11 Questions With: Caroline Ridings

Field Trip: Interview

Sep 16, 2022

I sent off 11 questions to designers in the early to mid stages of their careers, asking them a set of questions that help us get to know them a little bit. This week’s article features Multidisciplinary Designer, Caroline Ridings.

Q1. To start, could you tell us who you are and where you work?

I’m Caroline, Designer at Jenni Kayne, a luxury California lifestyle brand. I also do freelance work in the music realm.

Q2. Did you study design or are you self-taught? If you did study, how did you find it, do you think a degree is necessary these days?

I went to a small liberal arts school to study design. I was actually a painting major at first and in all of my critiques my professors would say that I “think like a designer” and that I should try some classes in design. I didn’t really understand what graphic design was, but once I took a couple courses I fell in love with it immediately. After that I started learning a lot of things on my own. I would watch tutorials until like 4 AM learning every single tool in the adobe apps. I don't think a degree is necessary, but I think you have to work hard at it to be good at anything. I think you have to put in a lot of hours. So whether that's in college or on your own time, I think both avenues can be good. For me, I'm glad I went to college because I made great connections in the design world and I also learned things I wouldn't have sought out myself, I also think everyone should take art history classes at a university.

Q3. Is there anything you felt unprepared for going into work?

For my first job I was working at a design agency in Newport Beach, CA. We had like 10 designers, I was going into an office from 8am-9pm every day. I think I felt under prepared for just about everything at that job. I think that was okay for me. I learned along the way. It's okay to not have everything figured out. I would constantly Google things because I kind of had no idea what I was doing. I pulled on my art director a lot and other senior designers and asked them a lot of questions. I think that was good because it made me a better designer and I think it allowed people above me to realize I was open to feedback, so then they would help me with different things. There are some things you need to learn by just doing it. I learned so much at my first job. I’m really thankful for it.

Q4. Do you work from home or go into the office? Do you like your situation or would you change it?

Right now I work from home, I go back-and-forth between enjoying working from home and wishing that I worked in an office. I definitely miss having colleagues and coworkers to work with in person. I find that it's harder to develop connections and relationships. I don’t feel as close to my co-workers which is hard for me. I’m trying to leverage Social Media to gain more connections and friendships in the design world which has been nice and its working well. There are definitely pros to working from home as well. I feel like I have more mental capacity to take on side projects because I work from home. I also feel like I get more stuff done in a day because I’m working in my own space, I have all of my books as references and I usually spin vinyl during the day which is nice :) My space is very peaceful and exactly how I like it.

Q5. How do you feel about freelancing/side projects, do you feel a pressure to do these?

I really enjoy side projects/freelancing. I don't know if I feel pressure to do them, I guess sometimes I do because I want to develop my portfolio. I enjoy design so much that I can't tell if it's pressure or excitement haha.

Q6. What are you working on right now?

I just finished working on some stage visuals for @brandonbrandonbrandon for This Ain't No Picnic music festival. I really like working with musicians. I created an illustration of his name and then brought it into C4D to make it 3D and have this transparent look. I added clouds to the background and it gave a really nice effect.

Other than that, I paint. I have been working on a series of 6 paintings that are going to be featured in these beautiful homes. They were commissioned by an interior design agency. I only have one finished and I made the process into a reel which you can watch here.

Q7. Do you listen to music when you work? If so, what do you listen to? (very welcome to drop a playlist)

Yes. My taste in music is all over the place. I’ll drop a playlist of What I’ve Been Listening To In August.

Q8. What have you been consuming lately?

A podcast by Mouthwash on the role of collaboration

Nitch on IG, I read all of the quotes they post.

A short story by Caleb Nelson Azumah that introspects on freedom, faith and joy, The White Review

Are.Na is my favorite app by far. I spend so much time here. It’s kind of like Pinterest in the sense that you can organize things into categories, but you can also link them to other things. I feel like Are.Na is a website/app for inspiration and also for saving things to read later or write down thoughts all in one place. It works how my mind works.

A documentary short film on athlete Sha’carri Richardson, meditates on the mysterious concept of time.

Q9. What do you do in times when you don’t feel inspired or motivated?

I have no idea. Someone help me. I think I just try to do something else. Like, if i don’t feel like designing, i’ll try to paint. If I don’t feel like doing anything creative, I’ll try to be around my friends or go to a museum or workout or something. I try not to put too much pressure on myself. And then sometimes, I just do it anyway. I just work anyway. I don’t wait for inspiration to come. It's like that Picasso quote, “Inspiration comes, but it has to find you working.”

I’m going to read other peoples answers to this for sure haha

Q10. Is there anyone you look up to or turn to for advice?

I am terrible at asking for help. It's something I'm trying to get better at.

I look up to a lot of artists, designers and musicians. Creatives of every sphere. I just think making a living from your creativity and skillset around your creativity is an interesting thing. I think it's important to have a supportive community and also to learn from how others have done things or navigated situations. I’ll drop some of the people I look up to.

Studios: Mouthwash Studio & Playlab Inc.

Designers: @wyatt.knowles, @noahbaker.studio, @samuburgessjohnson, @crystalzapata

Q11. Finally, what are you most excited about as your career progresses, are there any particular goals you have?

Living and working in California and around other creatives was always a goal of mine so I'm doing that. In the coming years, I’m hoping to work in a more collaborative way with other studios, designers, and artists I admire.

I’d like to work on more projects with musicians. I really like working with them because they are also creating art but kind of in an opposite way, music is an auditory experience whereas design is a visual experience. Being able to be part of how music translates visually is the best thing to me. It makes me really come alive. To articulate someone's vision for them and also add to that vision is so beautiful to me.

I also want to paint more and have my paintings in peoples homes. I have never been a person who wants my art to live in museums or galleries. I used to want that but I think only because it was what other people wanted for me. I love museums, but they feel cold to me sometimes, stale and white. I always picture my paintings with people, in a lived-in space. Something someone can wake up to and be inspired by every morning. To me, paintings add peace and beauty to a space. I want to provide that for people.