"You can’t teach someone to be creative”: a day in the life of Claudia Aggett

I’m lucky enough to live in the heart of beautiful Bristol, which means I enjoy a glorious (though ask me in February and I might say otherwise) daily walk to work. My route takes me past the harbourside and one of my favourite coffee spots in the city, Origin. This time is so important to me, it gives me the opportunity to switch on/off from work, catch up on any new music releases or give my Mum a call. Call your parents, kids.

As a studio, we all work together in the same space 4-days a week (Wednesdays being our ‘Work From Home’ day), which means it is always a hive of activity and creative energy. During the pandemic I realised that working from home was not my cup of tea. I definitely thrive off being surrounded by people. It’s the little moments of laughter that make coming to work every day so enjoyable.

I tend to start my day by catching up on any Slack messages I might have missed, reading a few creative articles or reviewing any new branding that’s just been released. Of course, with a coffee in hand – I am a designer after all.

Every day is different to the next; different projects, problems to solve and hats to wear. However, most days begin with a project catch-up with one of the senior designers and/or project managers. Some days I have multiple projects on the go, whereas others are more dedicated to one project at a time. We have recently wrapped up a whole new identity for Nederlander Theatres.

Lately, I have been upskilling in animation, which I love. It is the perfect blend of my creative and more methodical brain. As much as I sometimes want to scream at After Effects, when it all comes together it’s very rewarding.

I would definitely still describe myself as in the early stages of my career. I still have lots of love and energy brewing, that’s for sure.

I studied a very strange amalgamation of subjects at college: Design, Photography, Maths and Geology. The day before my university interview, I was sitting in a pub, panicking and wondering if I should study rocks instead. It’s safe to say I definitely took the right path and am so glad I followed my heart to study Graphic Design at one of the most beautiful universities in the country, Falmouth (I may be slightly biased).

After graduating during COVID-19, I interned at numerous London agencies, which really opened my eyes to a variety of different studios. I moved to Bristol soon after and was extremely lucky to have gotten a couple of internships lined up. One at Supple Studio in Bath, and another right here at Fiasco Design. I arrived bright-eyed and bushy tailed, in awe of a new city and ready to get stuck in. I can’t believe that I have been at Fiasco Design for 4 years. Time really does fly!

I have Fiasco to thank for a lot of my growth. The people and the processes here have moulded me into the designer I am today. I was lucky enough to get my hands on big branding projects from day one, thrown into the deep end and exposed to all sorts of clients, brands, tools, briefs from the off. From an early stage in my career, I was trusted on large-scale projects and that definitely taught me a lot, very quickly.

Gosh, this seems like a lifetime ago now… But 100%! It threw a big old spanner in the works, but it also brought along a number of positive twists and turns that I did not expect. The usual, celebratory final hand-in was definitely a little more subdued and the cancellation of networking events, final year shows and D&AD New Blood sent worry across the 2020 cohort. It was the unknown that was frightening: what did the future of our industry look like? How are we going to get our foot in the door? Will we be the forgotten year?

These were all valid questions, but ones that I had no control over at the time. So I tried to take this in my stride and find the positives. The pandemic offered fantastic opportunities in other ways; with lots of internships moving online, becoming more accessible to more people and designers using their platforms for promoting young creatives.

Because everything was online, I needed to give myself that much-needed push to speak up more, communicate with other designers and share my work more openly. I turned to social media and I have LinkedIn and, surprisingly, Twitter, to thank for where I am today.

Any project that has the ability to change lives or impact the world in a positive way is one that I will always be proud of. However, from a personal perspective, our visual identity for OnHand is a project I will forever hold close to my heart.

It was one of those total feel-good brands. OnHand’s mission ticked all my boxes; they connect those in need with those who want to give by encouraging employees to participate in mini-volunteering missions. The client was a dream, the work was joyous from start to finish and it was so well received not only by the team, but the design community as well. It was a massive personal achievement, especially as the lead designer on the project. And c’mon, how can those emojis not make you smile?

I’m probably not the best person to be answering this question. I am very aware that I am a straight, white, young woman who hasn’t faced as many societal challenges as I am sure a lot of other individuals have.

I genuinely think that the vast majority of people in this industry are doing their utmost to make it the best it can be. There’s been a real effort made here I think. A lot of events, particularly the likes of Birmingham Design Festival, Motion Folks or West of England Design Forum, are making a conscious effort to ensure line-ups are inclusive of all people. In addition, there’s an increasing number of groups in which underrepresented people are celebrated. Ladies, Wine and Design, Design by Women and The Arena, to name a few.

At Fiasco, we try to help facilitate inclusivity and accessibility into the industry by offering programmes such as Open Internship, Tracking (in collaboration with Noods Levels), as well as work experience and portfolio reviews. I always love having fresh talent in the studio, it reminds me of how far I have come and how much I have to pass on to others.

However, there is always work to be done. I would love to see more female Creative Directors leading the way. Having more female figureheads to look up to keeps me striving for change to make the industry more diverse up top.

In a word, Figma! I do not know what I would do without it. As a studio, we migrated to Figma during lockdown, as a way to collaboratively work together when we weren’t sitting across a room from one another. Now, it has become our go-to.

I also genuinely love pen and paper. I cannot start a project by jumping straight onto the tools, things have to remain loose and playful to allow me to get all of my sporadic, creative ideas out of my head and onto paper. Otherwise, ideas get forgotten or I get hyper-focussed on refining way too early on in the process.

I am a massive foodie, I have endless lists of the newest cafes, restaurants or lunch spots in town. So, it would be an absolute dream to brand a coffee shop (and the packaging for the beans, of course!). In my spare time, I have been designing a hypothetical porridge cafe, because it is possibly one of my favourite foods.

Somebody who is willing to listen and learn. A person who is interested, passionate and full of ideas. You can teach somebody the tools, but you can’t teach someone to be creative.

Relish in the moment. Enjoy the present because in a month, or a year's time, it’s going to be completely different.

DO NOT DELETE WORK. The people around you will always be able to see potential in designs you might think are rubbish.

Stay authentically yourself.

You don’t have to know everything by the time you graduate. Life is all a big learning curve, no one knows what they’re doing half the time. Just have the willingness to learn, soak everything up like a sponge and ask plenty of questions.

And lastly, comparison is the thief of all joy. Follow your own path, not anybody else's.