“Crafting powerful visual campaigns with practical design skills. Meet Maria.”

Between coordinating at Malta Fashion Week and freelance styling, Maria Micallef lives and breathes fashion. She decided to strengthen her artistic insights by enrolling in the Graphic Designer Associate course and gained technical skills to empower her digital content creation. From catwalks to photoshoots, social media to the Metaverse, Maria is all too aware of the growing influence of digital on her industry. This is her story.

You work across a diverse range of projects. Can you give us an overview of your current projects?

Right now, I’m working with a retail company as a Digital Content Specialist. I am involved in marketing campaigns, photoshoots, dealing with influencers, and also curating content from scratch. A large part of my job involves keeping up to date with new social media platforms. Besides that, I’m passionate about the fashion industry and work as a fashion stylist, so visual design and branding constitute a huge part of what I do!

How did your interest in fashion styling lead you to study graphic design?

During COVID, the fashion industry slowed down for me, so I began looking for a course that would support my creative work with digital content. Graphic design seemed the ideal choice and it also turned out to be very useful for my fashion styling.

I think design and style have a lot to do with each other and it’s important they work harmoniously. Let’s say a designer creates the most beautiful dress in the world – it’s then up to a stylist to define who the ideal person to wear that dress is, what the right hairstyle or makeup look is, so it will do justice to the designer’s work. A lot of my work is about enhancing design with the right context, so understanding core concepts of visual and technical composition is very important.

What made you choose ICE Malta? How was your learning experience?

I discovered ICE Malta on social media and through some word-of-mouth recommendations from others who’d studied at the school. The flexible online learning format was perfect for me while I was working, and I really liked the structure of the Graphic Designer Associate course, starting with key graphic design ideas and putting them into practice digitally. ICE Malta’s straight-forward approach to learning made it really convenient for me to try something new and fulfilling without taking a lot of time out.

Even though I don’t work specifically in graphic design, I’m constantly applying the technical skills and insights in my current work, whether it’s designing campaigns, creating content, or building out my own fashion styling site—and my own logo! The satisfaction of being able to execute my ideas and visions in practice is brilliant.

What’s your perspective on the links between fashion and the digital world, and how have you seen the industry change?

COVID definitely continued the trend of things moving online. I’ve seen how more and more collections are being created and viewed online, with social media playing a huge part in this, for both awareness and commerce. With the introduction of the Metaverse, I think virtual experiences will become part of the norm, and we’ll see even more digital platforms and formats for people to access and enjoy fashion.

What’s next? Any plans for further learning?

I’m always super busy with new campaigns and am very excited about some upcoming photoshoots! When I have the time and opportunity, I’d definitely be interested in studying with ICE once again. I think the Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing would be a great asset for my content management work, but I’m also intrigued by the Professional Diploma in UX Design. I think the latter could really help me expand the digital scope of my design skills as the fashion world evolves and could open new doors in my career.

Maria’s story is proof that graphic design skills aren’t just for graphic designers! Maria’s story demonstrates the enormous power of design in pretty much any modern industry. Practical skills training has already helped Maria take her creative passion to new heights and we’re sure she’ll continue turning heads with her captivating campaigns!