Ever since he was a young boy, Sebastian Segares has had many opportunities to live outside his native Costa Rica and enjoys getting to know other people and different cultures. A highly creative person, he’s a keen photographer and surfer. But his main passion is music, which he admits has always been an important part of his life. He loves discovering new artists and is a keen, self-taught musician who plays the guitar and several other instruments.
Sebastian exercises his creative abilities at Freecords, an app designed to help emerging artists break into and build connections in the music industry. There, he’s in charge of designing new screens, working on the app’s visual system, creating animations and coming up with innovative new features. He credits the Bachelor in Design for giving him these skills, which have been a big help in his professional role. “The program is very general; we get to learn many types of design and use a lot of software, which has helped me develop my skill set and made me a well-rounded designer,” he says.
The importance that IE University places on being on the cutting edge of industry tech and trends has also meant that Sebastian knew what employers were looking for when he applied for the role. And the connections that Freecords users can build through the app reflect the extensive networking that Sebastian is able to do as part of the program, too. He has got to know many different industry people around the world, which he says has opened up a lot of opportunities for him.
He found the right program for him after initially joining the Bachelor in Business Administration. Feeling that he wanted to express more of his creativity, Sebastian made the move to the Bachelor in Design and it’s certainly proved to be the correct decision. “It combines many aspects of the design world and applies them to modern-day problems and trends,” he explains.
His typical day involves some early exercise and working on Freecords projects, attending meetings to provide updates on ongoing work and discussing the way forward. Then he heads to IE University for his academic commitments, relaxing at home only when he’s completed any pending assignments.
Asked how he’d advise anybody considering following a path similar to his own, “Trust the process” is his mantra. “The first few years might be frustrating and you might feel lost. But when I look back on my first year of the Bachelor in Design and compare it to where I am now, I’m amazed by the number of skills I’ve learned. It has made me more prepared for the professional world,” he concludes.
Discover more about the Bachelor in Design here
