Tiago Mendes

I often think about the best way of describing to people what I do. A cv is just information, real or not, accurate or not. A portfolio is an important exercise of auto criticism and a form of resuming years of work into a couple of pages. What about our identity, character, ambition, goals, and the way we see life?

As a young student in my own home town I got through a design course with no real effort. Being average was not that hard. It was towards the end that I realized how far from prepared to work I was. I decided to pursue further education, and without fully realizing it I landed in a extremely challenging and hardworking environment. Without any valid explanation for it - other than a promise of commitment and the will to learn I got accepted to Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. Soon I was told how behind I was in everything related to the design practice. I finished my course and very proud of the work I have done during those years. I was still able to live a very full life outside college walls - as London is an incredible place.

I believe that we can do most anything, and in fact this job tells us that some research and hard work will enable us to enter areas previously unknown to us. This is what makes design such a special trade - the constant learning process and the awareness that we are as good as the last project we have done. We are under constant evaluation, proving ourselves everyday.