How Marion Lagedamont’s persistent curiosity created opportunities
Marion Lagedamont is a London College of Communication Interaction Design Arts alumni who has produced projects for London’s Victoria & Albert Museum, Science Museum and Southbank Centre. Marion’s natural affinity for teaching and mentoring started at a young age and, paired with her persistent curiosity for “making the wrong things right”, she thinks the key to mentorship and her own creativity lies in working with and getting help from others.
What was your background before starting out at LCC?
“I studied BA Sociology in Bordeaux then started BA in Interaction Design Arts [IDA] at LCC in 2014. It was an interesting shift, I didn’t have a portfolio and got on the course through clearing. Moving to London was a weird thing that I did on a whim before I even knew that I was going to start IDA. I didn’t have a portfolio, but I had loads of drawings and pictures, nothing really outstanding, but I wrote a very long letter and got to talk to the course leader who was interested in the way I was approaching things and offered me a spot on the course.
“It changed everything for me. I got interested in critical design, critical thinking and realised societal issues could fuel my work. I ended up using a lot of the things I learned in sociology and doing projects about things that pissed me off.”
Did you receive any mentoring at LCC and how did that help you?
“I didn’t receive any outside-of-the-course mentoring, but our tutors on IDA were tremendous. The person who genuinely opened my eyes the most and introduced me to critical design being worthwhile despite it being hard was Tobias Revell. He was a genuinely amazing lecturer and gave me stuff to read all the time. I think I was nagging him to get more stuff to read. I developed a very good relationship with the people in the 3D workshop too. You just need to not be afraid to ask for help.
Do you think that inspired you to be a mentor, having someone who could push you?
“Yeah, I don’t know if ‘mentor’ is something I would technically call myself. I stuck around and started doing a bit of work with the MA Service Design then they made me an Associate Lecturer which was the most amazing thing I could ever dream of – to give back to a course that gave me so much. I enjoy that students are receiving the same type of love that I felt I got. I found out a lot of things and now I’m trying my best to pass it on in a way that makes sense to students. And it’s good fun.”
What is your favourite part about mentoring and teaching students?
“One of the things I love most is so like ‘Okay, you have an idea – how do you make it tangible? How do you make it a thing?’ That’s the kind of questions I love answering. My favourite moment happens in tutorials when students come up to me and have this frustration where they’re almost there and have almost made sense of their idea. You talk it through and think about oblique strategies – ask them to spin things around and ask questions they wouldn’t expect and, eventually through talking and exchanging ideas, they get it.”
What advice would you give to graduates entering the creative industries?
“One of the best things I heard when I was graduating is that it’s not that there’s no such thing as luck, but it’s incredible how lucky you can get if you work hard. It is a combination of both, and it is a very tough environment out there. You need to stay up to date. It’s similar to scientific fields in that design is shaped every single day by people, thinkers, artists and practitioners. It’s not about, ‘Oh I’ve studied, I know what I’m doing now’, you have to keep on learning and be willing it do it – just really love what you do.
“To me, the most important thing is that you can’t be afraid to ask for help. We are social creatures and being able to ask for help is how you build positive relationships – everyone has something to share. I get help from students as well. It’s not a question of status as people have so many different ideas and experiences.”
Feature image: LCC.