Student Spotlight: Catarina Pinto

For this student spotlight, I am excited to introduce Catarina Pinto! 

Catarina discovered BYOL through our YouTube channel and has since been diving into Illustrator and Photoshop courses to further her career. One thing that struck me from Catarina’s answers is the work she has done to overcome imposter syndrome, something almost every creative person experiences at some point! I loved her mindset and tips for those looking to grow their creative skillset. 

I hope you enjoy Catarina’s refreshing perspective and positive energy!

Tell us a little bit about yourself!

Alright, let's see how this goes! I’m Catarina, from Portugal. I’m from Lisbon but in 2012 I decided to move north and now I call Porto my home. Best decision ever! I live with my boyfriend and our sassy little, fur ball, Paki - they’re both the world to me. 

When I'm not working, you'll probably find me lost in The Sims, gaming, or binge-watching some nerdy/geeky movie or show - a proud star wars fan - or listening to some podcasts. 

When I’m in the mood, I like to play around with some watercolor, even though I’m not that great, it helps me relax and take a break from screens in general. 

Tell us about your career path.

During college, I majored in Public Relations and absolutely loved it! I dove into the field with internships, starting my professional journey while still a student. To further solidify my knowledge and skills, I pursued a postgraduate course in Business Communication, which ended in 2019. This was a totally different experience from what I had done until then, but incredibly fulfilling.

Since the end of 2019, I've been working at a small agency where I've had the opportunity to work with a variety of clients and projects. I've gained experience in areas such as business and communication, strategic planning, events management, and social media management.

I'm incredibly proud to say that the skills I've acquired here at BYOL have already been a game-changer for my career! Even my pesky imposter syndrome can't take away this from me!

How did you find yourself at BYOL?

I've always been close to the design aspect of projects I have worked on. It's something I truly admire, and deep down, it's what I've always wanted to do. As I going further into the world of branding and digital content, my passion for design grew. However, I never dove in too deep due to not having the right skills. 

I went to YouTube to learn Illustrator and also Photoshop. At first, my imposter syndrome was winning! I found everything so difficult and didn’t feel as though I was establishing a grasp on the fundamentals. 

YouTube suggested one of Dan's videos from Illustrator Essentials. I decided to give it a try, and it was a breath of fresh air! I'd finally found exactly what I was looking for and became hooked on Dan's videos. His teaching style and ability to explain everything clearly made it all click for me. For the first time since I started this journey, I truly understood what was happening behind the tools or effects.

I joined BYOL and it was the best decision ever! I started the Illustrator Essentials course and started to engage with the community. I decided to participate in my first challenge days after I joined. I was a little afraid of sharing something I had made but I quickly realized how supportive, encouraging and amazing the BYOL community is. 

I'll always be grateful for what I've learned from BYOL. This community has given me the confidence to share my work without fear of judgment, knowing that I'll always have opportunities to grow more each day!

What is your favorite BYOL class? Why do you like this BYOL class?

Of course I love the Illustrator Essentials Course because not it was my first BYOL experience, but also because it was thanks to this course that I became more at ease with the software itself. But I’ll have to give Illustrator Advanced the win as my all time favorite class. 

What advice would you give to someone looking to grow their creative skillset?

Something that blocked me from the beginning was the fear of never being good enough. I still struggle with this, but as soon as I learned to be patient with myself and celebrate my progress along the way, no matter how small it was, everything got way easier.

The best advice I can give is to never stop doing something, whatever it is, because of fear. If it brings you joy or any kind of fulfillment, go for it! Do it for you, be consistent with what you’re trying to achieve and do it for yourself. Whatever may come with that effort you’re putting, is always a plus! 

Seek inspiration wherever it makes sense for you. Follow artists, designers, colleagues you meet along the way, surround yourself with people you can learn from. 

Whenever you're stuck in the creative process, take a break! Go for a walk, breathe, and you'll see that when you return with a clearer mind, everything will flow much better.

Clichês are clichês for a reason and as cheesy as this may sound, believe in yourself. Believe in your creative side, in your abilities and in your value! 

What is next for you? What are some future goals you have?

BYOL wise, I’m looking forward to taking the InDesign Essentials and Advanced courses as well as After Effects - l hope my computer is as willing and enthusiastic as I am! 

Other than that, I want to keep developing my skills to reach the day where I’m comfortable enough calling myself a designer and with baby steps, start working less in public relations and business communication, and more in communication design. 

Anything else you would like to share that we should have asked you?

I know that I already mentioned this earlier but I’ll never be thankful enough for everything BYOL has taught me so far and from all that I know I have to learn in the future! 

For the BYOL team, thank you so much for all the work you all do here to keep this community alive and the safe place that it is!

I also want to thank so much, really, to everyone that’s been helping me grow so much during this journey. Without specifying names because I want to believe they know who they are, I want you to know that every constructive feedback, every comment, every word they’ve said so far has had an amazing positive impact on me. Without people like this, I don’t think I’d ever be comfortable enough to share what I do here without fear, so saying that I truly appreciate all of this isn't enough!

Thank you, Catarina! With your positive attitude, there is no doubt you’ll continue tackling new challenges and mastering new skills!