Creativity Without Boundaries: Harshita Goyal’s Passion as a Student Designer

Introducing Harshita Goyal - a digital marketing student with a passion for design.

Mastering digital design tools was a goal of Harshita's but fear of their complexity held her back. Diving into QuarkXPress was an exciting and rewarding journey.

In this Q&A blog, we delve into Harshita's excitement for design and her fondness of using QuarkXPress and Infografix.

How did your start your journey in marketing and design?

I'm currently pursuing my BBA (Communications) in Digital Marketing with a Design minor. In my first year at college, I got the chance to explore new subjects, two of which were Digital Marketing and Design. Studying about websites, online tools and the digital world appealed to me so much. I was excited to explore the possibilities of new digital tools and to do things online which I never knew were possible!

As for Design, at first, I simply took it as my minor because it seemed to go with Digital Marketing and would give me a break from studies. My father introduced me to the world of website design after which I started making my own websites on WIX and WordPress.

While I really enjoyed this, I hadn't expected to pursue it as a part of my degree. But as I kept doing more courses in Design, my interest in it kept increasing! Now I'm at a point where I sometimes actually enjoy Design more than Digital Marketing.

Now I'm at a point where I sometimes actually enjoy Design more than Digital Marketing.

What is it about graphic design that you enjoy the most?

What I love about graphic design is that there are no rules. It's just you, your imagination and a world full of possibilities. I think every design can be felt. Each design has its own personality, be it a digital or print design, a product or packaging design, or an artwork - it says something to you which you can't hear, but only feel.

My college courses helped me get rid of the rigid rules in my mind and the fear of spoiling or dirtying the pristine blank white sheet. Now if I see a blank sheet I instantly want it filled with colours and designs. I was able to learn how to let go of reservations and feel free to spoil and dirty the blank sheet, be it a physical or a digital one.

I hope that there is something for me in the future related to design and that my passion for learning doing better in design, helps me pursue it further!

Can you tell us about a design project you've worked on that you are especially proud of?   

In QuarkXPress I have made posters, magazine page designs, and even a flipbook newsletter!

I've been wanting to learn how to use digital design tools but was always too scared to start because they seem really complicated and intimidating. But I'm glad that I gave QuarkXPress a try! 

The posters and magazine page designs that I made are simple designs which helped me get a hang of the tools and to become comfortable with using the software.

I'm the Digitals Head of the Environment Club at my college. I mainly work on maintaining the website and sending out digital versions of our monthly newsletters. While the digital newsletters that I had been making before were nice, using QuarkXPress just took them to another level! I was able to add videos, sound effects, music, gifs, animations, and even a cool flipbook effect, giving viewers the feeling of flipping through an actual book when turning pages of the newsletter.

I really enjoyed the process of designing the newsletter on QuarkXPress and was very happy with the results. The readers also loved it!

Below is a digital ebook which Harshita has used to create a digital newsletter in QuarkXPress.

Can you tell us why you enjoy using QuarkXPress?

I enjoy using QuarkXPress mainly due to the sheer variety of options and features available on it! There are just so many features, that you can keep exploring and trying out new ones and still have more which you haven't tried yet, or don't know about.

There is a feature for almost anything you might want to do or make on the software, and I find that awesome. It is also pretty easy to use once you get a hang of it and start remembering which options are placed in which tabs.

QuarkXPress allows me to make my designs exactly how I want them and better, without any negotiation. That is what makes it unique and makes me enjoy designing using this software.

There is a feature for almost anything you might want to do or make on the software, and I find that awesome.

What is your favourite feature of QuarkXPress?

There are many features that I like in QuarkXPress. Some of them include:

• HTML5 features which allow you to add 360 degree images, animations, videos, audios, buttons, and more.

• The feature which inputs placeholder text into text boxes so that you can get an idea of what the final design will look like without needing any content ready.

• Flipbook animation feature that allows you to give the users a virtual experience of flipping through a book in your digital design.

• The option to turn any graphics or texts imported from an external source into native objects on QuarkXPress which gives you the freedom to edit them as you lik.e.

What are your thoughts on Infografix, how does it differ from other apps?

I think Infografix is a brilliant app. I love the graphic design, and the combination of colours and fonts used which made the app look very trendy and fun.

As a college student, I also find the app really useful for making charts for my assignments, in seconds. All I have to do is put in the content I want and the app gives me so many great options for the types of charts I can make with it along with customizable colours, fonts, and designs. This makes the whole process very efficient and fast. Even if someone doesn't have ready content, that can be generated through the in-built AI functionality, which adds to the value of the app.

My favourite feature is the one that allows you to make timelines instantly. It becomes very difficult and time taking to make timelines on other apps or digitally. So, I really like how Infografix makes it so easy to make.

And finally, what advice would you offer somebody who is starting in their design career?

We need to forget the rules and boundaries that our mind sets for us and let our creativity flow freely. Don't be scared of making a mess, it is only when you let go of the restrictions in your mind, that the best of you comes out.

Lastly, someone once said "No one is you and that is your superpower." Own that. Others can do a lot of things, but so can you. Don't give up before trying. All you need to do is try, and you'll see that you can do wonders!

Thanks for reading! You can find and connect with Harshita on  LinkedIn. We'd love to hear from you, so let us know what you liked or what you would like to read more of in this series? And, if you would like to be featured in an upcoming post, get in touch! Contact us at  [email protected]

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