Maren Carpenter Fearing: Design Professor
Maren Carpenter Fearing
mcfearing (instagram)
Maren is a visual communication design professor at Northern Kentucky University. She is also a freelance design that has done numerous projects for local and non-local businesses to the Cincinnati tri-state area throughout her career as a designer.
What is the biggest effect COVID-19 has had on you, as a designer?
When COVID-19 first started last March, I was freelancing on a new ventures project—the team was just getting ready to launch into a test market phase for the product. However, due to uncertainty and the agency needing to address the shifting needs of paying client work, the project understandability halted. Since then, the agency has decided to run the project internally. I wish them well and completely understand, but it is sometimes difficult to see a project continue without you. That said, some other freelance opportunities have developed and I’m excited about the new partnerships.
What is the biggest effect COVID-19 has had on you, that doesn’t relate to you as a designer?
On a personal level, COVID-19 has really taken a toll. A friend recently shared a perspective that resonated with me, “We’re all in the same storm, just different boats.” Well, my boat happens to be myself, my husband (who also works full-time), and my two young kids. Trying to balance family with being a full-time educator needing to reengineer my teaching methodology and maintain my freelance work has been incredibly difficult. There just isn’t much time left over for self-care or development.
Being a design professor, do you believe you’re still being as affective online as you would be in the classroom?
There are positive outcomes and a few challenges. Larger, overarching ideas are still being instructed and developed. Additionally, students are gaining essential skills to prepare them for the changing design industry landscape by learning to collaborate with a team remotely and develop time-management skills necessary to be a successful, practicing designer. Things like scale-awareness and craft details are much harder to address in the remote environment.
Has your work flow or the way your create changed with COVID-19?
My process is still the same, but my time is much more compartmentalized and not as fluid—I spend so much energy trying to focus and juggle things during the day that I’m exhausted in the evening. Before COVID-19, I would do my creative design work after my kids went to bed—that just isn’t an option for me right now.
If and when, we go back to normal, do you think things will change within the design world?
Yes and no. Working with remotes teams is something the design industry was starting to do before COVID-19. I just think there will be better tools to facilitate that now. Past that, I’m not sure how things will evolve, but I know they will.
Loose Ends Brewery Identity
This is a project that Maren worked on during COVID-19 which is for a brewery and restaurant that just opened early Fall 2020 in Centerville, Ohio.
Does COVID-19 differ your perspective at all, as a practicing designer?
Great question, but I don’t have an answer right now—I think we’re still in the storm, and it’s hard to have a sightline of where we’re going. I will say my empathy (which was already pretty acute as a designer) has evolved.
Has COVID-19 opened you up to other artistic practices or hobbies, other than design?
Well, again, not much time to devote to additional actives, but I have started brewing kombucha and planted a small indoor hydroponics garden. Both are actives I can do with my kids.
Has COVID-19 helped you or hurt you as a designer? Explain.
I think it will mainly help in the long term, although my design projects are more limited right now. I feel much more comfortable interacting with a team of people using virtual tools like Zoom, Slack/Teams, and Mural. I hope that opens up more freelance gig opportunities in the future, both in number and types of projects.
What is something positive that you can say about this journey of COVID-19? Related to design, or not.
This past year has helped me realize priorities and determine where to put my energy. I’m looking forward to implementing that in my daily routine moving forward.
If you have one piece of advice for any struggling designers or artists during this time, what would it be?
My advice, acknowledge this is a challenging time for everyone and spend time on what matters most to you. That isn’t to say ignore responsibilities, but stay the course and be kind to yourself as you move forward. Also, keep reaching out and networking with other designers—doors will open the more you look for them. Looking ahead, it might be a good time to start working on some self-guided design projects as well—employers are going to start looking for agile, innovative thinkers as we get through this!