table of contents
Past career
I spent eight years in Canada from 2008 to 2016, attending high school, and college, and working locally.
After returning to Japan, I worked for a Japanese company, but I wanted to work freely without being restricted by time or place, so I decided to work as a freelance English-Japanese translator based in my hometown of Fukuoka. I am still active as an interpreter.
What made you decide to go to Canada?
It wasn’t that anything in particular happened, but ever since I was in elementary school, I had felt that school life didn’t suit me, and after that, I started not going to school very often.
Meanwhile, when I was in the 6th grade of elementary school, my school was recruiting students for a 2-week study abroad experience in New Zealand, and that was when I traveled overseas for the first time.
When I went abroad, my horizons broadened greatly, and I was fascinated by the free environment overseas, so I went to study abroad in New Zealand when I was in my first year of high school.
However, both of those times were not long-term study abroad programs, so I decided to go abroad for a long time, and I headed to Canada.
Originally, I didn’t plan to stay there for 8 years, but after spending time there, life in Canada was very open and easy to live in, and before I knew it, 8 years had passed (lol)
How I started learning web design
-Please tell us how you started learning web design.
I’ve always loved designing and drawing, but I thought that IÂ might be able to apply that to my current translation work as well.
In my current job, I am often asked to translate images for websites, pamphlets, and banners, and the designs often fall apart when I translate them, so I was asked to make adjustments to the designs as well. I was there.
Therefore, I learned how to use Photoshop and Illustrator on my own, and this led me to realize that being able to design would be relevant to my current job, so I decided to start learning seriously.
Deciding factor for taking the course
-There are various learning methods and schools, but please tell us why you decided to attend CodeCamp.
I originally went to a school where I could study web design and coding.
Although I had some understanding of how to use tools such as Photoshop and Illustrator, I was unable to acquire the skills to apply what I had learned to my work. I wanted to wear it.
In this situation, I took CodeCamp’s free counseling session and was very attracted to the fact that it not only provided basic know-how but also practical learning content and support in creating a portfolio.
The rest is time and price.
I felt that learning coding and web design would be expensive at other schools, so CodeCamp’s low price appealed to me.
Also, since I had some knowledge of design, I only needed a refresher on design, so I didn’t plan on spending a very long period learning it. The fact that you can learn in two months was also appealing.
Episodes during learning
-How did you progress with your studies?
I already had a certain amount of knowledge about design studies, so rather than using lessons to learn thoroughly, I continued to progress on my own.
However, I thought I would just review the design and do it quickly, but I was surprised to learn things I didn’t know and discovered new things, so I had a lot of fun learning!
In terms of programming, I was able to progress smoothly on the coding side (HTML/CSS), which I had learned in the past, but I had a hard time learning how to add movement to a site using JavaScript, as it was my first time learning it. was doing.
-So your first stumbling block was learning JavaScript?
Yes, That’s right.
HTML/CSS was still easy to understand because you can see the differences in design, but JavaScript is not like that, so I felt that it would be impossible to proceed on my own, so I took advantage of the lessons.
-How did you utilize the lessons?
They spent the entire 40 minutes of the lesson teaching us step-by-step the contents of the JavaScript textbook.
All the teachers supported my studies in a way that was easy to understand even for someone with no experience, so when I felt like I was going to give up, they supported me and I was able to get through it.
I also used the lessons to create a portfolio at the end of the study.
At first, I consulted with them on how to proceed with creating the portfolio and its content, and after I started creating it, I received feedback on the design, how to upload it after it was created, recommended servers and domains, etc.
Also, at first, I thought I would have to create all versions for PC, mobile, and tablet, so I was worried about whether I would be able to handle it, but the instructor said, “Companies often view portfolios from PCs, so I decided to use PC for the time being. Why don’t you try creating a PC version of your portfolio?” I received some advice, and once I became clear about my goal of first creating a PC version of my portfolio, I no longer had the vague sense of impatience I had at the beginning.
I received a design job based on the PC version of my portfolio, so I was a little relieved, but at the same time, I was able to receive advice from an active web designer instructor, so I would like to make full use of the lessons. I thought I should go.
Ideas for portfolio
-This time, you were also creating a portfolio during your study period, but what kind of things did you pay attention to when creating it?
First of all, I wanted to approach people overseas, so I created a portfolio that was also available in English.
Also, for the design part, I referred to the portfolios of people overseas, and what I found most often was a large picture of my face, so I decided to put a large picture of my face in the first view. You have devised this.
-Indeed, you don’t see many portfolios that include a photo of your face in the first view, so it’s quite impactful and eye-catching!
Yes, but this time I wanted to create a form first, so I created the same design for overseas and Japan, but in the future, I would like to research portfolios for Japanese people and create them separately.
Future goals
-How would you like to utilize what you learned at CodeCamp?
After learning web design this time, I realized once again that design is fun, so I would like to combine my current translation work with design and work on creating multilingual websites.
Also, currently, most of my work is from Japanese companies, but in the future, I would like to target work from overseas, so I would like to learn more about overseas design. I want to.
-Are you taking any action to achieve this?
We are gradually conducting sales activities for new customers using email and SNS so that we can receive orders for design work from now on!
Also, when I showed the portfolio I had created to a customer with whom I had already had a connection, they told me, “Now I can request not only translations but also designs!” I’m going to try my best in my approach as well.
