Giving people at Hutch the chance for career progression and opportunities to try new things is super important to us as a company. But what does that actually look like in reality? Here’s Tabi to share how she made the move from Junior Marketing Artist to UI Designer.

The Basics

How long have you been at Hutch?

So this month marks two years since I landed my job at Hutch - which is kinda bonkers. A lot has changed in that time. When I first joined in 2020, there was a national lockdown because of covid, which meant that I was stuck at my parents' house working from my brother's old bedroom.

It wasn’t until March of this year that we were able to start coming into the office, so that change was pretty dramatic. What’s really cool now though is that I get to live in my own place in London, and office days are soo good. Going from seeing everyone as a flat image on a screen to the real thing in 3D with legs and everything was almost surreal! I feel like the bonds I’ve formed since returning to the office are way stronger than when we were all WFH.

What was your first position at Hutch?

I joined Hutch as a Junior Marketing Artist, which then became Creative Services Artist after a year or so of experience. When I initially applied to Hutch, I was fresh out of uni and desperately wanted to work in video-games as an artist but I had zero industry experience. I remember going through every single games studio in the UK on Wikipedia and individually applying to work at each one. My dream was to become a UI Artist (user interface artist) but when I originally applied for that role at Hutch, I was unsuccessful. It wasn’t until a couple of weeks later that I heard back about the Marketing Artist role that I had forgotten I’d even applied for (I’d applied to over 100 jobs by this point)! So when I eventually got the job I was honestly so excited.

Tell us a bit about your recent change in role…

I’m so happy to be able to announce that I’m now getting my dream job in UI design! I really didn’t think things would progress this quickly but I’m not complaining. It’s insane thinking about how 16 year old Tabi would react to hearing that in 8 years' time I’d be working in games doing exactly what I want and living in London - so bizarre.

But yeah, I’m super eager to get stuck into the new role. I’ll be joining the F1 Clash team so there’s a lot of new people to get to know. Everyone at Hutch is lovely though so I have no doubt I’ll settle in just fine. I’ve been doing Tuesdays with the new team so far but my official transition into dev will be in the new year. So far though I’m loving it.

Career progression

What attracted you to your new role?

So I first gained an interest in UI in my final year at university. I’d decided I was going to attempt to make a small game in collaboration with my brother who happens to be a games programmer (very convenient). I knew 2D design and illustration were things I wanted to pursue as a career but I wasn’t sure what form that could take. That’s when I discovered UI Art. Its basically a mix of graphic design and illustration but within video-games!

Responsibilities of a UI Artist generally include designing icons, buttons, typography and all the interface graphics. It’s about creating a visual style and displaying information in a clean and simple way so that the user doesn’t have to think twice about navigating their way around a game and its menus. I love this combination of art and problem solving as it means the work doesn’t get boring and there’s always new challenges to be faced with. So in a nutshell that’s why I took an interest in UI.

How did you go about changing roles? How did Hutch support you?

It was always a goal of mine to get into UI, so at the start of this year I set about finding ways to gain experience within Hutch. I began by approaching UI pro and long time F1 artist Mark to see if he could set me a UI brief that would be relevant. This little task to come up with some F1 Crate designs was enough to keep me motivated to then move onto sourcing briefs for all of our games from the various UI teams within the company. The experience I gained working on these briefs was so beneficial to me and I received some really informative feedback that only reinforced my desire to transition into UI.

Alongside this, I also made it a 2022 resolution of mine to teach myself how to properly use Adobe Illustrator, and I did - wooo!! So with these things combined and my awesome manager’s belief in me, I was able to make the move and fill the open position.

Tabi’s Career Tips

What advice would you give people looking to progress in their career / change to a different role?

Never stop pushing for your dream job! If you’re truly passionate about something, you’ll keep up the motivation to work on it in your spare time. This is so important as it's vital to make it clear to your employers of your capabilities. I believe that most people can get where they want to in their careers if they’re committed enough.

What careers advice would you give to your younger self?

Don’t doubt yourself. For the longest time I thought I was destined to do bland graphic design in a law firm or insurance company... I wish I’d realised my potential sooner!

Fancy joining the team here at Hutch? Check out our current vacancies here: https://www.hutch.io/careers/