From Wicklow to Portobello
I grew up in Bray, Co. Wicklow, in a thatched cottage with a mad, wild garden — an absolute hotspot for hide-and-seek in primary school. My parents are both extremely creative people; my dad is a musician and my mum is a producer and director for TV, so I had the privilege of growing up surrounded by creativity. My siblings and I are now graphic designers, musicians and engineers, so there's always something being designed, created, written and dreamed up back in the cottage.
I was torn when it came to choosing what to study — words and writing are very important to me, so it was a toss-up between design and English literature. I'm so glad I went down the design route. I've come to learn that writing and language are an integral part of design, and especially in fourth year, I was able to design and write in tandem.
At the moment, I'm in my final Three×3 studio, Red&Grey in Portobello. I'm living with a friend in the Liberties, so my mornings start with a walk through Dublin 8 and down by the canal. So much better than the two-hour commute I used to do for college.
Inspired by Small Details
Inspiration tends to appear in surprising little details — an unusual shadow, a piece of ephemera, a nice bit of alliteration, the feeling when you reach the top of a mountain and the world stretches out endlessly. When I'm not designing, I love to hike, read, and go to as much live music and theatre as I can. I also do the NYT crossword most mornings with my coffee. I'm on a constant mission to reclaim my pre-digital-addiction brain and be slower and more present.
How I Got Here
The project that led me to Three×3 started as a group college project, right after I returned from Erasmus in 2024. It was a pretty extensive brief — identity and branding, print, experience and web design — responding to the lack of on-campus third spaces. It was the first college project that felt truly playful and exciting, while still being grounded in a real issue. Everyone brought their own strengths, and the work just flowed. It was the first time I thought I'd genuinely enjoy working in a studio.
We ended up presenting the project at a design symposium in the National Print Museum, and it was there that I first met Paul from Detail, who suggested I apply for Three×3. Cheers, Paul.
What the Studios Have Taught Me
The most valuable thing I've learned is stamina. College projects were often intense marathons that consumed my life — in both good and bad ways. Working in a studio has taught me how to balance multiple projects, manage my time, and simply show up every day and keep going. It's been really inspiring to watch brilliant, experienced designers come up against obstacles and setbacks, and see how they respond. Stamina and a thick skin, I suppose.
Each studio I've worked in has had a completely different way of working, researching, organising and communicating. The fact that they're all so different — and all so successful in their own ways — has really shown me there's no single right way to be a designer. I've been able to pick up certain processes and methods to take with me, and figure out what doesn't work for me. My freelance practice has definitely changed for the better as a result.
Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
In design especially, given how broad the definition of it has become, there's a constant feeling of needing to be a jack-of-all-trades. When I started the programme, I was very aware that I wasn't as experienced or as quick as I wanted to be with certain technical skills, and I felt quite insecure about it. That has improved a lot over the past few months. I remember Colin from Unthink saying to me during a check-in that technical skills are the things that are easy to learn, but that creativity and ideas are a lot harder to teach. That really stuck with me.
What Comes Next
I'm genuinely open to surprising myself. Since finishing college, letting go of the need to control and over-plan has led to so many unexpected doors opening. I really like the studio environment, but I also find freelance work very fulfilling — I mainly work with bands and musicians, designing album artwork, merch and posters. Most of these clients are also friends (or sisters!), and there's a lovely symbiosis in the exchange of creativity. I've also started working with projects that engage with heritage, community, Gaeilge and the environment. That's the stuff that really makes me want to design.
Engaging critically with design as a practice is something I only started to do in my final year of college, but it's become something I'm really interested in. Rather than purely participating in the attention economy and designing as if in a vacuum, I'd like to explore how design can direct attention outwards, while sitting mindfully within its context and the ecosystem it participates in.
Advice for Anyone Thinking of Applying
Everyone should apply — you've absolutely nothing to lose. Something great about the studio environment, in my experience, is that you can really be yourself, rather than adopting a corporate work persona. The strange, whimsical, unusual and unexpected things about you and your work are what will give you an edge and help you land somewhere that actually suits you. Make that stuff visible in your portfolio and interview.
It's also worth saying that Three×3 is a brilliant experience, but it isn't the only route into design in Dublin. Everyone's timeline looks different. There's a really lovely, supportive community of young designers in this city — I've met so many wonderful people, had such interesting conversations, and spent many nights in the pub. Even if jobs or internships take a bit longer to find, connecting with other young designers and finding ways to collaborate is absolutely worth it.
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Three×3 is a Dublin-based graduate intern programme. Applications for next year are open till 07.06.2026