Joseph Thoong - 18

Biography

I chose a trade because I love to make things. The ability to create something from nothing and meticulously refining it to perfection is addicting. I hope to work my way up to becoming a creative director and later on in life teach design. I love to have discussions about design and that industry so if I can get paid to do that, I would be ecstatic!

I found out about the skills competitions in high school when one of my friends competed in electronics and recommended I try competing in graphic design. I gave it a go and wound up winning my first competition. Since then I’ve been competing every year, trying to become better.

Interesting Fact

Although I’m a graphic designer, I’m color blind. I have a mild form of deuteranomaly, a type of red-green colorblindness. Because the condition is so mild it doesn’t affect me on a daily basis or in my work, but I always fail a color blindness test.

Essential Skills

Thinking and problem solving arethe main Essential Skills used for graphic design. During training, Ihave to memorize a lot of information to gain that advantage. But during competitions thinking is critical as every decision Imake has a huge impact.The graphic design industry is constantly changing, so continuous learning is vital to a designer’s success. If you’re not constantly growing and adapting to the industry, someone more knowledgeable will simply take your place.