I’m based in the UK and I have a degree in Graphic Communication, I graduated with First Class Honours in 2016. I’d been doing freelance work throughout my uni course and decided I wanted to go straight into the industry. In September 2016 I landed a job as a Junior Digital Designer within a creative communications agency.

I learnt a lot on the job and after 8 months I started to have a look around at what other jobs were out there. I stumbled across a Creative Designer position. But it was different to anything I’d ever seen before…it was within the space industry. The only sort of design jobs I knew that existed within the space industry were at companies such as NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in the U.S. I knew this could be potentially a very exciting opportunity so I filled in an online job application form and waited.

I heard back and had an initial interview and was then set a task to bring back in at the second interview stage. This would be presented again in front of the companies Chief Technology Officer (CTO). The task was to look at the companies ‘About Us’ page on their website and come up with a proposal for a graphic, series of graphics, animation or video to replace the content on that existing page. They specified it didn’t need to be a finished/polished design but should be presented as pitch with a maximum of 10 minutes allowed.

I think I decided early-on that I wanted to create a video including infographics (in my mind the best of both worlds). I decided to present my work via presentation. I thought rather than just showing the finished video I’d actually show the process behind it (mind maps, scribbles, iterations) beforehand so they could see how I reached the idea, and how I usually work.

This was definitely a good move as everyone who sat in on my presentation enjoyed seeing how I’d made decisions and formed ideas along the way and then as a final end slide I finished on the video. I then waited and they soon replied with a job offer...and that's how my career in the space industry began!

Since this initial role in the space industry I've had a design role in a UK defence company but am now currently back working in a space company again.

My advice would be — don’t be afraid to ask questions, which I know is easier said than done!

As an example within my current role, if I don’t know something design or software related, there’s nobody else I can ask as I’m a solo designer. At the start of my career this initially felt a bit isolating but I’ve really come to see the positive in this. I bounce ideas off other people in my company and they always seem to have a fresh outlook. I’ve become not only a more proficient problem-solver but someone who is constantly learning.

I’ve accepted that I’ll never know the very technical things and I don’t have a space or physics degree — and that’s okay. It’s okay to ask questions and to clarify things no matter how much experience or years you have behind you.

I enjoy my role because there is so much variety in the work that comes my way — I can be working on social media posts, digital designs, editing podcasts and videos one week and the next, be designing larger scale banners for print, exhibitions stands or even creating a mission patch for an upcoming mission!

Over my career I have had some amazing design opportunities such as designing a large-scale launch sticker for a PSLV-C40 rocket nose cone. I have also been lucky enough to have a company logo I designed and rebranded launched into space (it featured on a protective panel made of honeycomb aluminium which was fitted to the spacecraft for transit and launch to the International Space Station, where it was unpacked and prepared for deployment from the Kibo airlock by NASA Astronauts!)

To be able to say that my designs have been launched into space is something I've still not quite been able to get my head round. I feel very lucky to work in a creative role within the space industry and privileged to play even a small part.

(Fun fact: Some of my logos have clocked an equivalent ground-speed of around 28,000 kilometres per hour!)

My website which has images of my work: www.emilyinspace.design