OUGD502 - Studio Brief 1 - Creative Report - Interview with Radhika Ramdihal from Split Studio

Split Studio

'None of us are a single thing. We all exist between any number of extremes. As both individuals and communities we embody conflicts, complexities and contradictions. Our identities flex depending on the context or time. We demand both romance and pragmatic function; we want simplicity and clarity, but not at the expense of the messy truth.'

— We are all Split.

Split is a small design studio in Leeds, with a team of four, which focuses on creative print and digital design solutions.The studio has a diverse range of work and clients. Their work does not follow trends or aesthetics instead they aim to create work that is considered and shows the complexities of different briefs. Their projects have included a mix of identities, album artwork, web design and print design.

https://www.split.co.uk/about/

Interview with Radhika Ramdihal from Split   

The interview was conducted with Radhika Ramdihal who is a Junior Designer at Split 

1. Firstly could you talk a little about your education, creative background and how you ended up at Split. What were you like as a creative? 

My creative background is very Fine Art. I studied this up until A-Level then it wasn’t until my Foundation Degree in Art & Design that I discovered this thing called Graphic Design! I went on to study Graphic Design at degree level at Sheffield Hallam University. Two months out of graduation I was contacting agencies and applying for jobs, I managed to gain an internship at Split for a month and then they decided to keep me on. This summer will be my third year as a designer here.

As a creative my approach is very conceptual, it’s about the idea and thought for me which then informs the outcome. I’m quite a bookworm so in University a lot of my projects revolved around the use of language and typography. In university I never touched a branding or identity brief (crazy huh) I was more prone to working on self initiated ones or more outcome open briefs. Our tutors were very keen to get us to work creatively outside of just making posters, flyers and logos as we’d be doing this so much in industry.

2. What is your role within Split and what kind of things do you work on?

I work under the Creative Director, Oli. The work varies vastly, we specialise in creating print and web solutions for clients within the creative sector. I’ve worked on projects ranging from theatre show promotions, music packaging, film festival listings, indoor and outdoor signage and wayfinding to print for Leeds College of Music’s various departments and events. 

3. What drew you to working for a small design studio rather than a larger one?

I think I’ve always leaned towards a smaller studio due to the more personal element, communications are closer and easier. Coming out of uni I had never had a job, aside from a few internships and work experience so delving into a bigger corporate company terrified me a little! But that is a personal preference, I know many peers from my course who went on to work for some of the bigger agencies in London and are loving it.

4. Can you explain some of the processes you go through and influences you draw from when creating your work at Split?

This varies per brief and client really, we treat each project as it’s own thing. There’s no overall brand from Split than we put on all projects it’s more about taking each brief as it comes and how we can best tackle it. In terms of a process I’d say we usually start with a brief in, get our heads around the brief at first and ask any questions. Then depending on what the subject matter is it might require research and/or engaging in the area that the client is working in. It’s a hard one to answer succinctly really! As there is no set formula I particularly go through and it depends very much on the brief. 

5. Do you have any advice for a young designer coming from university?

Get experience. As much as you can and preferably before you leave university! That’s something in hindsight I think I should have done more on as you’ll realise how unprepared (some) university courses leave you for working in industry. It also enables you to see what kind of company you want to work for interns of size and ethics.

Ask questions. There’s never a daft question, I’d get talking to tutors, alumni, industry creatives now about anything you want to know for the future! There’s still so much I’m learning, I don’t think it really stops but it’s good to get ahead.

Don’t put pressure on yourself. This might be a personal one but I think in this industry it’s already quite intense and stressful at times with deadlines so I’d say don’t make it any harder with added pressure on yourself. I’m particular prone to putting pressure on myself to get things done or saying yes to everyone, but slowly that’s changing! It’s taken a few years in industry to strike that balance between work/life. Being creative is fun, I’m sure it’s something you love and goes beyond your studies and into your daily life so try and hold onto that aspect of fun as much as you can!