Melanie Ginsberg

My name is Melanie Ginsberg, I am studying for my Illustration Degree at University Centre South Essex (UCSE) and this is my story.

My name is Melanie Ginsberg, I am 42 years old, I am studying for my Illustration Degree at University Centre South Essex (UCSE) and this is my story.

I am going into the third year of my degree. I am currently doing a BA in Graphic Design and Illustration. I am on the Illustration pathway.

Prior to coming here to study, I worked for myself before covid but decided during covid to further myself with graphic design. So I studied it starting at a basic level before eventually doing the degree. I was also a stay-at-home mum.

I chose UCSE (part of South Essex Colleges Group) to do my degree, mostly because it is very local to me and I really liked the look of the course. The classes are small, which also appealed to me.

The course is very practical and one of the units is a work placement, which helps to prepare you for the workplace. The course also offers quite a few live briefs, where we work with actual companies to fulfil their required work. This has given me a bit of confidence to freelance on some work.

The people at the college are one of the best parts about doing higher education. We are a mixed bunch with different backgrounds and ages. We are lucky to work together so well and I like the lecturers we have. They are super encouraging and supportive.

The course has helped me further my skills on the Adobe software, as well as the composition, typography, colour theory and layouts. Making things look professional.

The computers are Apple Macs and the software we work on is Adobe. Both are standard in the Graphic Design industry, making it a smoother transition. We are also allowed to use our own laptops, which helps us work from home.

UCSE is great and I really recommend anyone to come here. The people are really friendly and helpful. The classes are smaller than a lot of the bigger colleges or universities which makes the classes more personal.

My greatest achievement so far was the first time I got an ‘A’ for an assignment. That meant a lot to me, especially since the brief was quite open for interpretation. It does help with my confidence!

The course has encouraged me to explore other mediums like Lino cutting and print making. Both are something I have enjoyed doing outside of the college life. Being at the college has helped give me the confidence to showcase my work and art with exhibitions.

My dream is to illustrate books and book covers, so I am hoping that one day I will work for a publishing house like Penguin Books, Hachett Orion or even Usborne Books.