprehend. I got a book : History of Graphic Design and felt so amazed how this field has been there in the beginning of human civilization. Art is a very powerful. Many companies have become successiful because of branding, cultures and history is captured through design. Design is life. Shapes can communicate, colors provoke feelings....
I don't know what to add but Graphic Design has been where I wanted to be. I take this opportunity to apply all my experiences in this venture.
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