Inspiration: I wonder..

I know people say that you should have no regrets in life... that all things - good or bad - happen for a reason and they have contributed to making you the person you are now.

BUT, I have regrets... well some things are regrets whilst others are "I wonder dreams". What do I mean by that? I mean "I wonder what would have happened if... blah, blah, blah". Are you following me?

Ok, I'll be more specific: recently, I have been asking myself where I would be in life - career wise - if I had decided to drop the Law part of my degree and study Product Design instead. You see, I studied Law and Communications as a joint degree in my "Hey Day" and whilst I was focused and had a 5 year plan in place for my career, I had a niggling confession to make: I was enjoying the Communications part of my degree a lot more than the legal part. In fact, Law only became deeply interesting when I was practising it.

Due to the Communications part of my degree (which involved the study of media/PR/advertising) I spent a lot of time in the Designs block of my university. I remember walking past the display units filled with the latest projects by the Product Design students, future silversmiths and all manner of creative bods. Man I was envious. And it made me late for a seminar or lecture many times lol. But I stuck to degree choice on the basis that I should always finish what I've started... and here I am today... looking back and wondering where I could be if I had taken that plunge all those years ago.

To be honest, I think I made the right decision by sticking to my original degree. Why? Because I knew nothing about Product Design. I wouldn't have been able to make a passionate go of the subject because I couldn't envisage my future with such a degree under my belt. In fact many students who were taking the degree at the time didn't know what they were going to do with it once they had graduated!

I have grown to appreciate the subject matter now because I have a diploma in Interior Design which I obtained nearly a year ago. Additionally, I can see how it could be used to secure a career for one's self because... wait for it... I have studied law. More specifically, I have been specialising in IP law (copyrights, trademarks, design rights etc) for the last couple of years. So now the subject makes sense aesthetically, theoretically and practically. I can appreciate the creative elements and the business side.

Will I be studying Product Design in the future - Narrr! But I will come to a point in my career where I'm finally combining my two passions - design and contracts!

(Photo credit: The Bone Chair by Joris Laarmaan -an absolutely talented designer from the Netherlands)