SEEKAPOR | an Educational Companion

Let’s Meet Miss. Elsie Sampson

Let’s Meet Miss. Elsie Sampson

Elsie describes herself as a designer and an all round creative person. Apart from drawing, she has some hairdressing and sewing skills which she learnt on her own. She finds herself in a male dominated field and tells us how it all started for her. Being a graphic designer doesn’t limit her; she is an entrepreneur and has some interesting ideas coming up.

I remember how shy we felt as young ladies when we had to walk past a group of guys gathered at one place.
You must be very brave to be in a male dominated occupation.
Tell us how you got into graphic designing?

I think my family and I figured that talent out at a very young age, I can’t tell when and how it started but all I know is I grew up painting, drawing and designing. And I also remember tearing and cutting my dad’s papers and cards for paper crafts. It annoyed him but gave me so much pleasure when I saw the beautiful thing I made out of sheets.

Is it a passion you developed by yourself or you learnt in school or a bit of both?

Art and design, Ha! It has always been a passion, my inspiration, my motivation and my love. Yes, I developed my design skills at the senior and tertiary levels too, but I believe strongly that in art and design, to be a pro and the best, you need to be passionate about it. You need to be in love with it and be ready to try new things and be open- minded.

What is your educational background?

I had my basic education at Awutu Brekum in the central region, and then I had to continue in Koforidua because the family moved. I had my secondary education at Winneba Secondary School, I studied Visual Arts and it was my choice to study it. I also hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication design from KNUST.

Were your parents supportive of your career choice? Did you have to convince them to let you tow this line?

My parents have been so supportive in my career choice. They were firm with their support when teachers tried to convince them not to allow me choose Visual Arts as my High School Major. I never had to convince my parents on any career decision even until now. I’m really grateful for their support and I promise to always make them proud.
Where do you work and how is your work schedule like?

I work with the EIB Network – GHOne TV. Mostly, I have a very unusual and stressful schedule; I believe that’s how it is in the Media industry. Apart from Sundays, I work all week. Even with the Sundays, there are exceptions.  I go to work at 2pm and close at 10pm on weekdays.

 

Are there females in your line of work?

Yes, there are, but few of them and I’m not happy about so I intend to come up with a training session for ladies who have the passion for graphic communications. I have found myself being the only female in my department several times. Currently, I am the only female in my department at GhOne. I feel a lot of women should challenge themselves and allow us take over the industry.

I know you do personal things aside your regular job.How do you find the time to do it-what motivates you?

Yes, I have side jobs. I manage them when I’m not at work and on weekends or at dawn. I believe that if you’re able to manage your time well, you can do and achieve a lot. If you also have the passion to do something, I believe nothing will stop you, not even tiredness or the unavailability of time. My inspiration to do more is based on my will to create jobs for people.

What plans do you have to personally get more females into the kind of job you do?

I have a lot of plans. Sometimes when they come up I write them down and I smile. I really want to motivate my fellow women especially the young ones who are yet to choose their careers to venture into the media industry. I have plans to organize trainings for teenage girls in basic design. This is to let them know that designing is not scary and also not only for the men.

After all females are good at blending colours, painting our faces etc. Why then can’t we dominate designing too?

Exactly the main reason we should be dominating this industry, but I feel women don’t like technical jobs and designing is a bit technical. However, it is not a disadvantage to women. So far as you have the passion and will to learn, you can do it. With design, there’s more to it than colour combinations too. You need to understand some principles as well.

I know you are an entrepreneur. Tell us about some of your businesses.

You want to know my small side jobs eeh? Ok! I am a proud entrepreneur, I have a grocery delivery business (Big Samps Market), I have personal clients that I design for as well (Ella Samps Studios), and I’m an event planner and a hair stylist too. Some of my side jobs are hobbies turned jobs, I don’t really call them jobs but they bring in some income once a while though they’re just leisure time hobbies. I combine all these things with what I do at GH-One. Watch out for Big Samps. It is an online market which sells fresh fruits and vegetables gathered from farms. Apart from it being fresh, it is affordable.

People say if you do an art related course you are limited. How true is that?

It’s a big, fat lie. You rather have a lot of opportunities. I majored in advertising in the University, this with my design background has helped me manage and develop all my businesses. My design background influences me every day in my entrepreneurial and life choices even. You can further your education or venture into any other profession if you want to. For example, it is said that people who do graphic designing, painting, sculpture cannot branch into other areas.

It’s an assertion; personally, I have Marketing and PR backgrounds as well. I also know of graphic designers who are studying law. So nothing limits my colleagues in the industry. After tertiary education, one can divert into any other career, I have colleagues who are studying law, marketing etc. So I believe strongly that there are no limitations. On the other side, no matter where you divert to, if you’re passionate about design, you can also practice it on the side. I can design anywhere and at any time.

August 15, 2018

3 responses on "Let’s Meet Miss. Elsie Sampson"

  1. Elsie, I am very proud of you… Keep up the great work… We support you always love.

  2. Keep it up adwoa sampson

  3. The journey is yet to start. Go girl!

Leave a Reply to Gaddiel Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

top

© Seekapor [current_date format=Y]. All Rights Reserved.