Meet the Team: Thyra, the Creative Champion
At Buttercrumble, community is so important to us. We wholeheartedly believe it’s built from creativity, communication and collaboration. Our Creative Champion, Thyra, is a brilliant advocate for these values, so it’s a delight to introduce you! Read on to learn more about Thyra’s experience.
Hiya! My name is Thyra Bankole…
I am the new Creative Champion here at Buttercumble. I’m originally from London and moved up north with my fiancé and my cat Terri after graduating with a Bachelor’s in Graphic Design at Plymouth College of Art.
It has been three years since I graduated, and in that timeframe, I have come to the realisation that I want to be known for the impact I make in the creative industry. This is why my passion project – Melanated Magazine – is so important to me. Melanated is a publication that aims to promote, showcase and highlight women of colour in the creative industry. Being a woman in the creative industry is difficult, but being a woman of colour is almost unheard of! It is because of this that I knew from the beginning of my career I wanted to work with socially conscious agencies and businesses that shared a similar mindset. This is what drew me to Buttercrumble.
Above: Thyra presenting her debut issue of Melanated Magazine.
My experience at Buttercrumble so far has been nothing but positive. Working with Chloe and Abigail – two inspiring women who believe in using our creative superpowers for meaningful, community-driven projects – is not only rewarding but empowering. I have had the opportunity to work on a wide range of projects that I never thought I would ever be involved in; from book illustrations to trend reports. As the saying goes, every day is a school day!
Over the past few years, I discovered that I am a bold and expressive creative thinker with an appreciation for minimalism and white space. I have learnt to adapt my style to benefit our design partnerships which helped me to develop my interest in editorial and layout design. Having said this, the project that I have enjoyed most since I’ve been working at Buttercrumble is the white paper I designed using the research from Chloe and Abigail’s recent trip to New York trade shows Kids Hub and Playtime. I was given full creative control and the final outcome was an insightful resource that is not only informative but exciting to read through.
Before joining the Happiness Atelier, I worked in-house as a graphic designer. I would say the biggest hurdle I’m overcoming at the moment is the transition from working in-house to working in a creative agency. I wanted to apply my trade somewhere that pushed me out of my comfort zone and encouraged me to think outside the box. Buttercrumble has helped make that transition smooth whilst accommodating and validating my feelings.
Thank you Buttercrumble for giving a woman who is (slowly but surely) becoming northern by proxy the chance to show the world what I’ve got up my sleeve; I look forward to the connections I will forge during my time here.
– Thyra Bankole :)
