My story

Why did I chose to become a designer?

Chapter one: Jump Ball

Let me take you back to the beginning – summer 2002, when I was only 12 years old experiencing my first growth spurt, growing more than 6 inches per year and finally upgrading our family internet connection from dial-up to DSL.

Being a country boy in the city, I had hard times adjusting to the big city life and school just wasn't my thing, however the internet was a vast ocean of knowledge to me, I was obsess with it. I got my first e-mail, pirated my first Photoshop, which at that time was version 7, saw my first p*rno, downloaded my first music album (The Eminem Show), got my first computer virus, joined my first forum. There is no doubt about the fact that the internet brought me the whole world closer.

However at the same time I was becoming a clumsy and lanky young lad, so I forced myself to pick up basketball as my outside activity again, because till then my only hobbies were video games & being a burden to my mom.

And this is where my journey as a designer began. On September 2002 I bought an illegal version of NBA Live 2003 for the PC. After playing it for hours, day and night, between practices and homework I wanted to share my fun experience with my fellow team-mates. I wanted my team that I played for (VEF 89') to be in that game. However there was one slight issue, there was no "create-a-team" mode, so I started my research. I learned about cyber-faces, about modding, 3D models, texturing and databases. I became a member of an online community where we were patching the game left and right.

With every patch I released, I started to become better and better with Photoshop, learned about layers and jersey designs, picked up Illustrator to start creating logos.

Chapter two: The Half-time show

The year is 2004 and from barely scoring any points on the court I am being asked to join the U-16 Latvian Basketball team, thus limiting my free time for video games. So, I had to find new creative outlets to do with my friends.

I picked a cheap microphone and my mom just bought the shittiest digital camera ever, whooping 1,3 megapixels. Pirated (sorry, the world was just different) Fruity Loops & Hip Hop E-Jay, all I needed was a video editing software and I went with good old YouTubes favourite – Microsoft Movie Maker.

This is where I learned about production, organising people and stepping out of my comfort zone. The music was horrible, the effects were horrible, however this was my first step in motion design as I loved my Star Wars & Dragon Balls.

My PC started as leisure machine with an internet connection and a decent graphics card for video games, but slowly it turned to a production machine for me and my friends.

Chapter three: The Trade

It was 2005 and my mom advised me to switch schools. After finishing my primary exams I joined a business focused school. Till this day I believe my mom bribed the principal to get me in, but let us keep it as a secret.

This school was different, I learned about empathy about teamwork and how important is mutual respect. My math teacher said something that has stayed with me till this day.

Knowledge sharing became part of my life. I started to study on my own, mixing things I learned at school with the things I learned outside school be it on the court or online. Joined DeviantArt, joined many Photoshop tutorial sites, started buying Computer Arts magazines & dipped my first steps in web design.

I learned about information architecture, that your slides do not have to be full of bulletin points in order to get a higher grade, it was all about delivering the message, hacking your teachers.

Chapter four: Summer League

"So...what are your plans after school?" One of the worst questions you can ask a teen. However I got lucky thanks to basketball and my obsession with Photoshop. I took the risk and went abroad, not only it was a different country, but also a different language, different visual language, different culture.

I was this tall little kid from Latvia, who in heart still was a country boy now living 700 miles away from home on his own. I couldn't just call my mom and ask for favours, I had to learn everything from scratch – budgeting, cooking, ironing and even using the washing machine.

Everyday I learned about the western world, how accessible everything was. This is going to sound funny, but I saw my first wheelchair student, something you do not see in Latvia at all. This is an experience I cannot put into words.

Being part of a multi-cultural crowd I learned a lot about people, about their views, about their experiences, about their motivations, this is where I started to focus on creating products that could help people. My focus landed on eduction, research and e-learning systems.

My focus was on creating the best experiences I could deliver, it didn't matter if it was a silly game or a serious e-learning solution.

Chapter five: The Draft

My best and worst time of my life. Before landing my first job, I was sh*tting my pants, because I thought I have wasted my last 3 years learning about interaction design, because no one was hiring an interaction designer. Everyone was looking for a designer who was able to use Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, After Effects, Premiere plus know how to code in HTML/CSS, Javascript and Actionscript 2.0 & 3.0.

Job hunting was a nightmare till I got a call asking me if I wanted to join as lead interactive designer on a new established digital agency. Obviously I said yes.

In that one year I worked on more than 370 projects day & night, I delivered one of the most creative works I have ever worked on. I learned not to be a one human band with my friends I got my first award as a designer, came second in Garage 48.

I was on a high, I made connections that not only became my clients, but also close friends. I picked up even more new skills and my confidence as a designer grew. I felt welcomed and people seemed to love to work with me &

Chapter six: Becoming the GM

In 2013 I finished my Master's education in Manchester Metropolitan University. I have now worked as a designer in 3 different countries – Latvia, the UK & Germany. Different roles, different approaches and I felt it was time to spread my wings and see if I can make it on my own, so Riddle Digital was established.

One of the smartest & dumbest ideas I have done so far in my life, being my own boss. You learn a lot when you have to pay for everything yourself, not only that you learn to appreciate your team, you learn about project planning, project management and most importantly like it or not, you learn to take responsibility, creating a culture and becoming a leader.

7 years and I am still holding my ground, I have worked from a small client to one of the biggest employers in the country. This experience has helped me to create an awareness on what is more important for the clients – create fancy design or create great experiences for their users or customers.

The Conclusion

It has been more than 10 years since I chose to become a designer, I have picked up so many skills, established my own company, ran a team, helped others to establish their own careers and products. However till this day I still feel that there is so much to learn about design and how we as people see the world.

So, to answer the question "Why did I chose to become a designer?". Because I believe that through technology & design thinking we can limit our frustrations with each other, share more information and maybe even create a better democracy between ourselves.

You can bet your money that I will try my hardest to become an advocate for accessibility, design, privacy & technology to people around me, I want to try my best to be the link between the users & technology. It has brought me new friends, connections and knowledge, this is what I want to give further. Respect your research & share your knowledge.

That's why I have become a designer, not to make fancy good looking websites I can showcase on Dribbble or BeHance, but to work with a team to create the best experience for my mom, for my friends and others so that they can enjoy their lives without stress.