Charmaine Cheng (IDEA Grad 2019) shares her tips on networking—and how snail mail helped her meet her design heroes (Part 2)

We recently caught up with Charmaine Cheng (IDEA Grad 2019), for a grad spotlight as an Art Director at Rethink in Vancouver. As she moves up in her career and gets ready to mentor junior creatives, she figured a good place to start would be offering words of wisdom in a grad spotlight for the IDEA School of Design blog.

In Part 2, Charmaine shares advice for current IDEA School of Design students, her experience in the program, and how proactive networking helped launch her career as well as meet some of her design heroes.

Check out Part 2 of this grad spotlight!

Why did you choose to go to IDEA School of Design?

I first heard about IDEA School of Design from my high school art teacher. She sang its praises and I thought to myself, “Wow sounds fun, but also scary. I’m not doing that.” Instead, I went to UVIC for Fine Arts and totally hated it because I’m just not cut out to be a fine artist. The only class I did like was the graphic design class. So, after an unsuccessful first year at UVIC, I decided to apply for IDEA School of Design, and luckily I got in.

Sneaky picture from my first ever video shoot.

IDEA School of Design is known for its collaborative “family”. What are your memories and highlights from your time at IDEA School of Design and have you stayed in touch with your cohort or instructors?

Most of my highlights from IDEA were just funny moments I got to share with my classmates. Super cheesy, I know. But all those in-between-class moments are quite cemented in my brain, like DoorDashing bubble tea to Arbutus, or laughing at something funny Fred Forster said, or bonding over how a certain project had kept us up all night.

I’ve definitely stayed in touch with some classmates (I even work with some!). It’s been a little harder during the pandemic to actually see people, but thankfully I’ve still maintained a lot of my relationships. Some of the people I’ve met through IDEA are my closest friends and I’m very grateful for that.

Several IDEA alumni work at Rethink. Have you talked to them about IDEA?

Definitely, it’s a great ice breaker. My first day at Rethink was incredibly nerve-wracking, but once you tell IDEA alumni that you just graduated from IDEA, it becomes a natural conversation starter because IDEA is such a formative experience. That was a lifesaver for me as a super nervous intern.

I also used to have a Rethink slack channel called “cap_crew” with my coworkers Ashley Visvanathan and Max Littledale. Max no longer works at Rethink so the channel isn’t active anymore, but when it was, it was definitely a highlight in my day. 

Zafrane, a Moroccan inspired spice & tea company. This is my favourite project I did as a student.

Did you network much during school and describe your networking now?

I did quite a bit of networking during school out of pure anxiety and curiosity. I was so in the dark about what an actual design or illustration job looked like, so I had to reach out to people just for my own sanity. It proved to be one of the best things I did, though. I would reach out to creative directors at agencies/studios I liked or even just designers whose work I admired. That helped demystify the future a lot for me and also get used to conversing with designers that weren’t my fellow classmates.

It also helps you get your foot in the door and establish relationships. If you approach a CD for a portfolio review, it shows that you’re proactive and keen to share your work. And then if you ever want to reach out to that same person for an internship or job, that connection is already there and it feels less like a cold call. 

I still do this sometimes—I reach out to designers whose work I admire or designers who work at companies that interest me. And it’s not to try to get a job; it’s really just to get to know them and understand a bit more about their role. 

If I had to give some advice about networking, I’d say to make sure it still feels like a human conversation. You should definitely have questions planned, but make sure to listen attentively to the answer and provide commentary or follow up questions, instead of jumping immediately to your next (potentially unrelated) question. Networking isn’t just about asking questions, it’s about forming an actual connection and engaging in the subject matter. Follow the natural flow of the conversation and don’t stress too much about it!

What was the best networking outcome you’ve had so far?

When I was a student, I went on a trip to San Francisco and I reached out to Jessica Hische to see if I could meet up with her when I was there. I used old-fashioned snail mail and made this elaborate letter/flowchart so I could really get her attention. It felt like such a shot in the dark but she ended up saying yes, and I got to have lunch with her and even learn how to use her at-home letterpress machine (I was terrible at it). 

A couple of years later, after I graduated, I got to spend a couple of days job shadowing her and her studio partner Erik Marinovich. I even got to help Erik with a Sports Illustrated lettering piece while I was there. It was quite an enriching and surreal experience. These collective experiences mean a lot more to me than any sort of shiny award.

A lettering piece for Sports Illustrated I worked on with Erik Marinovich.

What is your number one idea generation strategy?

Word association lists are my secret weapon. They’re so much faster than sketching and it’s also super easy to just write down a bunch of words—it doesn’t even feel like work but it always leads me down some fun paths that then spark ideas.

