Tessa Bennett
1st-year student, Te Tohu Paetahi mō te Hoahoa – Bachelor of Design in Communication Design and Marketing
She enjoys the fact that her degree is so open to adaptation, says Tessa Bennett who is studying Te Tohu Paetahi mō te Hoahoa – Bachelor of Design in Communication Design and Marketing.
“I’m able to combine two majors I love even though they don’t fall under the same degree. I chose to do majors in communication design and marketing. Communication design for me was a given as I’ve wanted to work in the field of graphic design for a long time. I enjoy creating promotional content and knew communication design would be the perfect major to strengthen my knowledge of design.
“I also wanted to do marketing in conjunction with my design degree as I’ve always been fascinated by the world of marketing and knew it would work well with communication design. I wanted to be able to design content while understanding the marketing and business side of what I was creating. A lot of roles at the moment are combining both graphic design and marketing into one, and I’d eventually like to market myself as a freelance graphic designer and marketer.”
Tessa says she has loved meeting new people in and out of her degree.
“I’ve enjoyed finding new friends of different backgrounds and learning about their lives. Being surrounded by likeminded creatives produces a great environment.”
Choosing AUT
While she is thoroughly enjoying her design degree, the start to Tessa’s university journey was a little different.
“I initially studied architecture for a year at another university, but I felt that I needed to do a degree that was more creatively open. I’ve always had a strong passion for art and design, and love to paint and create visual art. I knew design was the pathway for me as I loved design class in high school and have worked as the graphic designer for Christchurch pasta manufacturer Pasta Vera. I have a strong passion for all things art and design, and felt that I naturally have a knack for it.
“I had multiple friends studying at AUT that raved about the courses and university life. I love how specialised the course options within design are, and it’s great to be able to choose specific paths that cater to each individual.”
It was visiting the AUT City Campus that sealed the deal for her.
“Upon my first visit to the campus I was immediately met with a sense of community – everyone was extremely welcoming and the professors seemed to care for each student. Another persuading factor was the top-notch facilities. The art and design building specifically is full of amazing equipment and educated specialists to cater to anything you’d need. With all buildings on campus being in such close quarters to one another, I knew meeting others wouldn’t be an issue and it creates a vibrant space that I found other universities lacked.”
Advice for other students
Tessa has some great advice for other students thinking about university.
“I’d say always put yourself out there and don’t be afraid of starting something new. Stick to your passions and spend time doing something you love – if you’re doing something you’re passionate about, it won’t feel like work and you’ll always enjoy it.”
She would highly recommend AUT’s design degree to other students.
“The degree has so many specific pathways that make it easily adaptable to anyone who is interested in design. The facilities open to design students are amazing and the open briefs I have experienced so far are very up for interpretation, meaning you can use your creativity and come up with your own ideas.”
