Balazs Pakozdi
As a student from Hungary who graduated from Worcester with a well-deserved First Class Honours, Balazs (or Paco to his friends) chose the University because it lies in a beautiful location and has many historical buildings and streets – such as the Cathedral and Friar Street – that represent a special atmosphere and rich culture. He found that the people are friendly and there is so much going on, in terms of culture and sport, in the city all year round.
Balazs says, “I came to Worcester in 2007. As a designer, one of the main goals was to develop my creativity, digital and traditional art skills and problem solving skills. I found an article in the local newspaper that said University of Worcester is the fastest growing university in the UK and has excellent lecturers and high quality, professional courses in a friendly environment. I decided to give a try and applied for the Graphic Design & Multimedia course.”
Before joining the course, he studied Typography and Magazine Design at The Association of Hungarian Journalists in Budapest in 1999/2000 and was a magazine designer and editorial illustrator at Axel Springer Publishing in Budapest for five years.
Of his course, Balazs says, “The best thing was that the selected modules were so various and hugely interesting. This also means you should be able to handle different challenges during the three years. For instance, I also studied Illustration, Drawing, Motion Design and Photography, beside Graphic Design, but they helped me to find my real passions and interests. Furthermore, the modules also gave me more technical experience and knowledge with live briefs (with clients) that are really important nowadays.
“In brief, you can see so much opportunity during your studies where you have the chance to show your real talent and skills. In addition, you may easily clarify your career path(s) in the future because of modules diversity (from traditional to digital).”
As a recent graduate, Balazs says his experience at Worcester was one of the best periods in his life. What he particularly liked about the facilities – which, he says, are brilliant and are continually improved – and the community was that, during his studies, he did not have any negative experiences because he built really strong relationships with classmates and lecturers, who always helped him to enjoy his student life. He adds, “I always felt that I am a part of a big family because everyone was very friendly and supportive in a beautiful environment. What else do I need?”
“During my studies, I realized that I just have to focus on myself and my classmates, and not to focus on the final grades. If you focus on your skills, on your knowledge and follow your intuition you may find the answers about who you really are, what are your passions and what you can capable. If you find these answers you can achieve anything and everything you want - and you will get higher grades. Just do the best you can and do it for you.”
English is Balazs’s second language (after Hungarian) but, with really hard work and deep enthusiasm, he achieved excellent grades at the end of his first year. In addition, he was a part of the winning team for the Worcester City Council’s design competition that was a live brief in the third year. He feels that the biggest achievement for him is that the course has changed his creative thinking forever and he can now see the world in a different way.
Whilst seeking an entry into creative practice, Balazs is drawing illustrations for online magazines and planning his new short cinematic animation, which is quite a time-consuming working process. He hopes eventually to be an Art Director or Film Director in the future but has not made a decision yet.
Links to Balazs’s work are:
Click on the images below to see full size versions.
page as a PDF
