Angel Bantu

Studio NARI’s junior designer Angel is always looking for ways to develop her craft. After gaining experience through internships at agencies like Iris Worldwide, she quickly transitioned into a full-time role in the creative industry. From working on a Samsung Skate pop-up to designing for Bridgerton fan events, Angel has remained dedicated to “keeping in tune with her creativity” to push her design skills further — from personal crochet projects to taking in everything she can in her day job. Here, she shares why the D&AD programme is a great way to gain experience with live briefs and how LinkedIn has been a valuable tool for her career growth.

What I do

How would you describe what you do as a Junior Designer?
As a junior designer at Studio NARI, I support brand identity and motion design while taking in as much as possible and developing as a designer.

Would you say you need any specific training for what you do?
I don’t think I did any training, but I would say keeping in tune with my creativity helps push my design within this role. I do this through my love for textile art (many failed crochet projects).

What’s been your favourite project to work on from the past year, and why?
My work for Samsung Skate at Iris Worldwide whilst I was interning there was probably one of my favourites. It was so fun being able to see my work in person at the pop-up event.

I also had the chance to work on a Bridgerton fan event’s identity whilst interning at NARI, and that series is one of my favourite guilty pleasure watches. Even though my work was never released, working on these sketches felt so exciting, and I had a lot of fun playing with routes that felt very different from one another to express Bridgerton at its best.

Samsung Skate's pop-up event

What does a normal day-to-day usually look like for you?
It usually starts off by me coming into work, making my usual hot chocolate (I can’t hack coffee!), and then we get into our Monday Meet, where we come together and get our schedules for the week. It’s always interesting to hear what everyone else is working on in the studio. I usually get debriefed on my work of the day from a senior designer, and crack on for the rest of the day.

How I got here

What was your journey like when you were first starting out? Did you find your feet quickly?
It was pretty quick for me to feel comfortable with everyone at NARI, they’re all super welcoming! I’ve learnt how to adapt to different working environments quickly due to my interning experience, so that also played a huge role in helping me find my feet.

What was the impact of doing internships on your career? Did they help you build your network, develop specific skills or shape the direction of your work?
Doing internships 100% helped with where I am today. It helped me in terms of opening up doors for other opportunities, whilst shaping my experience with delivering on quality and speed.

A studio Nari lunch!

What has been your biggest challenge along the way?
Every entry-level designer would say that their biggest challenge is getting into work via internships and junior roles, especially recently, as it seems so scarce to come across entry-level jobs. I’ve for sure hit my lows, but I am super grateful to have such a rich CV with all the experiences I’ve done.

Talks at D&AD

How important are social media and self-promotion to your work? Do you have any advice or learnings to share?
LinkedIn is where I get the most interaction with my work, so I think that it is important to make yourself known in that regard. This can even just mean updating your socials with passion projects or things that you’ve come across that have inspired you.

What are three things that you’ve found useful to your work or career, and why?
Design podcasts. I usually watch Kel Lauren and elliotisacoolguy, as they tend to show me different perspectives on design and tips. I also came across the online and print magazine gal-dem during my research at uni, which was a platform for young WOC who are creatives. It’s sadly since closed.

Design work promoting the Bridgerton event

Have there been any courses, programmes, initiatives, access schemes or job boards you’ve found helpful or would recommend to get into your sector?
The D&AD programme for live briefs were the most helpful, which I did whilst at my time at uni. I’d recommend those to help you experience live briefs—even if you don’t end up applying in the competition!

What have been your greatest learnings with making money and supporting yourself as a creative?
When I started freelancing, it was always really tricky putting a price on my work. So I would say invoicing and knowing your worth as a designer.

Bridgerton concept lanyard

Advice

What’s the best career-related advice you’ve ever received?
For my dissertation project at uni, I did a design podcast project interviewing women of colour in the industry. I would say the advice that struck out to me the most was to lean into those who are supporting you and be wary of those who aren’t. (Said by the amazing Rani Patel).

What advice would you give to someone looking to get into a similar role?
Put yourself out there – whether it’s through social media or networking events. Keep engaging with people throughout the industry to make yourself known. And also portfolio feedback from those in the industry is crucial, get as much criticism as possible!