from ‘play-grounder’ to ‘all-rounder’.

I remember during my time in primary school, I was once assigned a project in which we had to come up with our own product that we wanted to launch. We were asked to come up with a concept for a design, as well as coming up with a name for our product. Now, if I was one of those perfect students who could memorise a textbook for their exam, I would have the ability to remember exactly what the product was and what we called it. 

Unfortunately, I was not one of those students, but what I do remember was my input on the name that I thought was ground-breaking! I used the letter ‘Z’ instead of ‘S’ to help bring our product to life and target a younger demographic. 

Now, you may be asking... a child that creative, how was he not snapped up by Google or Apple? All jokes aside, this was the first point where I thought to myself, ‘I have a real love for all things branding and design.’ This was a pivotal point in my childhood, and I am still convinced that companies who have used the letter ‘Z’ instead of ‘S’ must have stolen it from me! 

Throughout school, I was always creative. I excelled in subjects such as Media and IT, but I always struggled in my Biology and Geography classes. My original path was to pass my GCSEs, complete my A-Levels and then continue my education at university. But, if there is one thing I have learned in life, it is to never confine yourself to the parameters that society sets and to never feel pressured to follow a path that is not right for you. 

After completing my A-Levels in Media, Business, and IT, I decided to take the step of declining my university offer and instead start my journey in the world of work. I started my career doing multiple internships at companies such as Decca Records, and Universal Music Group but then finally landed on my feet at a video editing agency where I was able to become a self-proclaimed ‘video editing geek’ who did not have the ability to watch a film without analyzing every minute detail. 

After deciding it was time to move on in my career, I started my journey at Raffingers. A friend approached me one day saying that “my cousin is the Marketing Manager at this accountancy firm and that they were hiring for a Marketing Co-Ordinator and the job description looks like something I would love!” 

I thought to myself “An accountancy firm? How on earth could I be creative there?”. 

Little did I know, Raffingers aren’t your standard accountancy firm. Within my first year at Raffingers, we decided to do a full re-brand of the company to help ‘bring it to the 21st century as well as launch a podcast series called ‘Beyond The Balance Sheet’. I soon discovered that Raffingers was the perfect combination of Corporate & Creative. It would allow me to sharpen my business knowledge and understanding, as well as grow to be the ‘branding guru’ that I have dreamt about since school. 

I am not one of those stereotypical Gen-Z employees that are always thinking the grass is greener at a new job - I like to pride myself on my loyalty and always look for the opportunity to grow within the company I am at. Truth be told, all that time I spent making silly mistakes and frankly awful designs have allowed me to grow into the person I am today. However, I must give gratitude to my manager, Ashlee Bloom (now partner at Raffingers and director of Raffingers Marketing!), who has helped me tremendously. 

I have now found my feet at Raffingers and at Raffingers Marketing, and have a real sense of purpose within my work. There is no better feeling than seeing the reaction of a client that is happy with the work you have produced, which stemmed from a tiny vision in your brain. Seeing your creation go from virtual to real life – it's a feeling that fills me with immense pride. I love all things branding – content creation, brand design, and advertising to name a few! 

Now, if you are somehow still reading this biography, thanks for all your support mum! But if, for some strange reason, you are still reading this and are not my mum, then thank you for paying interest in my story. 

A story that has just begun...