‘I wasn’t ready to leave!’ – Ermina Takenova on her LCC Graduate Residency

BA Illustration and Visual Media graduate Ermina Takenova discusses how London College of Communication’s Graduate Residency programme helped to launch her career.

One glance at Ermina Takenova’s portfolio shows that she is an incredibly passionate illustrator, animator and designer.

“I am of the lucky ones,” she explains. “I wanted to be an illustrator since I was younger and, for the most part, I’ve stuck to that goal. From being an undergrad to the Graduate Residency programme, LCC was amazing for teaching me new skills and preparing me for a career in the sector whilst keeping my passion for animation alive.”

Ermina put this down to BA Illustration and Visual Media course leader Paul Bowman, who unfortunately passed away not long after her graduation. She credits him for pushing her to her creative limits and always challenging her to create her best work. Ermina says her positive experiences on the course meant she wasn’t ready to say goodbye to LCC, and so she applied to the Graduate Residency programme.

“I loved the experience of going back to LCC, getting the chance to be creative and of course reuniting with and meeting fellow students and creatives” – Ermina Takenova

“I think it’s crazy how society essentially asks you to choose what you want to do with your life at the age of 17 or 18. It’s like, you have such a short time to make such a big decision.

“Then, in some cases, you move city or even country to study, which is a really big thing in itself, going from living at home or with parents to living alone and essentially being an adult. You study for three years, then you’re expected to go straight into the world of work? It just seems like such a short time frame for such monumental milestones in life to be happening.”

LCC’s Graduate Residency programme can act as a stepping stone into the real world for recent graduates, giving them time to work on more creative projects before making the transition into the creative industries.

“After graduating I jumped straight into two years of freelance work. I was also working on personal projects, so I was essentially working on three projects at the same time. This shows just how flexible the programme really is: it’s definitely something you can work on alongside other commitments.

“It’s helped me out so much in terms of my portfolio, as I’ve added all of the animation work I completed during the programme to it whilst I was applying for jobs. I think it shows employers you have a real passion for the subject.”

The Graduate Residency programme always entails innovative projects based on important themes. The 2018 residency’s was ‘Diverse Communities’, and Ermina says: “It’s something that’s really close to my heart. I’m not from Britain (she moved to London from Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan) and I’ve always been around different cultures.

“What I love about London most is it’s diversity and the fact that we can learn alongside and celebrate each other. For my project I really wanted to focus on the language aspect so that’s what I really tapped into.”

An example of Ermina's Illustrations created for the Diverse Communities residency. 'To wear a cat on ones head, translated from Japanese. It means pretending to be a nice person'. Pretty cool.
An example of Ermina’s Illustrations created for the Diverse Communities residency. ‘To wear a cat on one’s head, translated from Japanese. It means pretending to be a nice person’. Pretty cool.

Ermina created a series of 15 short loop animations in response to the project. Each one was based on a strange saying from a different language. Ermina shares an example: “In Mexico, they say to throw you the dog, which means to flirt. Weirdly, I think this kind of makes sense.”

The programme is a great opportunity for students, and one that Ermina says is suitable for everyone. “I know there’s always two types of graduates. Some people love university and are terrified at the prospect of leaving, others just aren’t suited to education and can’t wait to step out into the working world.

“I mentioned before that the programme is super flexible. If you were lucky enough to go out and get a graduate job straight after leaving university, this could be a great opportunity for you to work on some more creative projects. Equally, If you are feeling a little lost or yearning for those university days, you can use the programme to carry on with creative work.

“You also are really supported by the university throughout the programme, so if there is something you need help with, they will do their best to help you. For me, I loved the experience of going back to LCC, getting the chance to be creative and of course reuniting with and meeting fellow students and creatives. It also gave me a lot of material to use in my portfolio, So in that sense it did help me to secure a graduate job.”

If the LCC Graduate Residency programme sounds like something you could be interested in, you can find about more by clicking here.