‘Kid from Dalby’ is designing his own future

Daniel Swift may have only officially graduated from USC with a Bachelor of Design last month but he’s already in demand and booked out on freelancing work for the rest of the year.

Majoring in graphic design and minoring in creative advertising, Daniel, 21, was awarded Best Graphic Design Portfolio (Judge’s Choice) and Best Graphic Design Portfolio (People’s Choice) at Exhibition X, the graduate exhibition held at the end of formal studies.

“I was so thrilled to be recognised and it really was the cherry on top of my university studies,” Daniel said.

“I wasn’t the most academic student at school. So, when I finished at Dalby State High School, I was equally surprised and thrilled to be offered a place at USC.”

Daniel is now working on building his client base, working as a freelance designer based on the Sunshine Coast with recent clients including ethical clothing label The Travelling Kimono and local furniture boutique Alabaster Trader.

“I have developed identity projects and visual material for a range of clients in industries including luxury, retail and arts,” he said.

“I really enjoy thinking up creative solutions for clients and I always encourage them to be as involved in the process as they can, as I see my work as more of a collaboration between designer and client than a contract job.

“I’m thankful to my USC mentors and lecturers who have instilled in me a drive to continue to educate and improve myself with every job I take.

“Studying something that I was deeply invested in was great for me and I thrived at USC, taking every opportunity I could to further my studies. I completed several design internships on the Coast and gained valuable industry experience from them.

“I was also chosen to participate in the Hong Kong Study Tour in 2018 where we visited a wide variety of established marketing, advertising and design firms. It was such an amazing experience that will always remain a highlight of my career.”

In his own words: “that’s not bad for a kid from Dalby”.

- Megan Woodward