Student Spotlight: Saxon Lane

In our next student spotlight, we are thrilled to feature Saxon Lane! 

Saxon has been in the art world since college and found her way to BYOL from our YouTube channel. It was such a joy to catch up with Saxon and learn about the role BYOL has played in her journey expanding her skillset in so many different areas. 

I hope you enjoy learning more about her just as much as I did!

Tell us a little bit about yourself!

Well, I’m a 30 year old art teacher from Mississippi, USA. I’ve spent a couple years teaching abroad and have recently come back to the States. I always had an affinity for traditional art, and this was what I feel my “real” style shows best in. I love all things spooky and if you look at some of my projects here on BYOL I’m sure that shines through

Tell us about your career path. 

I went to college for fine arts. In university, I decided to go into graphic design since at that time, it was the only viable career path for art majors. I ended up hating the program for a variety of reasons, but looking back now (especially at my old works) I realize I was still in the mindset of an artist, I was creating for myself and not the user. I ended up majoring in both fine arts and computer science, but I did gain some knowledge of Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign although I wasn’t strong in them. Since Mississippi isn’t the best place to find jobs in art fields, I ended up falling into the profession of teaching art, and it’s hard to leave teaching once you get in it. So here I am 10 years later!

How did you discover your interest in UI/UX?

I left the country and taught overseas for 2 years. My last school overseas was pretty awful so I decided it was time to make the jump and try to leave teaching altogether. I started researching and discovered UI/UX was a field that encompassed all my skills. I had the programming side of things and the graphics/art side so I thought it would be a great option for a new career path, especially since I’d grown so much as a digital artist since the pandemic.

How did you find yourself at BYOL?

I started looking up programs used in UX/UI and tutorials for them. I discovered Figma and BYOL’s first few lessons on it on YouTube. I loved every minute of it and was so excited by what I was creating. I hadn’t felt that creative drive since I started dealing with my school at the time. I actually felt hopeful. I decided to sign up on the website to finish the Figma course, then just never left. I think I finished like 4 classes my first month. lol

What is your favorite BYOL class? Why do you like this BYOL class?

Definitely the Illustrator classes. In university, Illustrator was the program I struggled most with, mostly because the way it was explained to me at the time didn’t fit with my traditional art mindset. I couldn’t wrap my head around vectors and points (and there was no curve tool so I was stuck with just the pen!). So taking the classes through BYOL and actually being good at it was like a redemption arc for me. Now I use Illustrator more than any other Adobe product!

What advice would you give to someone looking to transition to a new field? What do you like about UI/UX?

Explore every aspect of that field, I originally thought UX/UI would be my ultimate goal, but after expanding multiple skills on BYOL, I found I had other options like website, brand development, and visual designer. I actually ended up getting a second job designing/ managing a website and social media accounts for a local assisted living community after I learned Webflow. There are many, many options, and if you live in a rural area like I do, MANY small businesses are trying to find people to help get them into the digital age.

What is next for you? What are some future goals you have?

In terms of BYOL, I want to take Figma Advanced and InDesign. As far as my personal goals, I am working on art deco inspired tarot cards and I hope to complete them and have them printed. I still do hope to get out of teaching and work from home, but I have to at least see my seniors this year graduate. I’ve taught them since they were 12!

Is there anything else you would like to share that we should have asked you?

I’m just so happy that I’ve found this community and so grateful to everyone at BYOL for helping me expand my skillset and encouraging my work. Being here has helped me become more confident in my digital work and not think of myself as “just” a traditional artist. This community gives me a lot to look forward to and aspire to. And if anyone ever wants to reach out for insight or advice, I’m always available!

Thank you, Saxon!  We can’t wait to see what you do next!