Alumnus of the month - July 2011
Steven Ramsay
BSc Hons Environmental Engineering Design, 2002
Steven began his Environmental Engineering Design course in 1998. In his second year he was keen to gain some industry experience and successfully secured a position as a Graphic Designer with Bowman Design Consultants in Cambridge. As part of his course he was to complete a full time year industry placement, where he did so at Bowman. Having seen what an asset to the company he was Steven was asked to stay on part time whilst he completed his course.
Steven really enjoyed his course at LSBU and recognised the value of his training. He remembers worrying about the maths modules, but overcame this with additional tuition. He had a natural talent for the practical aspect to his course and found the facilities offered to students extremely good. He says "What I loved about LSBU is that the workshops were brilliant, we were the envy of all other London Universities".
Steven graduated with a first class degree in 2002, with knowledge of environmental engineering design and work experience in graphic design, he was quickly snapped up by Hasbro as their Senior Designer. Although the positions he had worked in were the other end of the spectrum to what he studied, he found that having knowledge of the whole process helped him achieve more. He really enjoyed his time at Hasbro, gaining extensive experience from creating graphic design styles to developing prototypes.
A year later his career had progressed again, moving to Toy Brokers Ltd to be their Lead Creative/Product Designer. He was keen to take on a big challenge, which this position offered. The skills he learnt at LSBU became indispensable here as he not only worked on graphic design, but also managed the production. Although this role was very intense, he was able to work on some exciting products such as the Doctor Who board game and the Simpsons Rubix Cube, as well as exhibiting alongside companies like Mattel.
Steven spent a lot of time visiting clients in Asia, which inspired his next move to Shanghai as the Creative Director for Cheek Design Ltd. At the time Cheek was the main supplier of Tesco UK, and was looking for someone who was very experienced with the UK toy market to oversee this section of their business. His background in the UK toy market made him an ideal candidate. Steven had an unforgettable experience in China. He says, "Having firsthand experience of product design and the manufacturing process helps you really appreciate the hard work". After overcoming the language barrier and picking up some Mandarin, he was able to immerse himself in the Chinese culture and gain some invaluable experience.
Steven moved back to the UK in 2007, his career to date had covered a broad spectrum of areas, he felt it was time to specialise choosing to do so in Graphic Design. He became heavily involved with the branding and marketing and was responsible for successfully launching twelve new fashion brands to the UK market. With a stronger focus on digital marketing and commerce, Steven was keen to explore this channel. Baigent wanted to grow their creative offering and thought he would be the person to do this. Baigent Digital help charities reach their online potential through implementing Content Management Solutions, devising digital strategy and increasing online fundraising. Steven is thoroughly enjoying his new position. He says, "I am really happy to be working on projects that really mean something; it is very rewarding to see a positive reaction to your design".
Where next?
Baigent have some exciting developments to come later in the year which Steven is delighted to be part of. He is very settled in his challenging role, and would like to see the company grow further. At some point in his future he would like to explore other regions and eventually return to Asia to see how the market has progressed since he was there.
We wish Steven all the best for the future and look forward to hearing of his new achievements.