Behind the Studio – Marion Bisserier

What’s your journey in the industry so far?

Back at school where creative pathways were not really a thing, I was good at some subjects, less good at others, but never clicked with anything as a vocation. Drawing has always been in my life and when I discovered design, it was like ‘wow, this is what I want to do!’. I studied foundation and then a BA in Graphic Design at LCC. I loved the course and the possibilities it offered me such as a placement year before the big jump.

During that time I interned with Marina Willer and her team at Pentagram who taught me about visual identity. I also spent time in the letterpress workshop at uni and joined Fraser Muggeridge’s typography course where my passion and skills for type grew. After graduating, I freelanced at APFEL on their type foundry and after a six months job search in the pandemic I got a role at Two Times Elliott where type and identity merge. That’s when I realised I love designing with type in the context of branding.

Through Marina’s ongoing mentorship, I met Stu and Terry last summer and started my Nomad journey in October where I am learning the challenge of designing for a bigger variety of brands. It’s been pretty sweet!

What do you love to do?

Cooking and eating, although eating while cooking is probably a more accurate description. I learned cooking from my mum who every day after work would come home and prepare food for us.

It’s a sport that helps me make quicker decisions, build my confidence and trust others (with my life, literally).

What was the last book you couldn’t put down?

Klara and The Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro, a novel written from the point of view of an AI called Klara who joins a family as an artificial friend. Unlike any fiction I have read or seen on the topic, this book doesn’t indulge at all into the narrative of the competitive AI with the ambition to outsmart humans and take over the world.

It’s actually about how an AI could support us in our lives to help us navigate tough times, trauma and improve our relationships. It reminds you what makes us irreplaceable as humans. I will say no more!

What’s the biggest challenge you’ve overcome in your career so far?

At this early stage of my career, I would probably say myself. My mind was my worst obstacle at times, especially the first couple of years post graduating. I had this tendency to overthink and mix up caring with worrying. Basically, unless I wasn’t worrying about a design project then I didn’t care enough.

Turns out, you never get a gold medal for worrying and my level of anxiety was getting in the way of productivity. Rewiring that pattern still requires effort but it is worth it when I notice its benefits on my day-to-day and my growth as a designer.

What does being creative mean to you?

For me being creative comes down to shifting my perspective. Once we start looking at something from another angle, we can find alternative approaches. Thinking creatively in my view is asking ourselves ‘is there another way to go about this problem?’. I also believe creativity isn’t necessarily an innate ability a few are blessed with but more like a muscle we choose to train and look after.

The creative challenge as a designer often revolves around making meaning with image. What helps me engage my creative muscle while I am designing is asking myself ‘what else could it be before it becomes another idea?’.