Design Journey and Growth Mindset: Sketches to Digital Storytelling
What happens when you blend a love for colours, a passion for technology, and a desire to create something bigger than yourself? You embark on a design journey filled with creative resilience, overcoming creative challenges, and nurturing a growth mindset. This adventure moves from traditional sketches to innovative digital projects, from Italy to the UK, and from community-focused initiatives to international collaborations. Here’s my design journey, shaped by learning, resilience, and a healthy dose of humour.
A Creative Heritage: Starting My Design Journey
Growing up with an artist as a father meant our home was filled with creativity and canvases. And yes, I could draw pretty well, but frankly, I’d rather have been troubleshooting why the Wi-Fi was down than sketching. Still, the beauty and power of colours, shapes, and visual storytelling stuck with me, influencing my design journey profoundly. It took a while, some confusion, and maybe one too many system crashes, but eventually, I found my path in a meaningful design journey where art meets tech: digital design.
Academic Foundations: Shaping My Growth Mindset in Italy
Studying Graphics and Communication in Italy was a pivotal stage in my design journey, helping shape my growth mindset. Of course, that puzzle sometimes had frustrating gaps, late-night panic, and lost-file dramas. But looking back, each moment of difficulty reinforced resilience, teaching me perseverance, and the importance of regularly hitting “save“. My academic years were foundational, instilling a growth mindset that guides my journey to this day.
RASM: Cultivating a Growth Mindset Through Community Design
Alongside Yasir, an incredibly talented friend and brother skilled in video editing and storytelling, I co-founded RASM. Our mission was clear: create meaningful arabised designs for the Muslim community in Italy. Yasir’s vision pushed our projects forward, and today he leads the media department at Progetto Crisalide, an initiative creating positive change in Italy. (Support their impactful work at Progetto Crisalide and GoFundMe). Yasir is also the founder of Lisān, dedicated to helping Italian speakers master Arabic through accessible resources. Check out Lisān here.
Through RASM, we collaborated with various masajid and Islamic organisations, notably La Dimora dell’Islam, translating and designing impactful Islamic literature such as:
“The Forty Hadith of Imam An-Nawawi“
“Important Lessons for Every Muslim” by Shaykh Abdul Aziz ibn Baaz
These projects weren’t just tasks; they were meaningful milestones that deeply resonated with our community and significantly shaped my growth mindset.
Ginto Design: Embracing Growth in the UK Market
Launching Ginto Design in the UK was another thrilling chapter, further expanding my design journey and testing my growth mindset. It came with plenty of challenges, new market dynamics, expectations, and, of course, fresh headaches. Yet, each project provided invaluable experiences and once again, creative resilience was the key. This broadened my expertise significantly in services such as:
- Brand Identity
- Social Media Posts
- Print Posters
- Print Collateral
Every successful project, and even the setbacks, reinforced that true growth results from persistent effort, adaptability, trial and error, and yes, plenty of coffee.
Reflections on My Design Journey and Growth Mindset
Reflecting on my design journey, it’s clear that creative resilience and a growth mindset aren’t about perfection; they’re about persistence, resilience, and continuous improvement. Excellence doesn’t happen overnight. Trust me, if it did, I’d have far fewer stories of missing files or late-night panic sessions. But each creative challenge taught me to build momentum, keep learning, and ultimately create designs I’m proud to call mine.
The journey continues, filled with anticipation and excitement for each new step ahead.