Matt Burns on why there's more than one way into design

I didn't have a clear plan when I started out. And for a long time, I didn't know where my career was going. I worked jobs that paid the bills but didn't mean much to me. After finishing my studies, I didn't step into a creative role. I worked nights in a factory, watching machines make cardboard boxes and stopping them when they jammed. I remember thinking very clearly that I couldn't stay there. I just didn't know what came next.

I tried university earlier on. I lasted a month. I studied photography. I loved photography, but I hated studying. I wasn't happy, so I quit.

Later, my mum found me a local full-time design course. I had a small portfolio of illustration work, and it got me a place. The course taught me something important: creativity could become a job.

That mattered. But at that point in my life, I didn't apply myself. I cared more about having fun than getting better. My mum was also really unwell during that time, and I don't think I had the headspace to take anything seriously. I liked the course, but I didn't love it. I didn't care enough yet. That came later, without warning. One day, I realised I wanted to be good at something. Properly good. Not just capable. And that thing was design.

Turning point

Once that happened, things changed. I stopped half-trying. I spent what money I had on books. I read constantly. I practised all the time. Typography became an obsession. I made work when no one asked me to. For the first time, I felt focused. I felt like I had a reason to push myself.

Looking back, the most important thing wasn't talent. It was time spent caring. I wasn't waiting to be chosen. I was making things because I wanted to get better. If you're starting out, that matters more than where you studied. Studios can tell when someone is practising on their own time. You don't need loads of work. You need a few things that show you tried, thought, and cared.

Around the same time, I got deep into craft beer. I didn't just drink it. I learned it. I paid attention to producers, culture, language, and taste. Eventually, I realised the two things I cared most about didn't need to stay separate. Design and beer could become one thing.

Getting close to an industry helped more than I realised at the time. Beer gave me context. It gave me something real to respond to. If you're looking for internships or placements, I'd say this: pick something you're genuinely interested in and go deep. It's easier to stand out when your curiosity is real.

Changing my life

I started small. I designed labels for people I knew. Sometimes I got paid in beer. Sometimes I earned very little. None of it felt impressive, but it felt honest. It felt like a way forward. When I moved to Scotland, that was the point where I stopped hedging. I emailed dozens of breweries asking for work. Most didn't reply. One told me to go away. One agreed to meet. That meeting changed my life.

I didn't send a perfect email. I didn't have a plan. I just reached out. That's often how it works. You don't need the perfect message. You just need to send it. People worry too much about getting it wrong and not enough about not trying at all.

I never worked at a big agency. Early on, I got things wrong. I lost clients. I learned how it feels when work isn't good enough. Over time, I learned to trust my judgement. There's a moment when you present work where you know if you believe in it. I try to listen to that feeling early now.

Getting experience

People ask me about AI a lot. I use it. I find it useful. It helps with speed, structure, and clarity. It doesn't replace judgement. It doesn't replace taste. It doesn't replace work that makes people feel something. Those things still matter, and they always will.

If you're trying to gain industry experience, know this: studios aren't looking for finished designers. They're looking for people who show up, ask questions, and take responsibility for learning. I'd take someone curious and honest over someone polished but passive every time.

You make the best choices you can with what you know at the time. Then you learn and move forward. That's the process.

When I look at my life now, what matters most isn't scale or growth. It's knowing I stuck with something long enough to get good at it. And knowing I've made my parents proud.

If you feel behind, you probably aren't. Most paths only make sense when you look back at them. What matters is finding the thing you care about enough to commit to, and giving yourself time to grow into it.