Hey, I’m Marion
I want to improve people’s day-to-day life. I can’t save their life like a doctor nor build their future like a teacher, but I can make their life easier through design.
I guess that’s something.
How did it happen?
Good question.
I guess it started with photoshop. Somewhere around my thirteen year. I downloaded it and started to play around, following tutorials to get better. I wasn’t really good but it was fun. At the time, I had no idea what job I wanted to do. I wasn’t bad at school but I hated to learn stuff by heart. And too quickly, it was already time to choose what I wanted to study after high school. I was seventeen. How am I supposed to choose what I want to do for the rest of my life? I remember going to an orientation counsellor to pass a stupid test. It told me that I had a high percentage of creativity and social interest. At the time, I was following an after-school class to prepare for a very renowned school entry test. Even though the results of the test were not a surprise, I think it was the moment I realized that I didn’t want to go to this school. I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but it was not that. I end up in a Bachelor on Communication. For my first internship, I worked as a project management assistant in a small agency and the designer is sitting next to me. Yeah. This is what I wanted to do.
I graduated with my bachelor and got accepted in a Visual Communication school in third year even if I hadn’t really studied design before. Second internship. Then third. I liked designing stuff that I presented to the team to have feedbacks. I liked to see how it got better with other points of view. I designed mostly communication images or emails and I missed the purpose of it. I wanted meaning. It’s probably a bit idealist, but I want to help people. So I chose to join Gwapit as UX / UI designer for my last internship. I never did any research or test with users before that. I read articles but that’s all. I remember the first time I had to take a phone call to a user. I was so afraid. I never really liked having a phone conversation with a stranger. I did it anyway, and when I hung out, I realized that I definitely wanted it to be a part of my job. I always am bit uncomfortable before meeting a user for a test or an interview. But when it starts, I know I would never go back to design without the user’s point of view.
Traveling around
I started to travel during the holidays with my mom. Even as a kid, I liked to listen to the stories in museums and I was already the slow one who read every explanation. I used all schools opportunities to live abroad. I first left home when I was twenty to spend a semester on the other side of the world. My English wasn’t really good, just enough to pass the test to spend a semester at California State University. It was exhausting to focus all the time to understand people and be understood. I often saw the ‘what the fuck did she said?’ on people’s faces. But whatever. I forced myself to talk even when it was not easy. And I got better. And it was such a good experience that I did it again. And again. And again. When I finished my studies, I had already spent almost two years abroad. In the USA, Canada, Netherlands and England. And I loved it. And now, here I am with my open working visa in Canada!
Fun facts
- I like bad jokes. I am actually getting better at doing them in English. It makes me quite happy.
- I prefer it when the weather is hot and every time I am going to live in another country, it’s always cold and wet. Not sure what is wrong with me. Maybe I like cold more than I imagine. I hope because winter is coming. And winter in Montreal seems pretty scary.
- I was quite disappointed by the end of Game of Thrones. One more season could have changed everything. I heard George R. R. Martin agrees with me.
- You can totally buy me with raspberries and Coke Zero. Probably with other things too. Except if I really disagree. Then you will have to convince me before. If you have the right arguments, I can easily change my mind. If you don’t, I will be very stubborn.
- I love high heels but I am always wearing Vans because it’s so comfortable.
- I like real feedbacks, I think it’s the best way to improve. I also give real feedback. I am currently working on how to communicate those in a good and positive way.
- I am from France, so yes, I am speaking French – you would be surprised how many times people asked me that.