Maureen CROW

A look back at your ESMA years

What drew you to the world of graphic design?

I discovered graphic design in the MANAA, and I immediately fell in love with this discipline that I hadn’t known before. I liked the projects and loved working on them! So continuing my studies by specialising in graphic design was a bit of a no-brainer.

Why did you choose to join the ESMA programme (MANAA, BTS, Bachelor’s and Master’s)?

I discovered ESMA after doing my work placement in the ninth year, during which I spent a week in different MANAA classes. It was a great experience that I thought about again after the baccalaureate. I knew that I wanted to start studying art, and the MANAA enabled me to discover several disciplines, and it was graphic design that I decided to go for.

What did the course bring you?

The course as a whole gave me a lot: artistic references and knowledge, and a curiosity that still helps me in my professional life. The rigour and a certain organisation in my work are also very beneficial today. Exploring and mastering different techniques and tools, working on my imagination. The teachers were also very helpful, always giving me good advice when I needed it, whether for projects, work placements or my training.

You chose to continue for another year on the Digital Design & Strategy Master’s course. What are the reasons for this?

After my BTS, I wanted to continue my training with the Bachelor’s degree(editor’s note: now a Master’s in Digital Design & Strategy), which enabled me to add to the knowledge I’d already acquired in previous years. The opportunity to work and create my own website and the end-of-studies work placement were also decisive factors.

Was there a subject that you particularly liked?

The creative workshops (followed by graphic design projects), and web design/code with Mr Rémi Malaval).

Did you have a clear idea of what you wanted to do when you left the course? What did you want to do? Did the course open up new possibilities for you in the world of work?

Not at all, I knew I wanted to do something more or less in the field of graphic design and illustration, but I didn’t know exactly whether I wanted to work in a studio, agency, freelance, for a brand or company, etc. I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do.

Even now I don’t have a precise idea of what I want to do, but the fact of trying out different things, of being versatile and a bit ‘nomadic’ professionally appeals to me.

How did your immersion in the professional world go when you left the course?

Very well, the end-of-studies work placement really helped with this immersion and gave me my first long experience of the world of work.

Your career path

Once you had your degree, what was your career path?

After my Bachelor’s degree, I went on a six-month work placement as Assistant Art Director and Graphic Designer for the ready-to-wear brand I.Code (IKKS group). I was in charge of creating print media (flyers, invitations, catalogues), web media (Instagram content, banners, web pages, videos) and goodies for the brand (creating visuals, mock-ups, liaising with the supplier and sending to production) and I assisted the artistic director on the various shoots.

After this internship, I stayed on as a freelancer at I.Code for a further five months, and then last March I changed brands within the same group to work for IKKS Junior, again on a freelance basis, with more executive tasks (photo retouching, modifying visuals, creating web pages, goodies). I’m now also trying to approach different clients to get more varied and creative assignments
creative assignments.

Even before you left school, you set up your own freelance business, Youngblood. Can you tell us about it? Why did you make this choice and not wait until after your studies?

At the end of my work placement in DG1(editor’s note: formerly BTS 1st year, now Bachelor 1st year), I had the opportunity to work on a project for which I needed a professional status, so I set up a micro-business and started freelancing alongside my studies.

Can you tell us about the assignments/projects you’re working on as part of Youngblood?

My assignments and projects are quite varied, and I’m often asked to create logos/visual identities, print work (posters, flyers, bar/restaurant menus), illustrations, and a few web projects to create websites, videos or Instagram content.

Why did you choose Youngblood as your name?

I think I heard it in a song a few years ago, I liked the idea of ‘new blood’ that it represented, which is part of my identity and the freshness/newness that I want to convey with my work.

You’re pretty pro-active in all areas of the arts: print, digital, photography, video, drawing… Why so much diversity? What are you trying to achieve by exploring all these areas?

I’m a curious person, I like to experiment with different techniques/media, to be versatile and not confine myself to a single discipline. I also like to use my illustrations in different ways and with different media (digital, painting, embroidery, tattooing). It’s a way of indulging my creativity.

Do you have a preference (print, web, photo…) and if so, why?

Not really, I generally prefer to work on a bit of everything at the same time so as not to get bored.

What do you like about the arts? Do you want to express something or convey a message?

I like the fact that I can convey a message and ideas. My illustrations are often linked to feminism, the Body Positive movement, sexuality and all the messages that can encompass. It’s important for me to talk about these subjects that affect me and other people too.

Since 2018 you’ve been working with the famous brand IKKS, first as an intern and then as a freelance graphic designer. Can you tell us about this? Did you want to work in the fashion world or was it an opportunity that presented itself?

It was an opportunity that arose a bit by chance when I was looking for a work placement. I was looking for work in the cultural sector and a little in fashion, but I answered an advert on LinkedIn. At first I didn’t think my application would be successful, but then I saw it as an exercise/first interview experience. The tasks on offer, the creative freedom and the fact that I would be working autonomously in a small team convinced me to accept the internship.

What do you do for them?

At the moment, I’m working with the Junior brand’s communications department whenever there’s a need to help the artistic director and the current graphic designers with various tasks (photo retouching, creation of web pages, banners, flyers, goodies).

Why did you choose to work freelance? When you left school, weren’t you afraid of the lack of recognition, confidence and network?

It was the first option that presented itself to me and allowed me to continue working for I.Code for a few days a week, while being able to work on other projects on the side. That’s exactly what’s scaring me a bit now that I want to approach other clients to expand my network and find new projects, but I’m going to give it a go and try to remain confident.

You live near Nantes but Youngblood is based in Montpellier. Do you move back and forth between the two?

One of the advantages of being a freelancer is that you can work from just about anywhere and for clients who aren’t necessarily in the same place.

What do you love about your job?

I’d say it’s the fact that creativity is an inexhaustible field, so even if sometimes inspiration and motivation fall away and I want to leave everything behind to go and raise goats and live in total autarky in Larzac, inspiration eventually returns and so does creativity, and evolution and change are constant.

Is there a signature Maureen Crow style?

Apparently so, according to outsiders. But I don’t really realise it, I don’t think too much before doing things.

My teacher, Virginie Torsiello, defined my style as ‘anchored in time, contrasting, urban, tattooed, graphic, feminine’. I think that’s a good description of my work!

Is there a project you’re particularly proud of that you’d like to share with us?

I’m quite happy with my personal illustration projects, which can be found on my Instagram.

To conclude

Future projects?

First of all, I’m going to develop my micro-business by canvassing new customers and taking on new projects. I’m also looking for places to exhibit my paintings and other personal projects in Nantes, and I’m getting into tattooing.

How do you see yourself in a few years’ time?

I don’t know! I’m finding it a bit hard to project myself into the future, I just say to myself “we’ll see” and I hope I do (#AngoiséeDeLaVie).

What advice would you give to students and future students?

It’s all going to work out! Stay curious and don’t be discouraged by those who tell you that you won’t make it.

And for future freelancers: don’t forget your URSAFF declarations (ahahah).

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Instagram: yngbld_

Maureen Crow is exhibiting several projects in the Lee Bethy boutique in Montpellier, until 26 October 2019.