Aside from that, I recommend getting away from your computer and getting out of your workspace. Go for a walk, cook something fun, take a shower and let your brain not hyperfixate on coming up with an idea. A lot of the time, something great comes with you’re not expecting it. Also, take breaks. I know it’s easier said than done, but you can’t come up with good ideas when you’ve spent the last 8 hours stressing your brain out with other work. 

What is the best advice you've learned from a mentor, teacher, or fellow student?

I don’t remember who told me this quote, but something I always come back to is “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity”. I’ve had a lot of lucky/serendipitous moments in my career that might not have amounted to anything if I hadn’t been prepared to take them on. I guess the moral of the story is to put the time and effort into your craft, and when a seemingly lucky chance comes around, take advantage of it. 

Describe a design/illustration fail that you learned from?

Probably every project I did in 1st and 2nd year, and half of the projects I did in 3rd year. The reason being I rushed through a lot of those projects and didn’t take the time to do the upfront work. I didn’t take the time to build a solid foundation for those projects, which resulted in still spending all the time necessary to finish them, but then ending up with final products I wasn’t excited about.

If I could give my past self some advice, it would be to invest time into the planning of a project. Make sure to pour time and effort into the actual idea itself and ensure that the idea just written out on paper is exciting. You’re going to spend a bunch of time fleshing out the project anyways, so do yourself a favour and make sure you’ve got a solid starting point. 

In Survey and Principles of Typography's Fall 2016 class at Capilano University, instructor Carol Aitken gave students one week and a limitation of one typeface family to create a typographic portrait of a famous personality. Charmaine Cheng chose Bachelor of Design Co-Coordinator, Pascal Milelli. Pascal may not be world famous (yet), but he is a well-known face in the IDEA School of Design! Charmaine got a little obsessed with placing many thousands of glyphs; she spent 25 hours on this wonderful portrait which also landed her a commissioned album cover job!

What advice would you give to anyone considering applying to IDEA Bachelor of Design?

Know what you’re getting yourself into if you do get accepted! The program is great but it’s also a big investment. It’s an intense experience and ultimately you’ll get out of it what you put in. 

What advice would you give to IDEA School of Design students regarding time management and maintaining an organized workflow?

Get to know yourself and your ideal working process. Figure out which parts of the projects excite you and which bore you. Figure out what the roadblocks are for you and plan accordingly. As I’ve gotten to know my working style over the years, it’s been easier to eliminate a lot of the upfront anxiety that comes with new or scary projects and prepare for the parts of the projects I don’t enjoy so it doesn’t sneak up on me. The more you figure out about yourself, the easier it is to create a personalized formula for success. 

What advice would you give students planning their personal portfolio to showcase their work?

Quality over quantity. It’s better to have 5 projects you’re really excited about than 10 you’re kind of meh on. 

Clarity is also important. Keep in mind that most people browsing your portfolio won’t be spending hours poring over every detail; they’ll probably have time for a quick scroll. So make sure your images are eye-catching and visually interesting, but also effectively convey your story.

Rosedive Skateboard School for Teen Girls brand identity and art direction project

Awards: RGD Award for Concept Development

Rosedive was created because I wanted to empower girls during a vulnerable point in their lives. I decided to create a skateboarding school because skateboarding is an incredibly male-dominated sport, and it felt like a great space to try to disrupt and make waves. The basis of the concept is the juxtaposition between femininity and grit. Every touchpoint of Rosedive aims to challenge the preconceived notions that girls are weaker or lesser than.

What advice would you give to IDEA School of Design students regarding summer internships, practicums, and career advice?

Getting industry experience is incredibly valuable. Not only are you able to make connections, but you also get to experience what a real job in the field is actually like.

My advice is to always maintain a good attitude and be a good person to work with. You could be the most talented person in the room, but if you’re no fun to work with, you’re kind of out of luck. 

What’s one of your favourite songs or music videos? (We ask everyone)

One of my favourite albums of 2021 is Take The Sadness Out Of Saturday Night by Bleachers. My personal fave is How Dare You Want More.

Lastly, where do you see yourself in the next few years, where can people follow you, and is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?

I have no idea where I’ll be in the next few years, but I hope by then I will have tried working at a few different companies—hopefully in different industries or different cities too. I think working in-house would be a nice change for me if I ever get tired of how fast-paced the advertising industry is. I don’t think I’ll ever open my own shop, though—too daunting! I’d be a terrible businesswoman. 

To follow along with Charmaine’s work you can follow her on Instagram or visit charmainecheng.com.