Going back to school can be daunting. Whether it’s after already completing a degree, working in an established career or just the passing of time – going back isn’t always easy. One of our Alumni shares her experience on her return to an education.

Nicolle “Neeko” Colada graduated from the UI & Communication Design Professional course in Winter 2017. Originally from Hamilton, Ontario, she attended Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario, and finished with a Bachelor’s Degree in Animation in 2015. About a year ago someone had mentioned User Interface design to her, but she didn’t really pay any mind to it. After working as a bartender, she got the itch to do something artsy and started looking into studying UI. She mostly found courses in UX in her area, so she decided to move to Vancouver to attend RED Academy and start fresh in a new province. Having already gone through a post-secondary education, Neeko shares her experience of what it was like going back to school and learning in the RED environment.

“I went back to school.” 

Sitting in the unfamiliar kitchen talking to new faces after we’d finished the first half of our orientation this was the one thing everyone seemed to keep saying. More often than not, the people I spoke to were like me. We had been to post-secondary school previously or worked in another industry – but felt we needed to up our game or do something different. We all had the same goal in the dining hall on the second floor: to better ourselves in whichever discipline we had chosen.

RED is a school filling the gap that the tech industry needs.

When I signed up for the User Interface & Communication Design Professional, I only had a vague idea of what it would entail. I had always felt bad that I didn’t really try my hardest during college. It was a long four years and at times, I felt like it had lost some of it’s sparkle. My mindset going into RED was to take everything in and not take shortcuts. I was about dedicate all my time to learn and constantly question what’s ahead of me.

All I had for expectations were this is going to be crazy, intense and hopefully the place to grow.

Day one caught me off guard. I flew in from Hamilton, Ontario the Friday before classes started so I was completely unaware of the “no shoes” deal. I learnt that they wanted people to take their shoes off, walk around in socks or use a pair of slippers because they wanted people to feel like they were at home. This was a cool concept to me. Most of the population is friendly and some groups becomes close like family. This family bonded over the minutes waiting for the fresh pot of coffee to finish brewing, Friday night socials and ping pong tournaments. I wanted to be there – in this space.

We start right at 9 am and run classes until 5 in the evening. On average I spent about 11 to 13 hours at school. I’d be really absorbed in whatever project we were doing, only leaving when I felt like I had done enough and I could take care of the rest at home. There were others like-minded who practically lived at school tirelessly working on projects. The Community Partner projects often required for us to be with our teams. You end up building relationships with these people in your teams when you are together for three weeks. It’s normal that sometimes you will face conflict with clients, teammates and even yourself. It’s the sturdy tree of instructors and leaders at RED who are there to offer you support.

During the times when I struggled with something creatively, I could turn to my peers, seek advice from my teachers and a very simple act: Google it. As much as I had the option to rely on people, I had to remember that most of what I was doing was self-learning. Dependant on what I wanted to get out of my time here I had to ask the right questions, or get in situations where I could ask those questions.

Those experiences weren’t always limited to just myself. Many of he walls have been transformed into whiteboard walls for our design process. Every couple of days I would draw – in this one often untouched corner on the third floor – a quote and myself in whatever outfit I was wearing that day. The quote often reflected what I was feeling: endurance, perseverance, motivation or something about being lost.

“Design can be art, design can be aesthetics. Design is so simple, that’s why it’s so complicated.” – Paul Rand, art director and graphic designer

I was also the Winter 2017 cohort’s Student Ambassador. I was in charge of opening the building and making the first batch of coffee. It was fun to leave little messages for the student on the coffee canisters. I spent some evenings helping out at RED events with our Facilities Operator, better known as KevinKevin. When you give most of your hours to the school you learn a lot about how it works and what type of people exist here to make it functional.

For myself, I found it hard to leave. To the wonderful people that would celebrate your birthday with a surprise song and treat you to delicious cakes, the trips you take to visit local companies (Monstercat HQ in picture below) and the ones that bring in their pets – it was hard to leave it all. The pets especially, as that was another amazing aspect about my experience at RED: it’s an animal friendly place. I didn’t know one person whose mood didn’t brighten up when they interacted with our furry friends, Oreo or Kai, Vita, Lucy, Muffin, Oliver – it was always a good time and a moment to destress during our projects.

RED really likes to find all the strengths in people. I have a traditional arts and animation background so for one of the open house events, they asked me if I would be interested in running a caricature portion. I invited Ben Frey, a local artist and illustrator and one of my UI classmates, to join me that evening. I had so many conversations and a line up of people waiting for me to draw them! It was nice way to see my previous skills connect with our visitors. It made me re-evaluate how much farther I could take my work as a UI designer, utilizing my existing visual art skills to create more.

I think RED is the kind of place where a person goes when they want something – want something badly enough that they don’t skimp out on effort. It’s not an easy run, nor should it be. In a way, the program really grinds at your gears and makes you take on a little more than you can handle. The teachers know what a monster of a curriculum they got going on here and it’s okay. They aren’t being unfair or heartless – in fact they are training us to be able to tackle on the beasts of the real world.

“Visualize the person you want to be, then work for it.” 

On the first day, they asked us to do a comparison of who we were at that moment and who we wanted to be in 90 days (the end of the course). Looking back at the letter and the drawing I made for myself then, I can only smile because of the immense growth since that point. I think I felt that I wanted to see a change in myself. To do that I had to change the things I did.

Written by:

Nicolle Colada, aka Neeko

UI/UX/Interaction Designer, Illustrator & Animator, devourer of food

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