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Striking out alone provides impetus for success
28 February 2010 By Jenny Hauser
Graphic designer Helena Duggan used to work for a company which catered mostly for corporate clients, and felt her creativity was being stunted.
When she was let go as a result of the economic downturn, it gave her the impetus she needed to follow her dreams and set up her own graphic design company.
‘‘I was let go the Christmas before last because of the recession. I always said I would set up my own business and this way I was pushed to do it," said Duggan.
Now it is just ‘‘myself and my computer - we’re great friends’’, according to Duggan.
She said that graphic design was a hard profession to follow when working for someone else. ‘‘When I went out on my own, I actually did better than when I was working for a company," she said. ‘‘I was able to go out and find work that I wanted to do.
‘‘When you own a company, it seems like people listen to you more and go with your ideas more."
Duggan completed her degree in graphic design at the Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design & Technology in 2004.
After two years in the world of employment, she packed her bags and went travelling for two years.
However, her creativity was not put on the back-burner during that time. In Melbourne, she enrolled on a creative writing course.
She is only 28 years old and always on the move, at least creatively.
Her latest successful project was a line of illustrated postcards and posters for Kilkenny.
The cards flew out of the door and Duggan is now looking to expand to other counties.
Other projects included designing brochures, t-shirts and flyers for a charity event, Aids Partnership in Africa, as well as designs for the Kells Comedy Festival, a knitting shop and a hair salon.
Held Design celebrated its first anniversary last month, and it has had a busy year. But despite this, Duggan also has her sights firmly set on publishing her own children’s book, which she wrote while travelling in Australia.
What started with a notebook given to her by her sister, ended up as 400 pages about the perils of a shoe called Seamus who finds himself on a rubbish-dump.
Currently, the book (ALoad of Rubbish) is on Authonomy, a community site for writers, ranked in ninth place of around 8,000 books by aspiring authors. Each month, the HarperCollins editorial board reviews the top five books and publication is then within reach.
The ambitious designer has her sights set on being in the chosen five, and already has chosen the illustrations for the book on her desk.
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