💻 Career Compass #6
Diving into the paths of other modern millennial women.
Welcome back to Career Compass on
: a monthly series exploring other women’s musings, meanderings and methods for navigating life, with a focus on their career paths. Through short interviews with twenty- or thirty-something women, we’ll explore linear and non-linear career paths, how they approach work to make it work for them, and the blurred lines between hobbies and hustles.💻🧭
This month’s guest on The Navigation’s Career Compass series might be somewhat of a familiar name, having been given a shout out in the recent interview with Gaby Kirk. Senay Bozdag is another former-colleague-turned-friend, and is still standing strong at the company we all met at around eight years ago.
As a Senior Designer and enthusiastic traveller, with a side hustle for more creative work too, Senay is someone with a beautiful zest for life - and has been entirely reassuring that turning 30 is not as big and scary as I’d sometimes feared! Though a north London gal through and through, her Turkish-Cypriot heritage, and particular love for Cyprus, is ever-present, and no doubt influences the pull she has towards warmer climes.
Unlike many in their 20’s and early 30’s Senay has worked at the same company for much of that formative post-uni decade, and has gained hordes in experience, skills and seniority. But, as she talks about here, she would encourage herself and others to not be afraid to move around and explore new opportunities, even if feeling content in a job.
Whether this chat facilitates a new outlook on travel, provides an interesting insight into design work, or is just a leisurely scroll on your Sunday, I hope you enjoy the read.
Thank you Senay for being a guest on The Navigation!
Could we start off with you sharing some musings on working in design, and how design in the events space compares to other industries?
And you also do some of your own design work on the side - how does that compare to the kind of work you do in your day job?
Hello! Buzzing to be here on The Navigation! Thanks Lauren for having me! Big shout out to my NLS gals (group chat name reference, of which Gaby is also a part), who yes I met exactly eight years ago, where our friendship began. Excited to talk a bit about my life and design with you all.
So I work for an events company which run three major exhibitions. I’m the in-house designer for all our events and brands across the business. I pretty much do everything from brand and event journey mapping, through to signage, marketing assets and front-end web design. It’s a lot! But I do enjoy the fast paced working environment and love to see how it all comes together in the end.
Working as a designer for an events company is always very busy as events run back-to-back constantly through the annual cycle, so you’ve always got to be on it. The work I do on the side is completely different to my day-to-day 9-5 job. In that realm I work more closely with clients on branding such as logo designs, social media templates, brand playbooks, and business cards. I’ve also worked a little on wedding event planning, from designing invitations and thank you cards to helping plan and run things for the day. I get more freedom to be creative here as I’m not following any specific guidelines.
You really do so much! It’s good to hear you enjoy the mix of the fast paced environment (which really is very full on!) but also having the outlet to use your skills for more creative purposes too.
Could you share a bit more insight into the meanderings that led you down this path to working in design?
I kind of fell into events after graduating with a BA Graphic Design Honours Degree. In my last year, we had to take up a placement for a few months, and whilst looking around for something I came across an events company that ran huge exhibitions, both in the UK and internationally. I realised that was right up my street - plus I got to travel for work! I visited Amsterdam and Brussels for this role - which maybe ignited my travel bug, which we’ll come to later. I didn’t set out to work in events, but thought I could gain good experience there.
I was into branding and advertising whilst at university and I did want to pursue that path. But I was lucky enough to get a position at this huge events company for six months - though unpaid - alongside finishing my degree. Once I graduated, the company invited me back as a freelancer which I accepted straight away. I think I got scared that I wouldn’t find a job straight after university, so went with the first thing that came my way, but had begun to really love what I was doing there. Working with large format printing, being on site on build day, it was all new and exciting to me and I learnt the job real quick. I loved my team there too.
After a year, I decided to look elsewhere as I wanted a more secure full-time job. Almost eight years later I’m still at the same company I left for, and the place where we met! I’ve grown so much personally as well as professionally there. My love for events has grown year on year and I love working with some amazing people on this journey.
One piece of advice I’d offer to readers though is to move around, especially whilst you’re young. It’s so easy to get comfortable somewhere, and before you know it it’s been years! That’s the one thing I would say now to my 20 year old self.
Yeah I think that’s a really interesting point, and of course there are so many pros and cons to both staying in one organisation, as well as exploring new opportunities year on year. But as you say the people you work with make a big difference too, and it’s great you’ve been able to get a lot of experience in different design elements through events.
