Alumni Stories - Oonagh O’Brien
"My tutors at NCAD were always helpful when it came to competition opportunities. We were always sent emails about the upcoming competitions, and would be reminded in person too. They always communicated to us the value of entering design competitions because it gave us insight into the creative world. Regardless of whether we won or not, we would learn how to enter these competitions and what the standard was"
Designer: Oonagh O’Brien
Occupation: Postgraduate Student at Trinity College Dublin
Course/Graduation: Moving Image Design and Visual Culture 2023
Discipline: Moving Image Design
Residence: County Dublin
Design Competition Awards/Achievements:
Institute of Designers in Ireland Graduate Award 2023 in Moving Image
Arts Thread Global Design Graduate Show 2023 - Shortlist
Aisling Carroll Scholarship MMT TCD 2023
Alternus Energy Sustainable Arts Initiative 2022 -
Out of The Box Thinking Award
Briefly describe your design project?
My video “I’m sorry for what I’ve done, forgive me for what I’ve yet to do” was a means of visually articulating thoughts that we all find difficult to share with others. Through animation sequences, visual and musical motifs, I aim to convey a sense of shame, isolation, and guilt that we all experience, but don't acknowledge. The project is entirely auto-ethnographic; my primary source of narrative material was drawn from a collection of video diary entries I began recording years ago.
Briefly describe how you look for high profile design competitions to enter?
My tutors at NCAD were always helpful when it came to competition opportunities. We were always sent emails about the upcoming competitions, and would be reminded in person too. They always communicated to us the value of entering design competitions because it gave us insight into the creative world. Regardless of whether we won or not, we would learn how to enter these competitions and what the standard was.
Social media is also another great way of learning about these competitions. The winners are often showcased on the awarding body social media marketing. NCAD also promotes all the success stories too. This was how I learned of these competitions initially.
This was a great way of discovering contemporaries too. Viewing and considering the work of others within your discipline is a great way to feel connected with the creative world, it is also valuable for your own practice.
Briefly describe the work that goes into submitting a professional design competition entry?
There are usually submission guidelines that are provided for each competition entry. For the Institute of Designers in Ireland Graduate Awards and the Global Design Graduate Show, I submitted my video, which was supported with a brief rationale, along with a research document which showcased the development of the work.
Compiling hero images is also important, especially for moving image work. The hero images that you choose encapsulate the work in a way, so it demands a particular kind of consideration.
Offering advice to current students on how to make submissions easier, I would recommend that the research documents that are made throughout the year to support college work are presentable beyond college assessments. Even developing a separate research document of your projects for competitions or for your portfolio would be worthwhile. Making sure that the development of your work is evident and clear to understand is important because it validates your outcomes. I never intended to submit my work to all these competitions. So, when I changed my mind at the last minute, I had to spend hours refining my lengthy research documents from college. This extra work could have been avoided if I had spent a little more time on research presentation during my final year.
Briefly describe what was it about your submission that made it stand-out from the competition?
I think that one of the unique qualities that the project holds is that it cannot be easily categorised. It isn’t really fine art or design. It’s not a film or music video either. I think that this is because I didn’t approach this project as an artist or a designer, but as a creative.
My intention of prioritising process and experimentation over outcome remained throughout this project. I allowed myself to discover some techniques that led me towards an outcome I couldn't have imagined. This approach was a breath of fresh air. It made me truly appreciate creativity again.
Another unique quality is that I created this entire project in an electrical closet in college, which I used as an exhibition space at the graduate exhibition. I chose to use this closet as an exhibition space because it supports an architectural atmosphere that influenced my process and enforces the central themes. I would have approached my work differently if I were working in a different space, which would’ve produced a different outcome.
I didn’t make this project with the intention of submitting it for competitions. It was a means of fulfilling my creative curiosities, and that is apparent in the outcome. I approached this project thinking that it might be my last chance to create something big – whilst being facilitated along the way. I was grateful for every day I had to work on this. I think that if you are given an opportunity like this, you shouldn’t squander it on trying to impress others, you should use it to make something that you are truly proud of. I believe that when a creative is given an opportunity like this, that they should approach their work as if it will be the last time that they ever make something. This was my approach, and although the outcome wasn’t anticipated, I am very proud of it.
Briefly describe what impact will your design competition success make?
I am currently doing an MPhil in Music and Media Technologies in TCD. I owe a great debt of gratitude to the support that my tutors in NCAD provided in helping me with my application. Not only did my tutors help with applying for big competitions, they also helped tremendously with my Masters application. This resulted in being awarded a scholarship for my course.
The unexpected success of my work has been reassuring. These recent achievements have been added to my design CV. This time last year I didn’t think my work had a place in the design world. Obviously, I’ve started to believe otherwise. I am grateful for the recent recognition from the awarding bodies. It is a big boost for my professional profile, especially after once I enter the creative world after the MPhil in Music and Media Technologies course. I am excited to combine everything I learned in Moving Image Design at NCAD with what I’m currently studying in MMT in TCD, and to apply these skills professionally.