In this kind of work, you obviously have to be quite creative and be able to come up with new ideas and concepts all the time. Do you have any methods for how you generate that creativity, or methods for getting inspired?
As designers we can sometimes fall into a hole where our creativity can stop for a few minutes or even hours. This is SO normal. Happens to me all the time. Especially in my job as I’m juggling so many events and working on different brands at the same time it can get a bit much.
To maintain a good flow of creative ideas I need to take breaks. I go for long walks. I research what other designers are doing. I try working in different settings. Going to cafes rather than being at home working in my bedroom, as I tend to only go into the central London office twice a week. I people watch a lot. Weird to some, but actually helps.
Sometimes though, you just have to keep going. For example, when I’m working through a busy period I just don’t stop, and I find that my sort of inner creative spirit gets used to working at a fast pace, and suddenly I’m overflowing with ideas. This can always change obviously, and I wouldn’t want to push towards burnout, but I do often thrive creatively in busier times.
I think the change of environment really helps, that’s a good tip. But I can also fall into the trap of just powering through when I’m really busy - which can be productive, but can also be really draining. I guess it’s trying the find the right balance and knowing when that approach is going to serve you, compared to putting in time for breaks and long walks etc.
And speaking of breaks, alongside being a fabulous designer, you are also a very keen traveller - your Instagram makes me want to get on a plane TONIGHT! Why is travelling so important to you? And do you have a favourite place to visit?
I only started travelling properly six years ago after going through a phase in my life where I wanted a change and start a new chapter - but without that new chapter being career focused. I’ve visited a lot of cities across Europe and beyond now, and I can truly say I’ve got the travel bug.
I try to travel four times a year if I can, and like to always visit different countries each time. I love seeing different cultures, trying different foods, seeing beautiful sceneries, and getting to know some really cool people. It just makes me happy and I feel so content each time I am away. I do have a travel bucket list which never seems to end, but my real goal is see half the world! Japan is next on my list.
I tend to travel with friends and family but I do want to do a solo trip at some point this year, and currently thinking Switzerland - but open to suggestions for good solo traveller spots!
One of my favourite cities has to be Copenhagen. No words. Just visit and you’ll thank you me. I’m Turkish-Cypriot so the Mediterranean Sea is always calling me too. Anywhere warm and pretty - I’m there. I go to Cyprus every year as my parents have a summer house out there and it’s the only time where I can really unwind and take in the beauty of back home.
I’m also a big fan of Copenhagen. I think it’s something about being surrounded by water; it’s really calming, even though you’re in a city. I had a similar sense in Stockholm too.
So, to round off, with the Cultural Compass series being a key feature of The Navigation, do you have anything you've read/watched/listened to lately that you'd like to recommend for readers?
I like to visit galleries and try to attend design talks in my free time. The most recent one I’ve been to was a talk based on advertising by It’s Nice That which runs events in London’s Hackney. I was just intrigued to hear more about the advertising world. There are loads of speakers which cover a range of different topics within the creative industries from illustration, to photography, and graphic design - the list goes on. Take your pick from what you fancy!
Going back to my travels, I was recently in Amsterdam - I love it there! It’s one of those cities you can visit and embrace regardless of the time of year, and I’m lucky that it’s so easy and quick to get to from London on the Eurostar. This time around I visited the Moco Museum, a modern and contemporary art gallery. There’s also an outpost coming to London this year, but if you’re ever in Amsterdam or Barcelona, the museums there are a must visit!
In London I like to make the most of spending time with my sister, having girly days out over the weekend in areas like Battersea. We recently went to a restaurant there called Solis. If you love your steak and chips, then it’s your kind of place! So delicious, and the concept was also quite cool. Very Instagramable!
Ans back to design, I’ve recently been looking into a tool called Figma. It’s a UX (user experience) design tool to share and create mobile apps using digital products, helping to ensure the experience is meaningful and relevant to users. You can create some cool bits on there and it’s fun to play around with as a designer.
Thanks for this eclectic mix of recommendations Senay! And I look forward to hearing more about upcoming travel plans. ✈
If you’re keen to chat design, learn more about how Senay can help with your design needs, or have any questions, she would very much welcome you to reach out via email - sbozdag93@hotmail.com.
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