This week, we were joined by Chris Margerison, a senior graphic designer at PlayStation Studios Creative, who shared his inspiring journey from student to professional, offering valuable advice on how to navigate the creative industry.

Who are PlayStation Creative?

Chris explained that PlayStation Creative is the internal creative agency for the entire PlayStation brand. The team operates across the whole company, supporting game development and marketing with creative solutions. The studio is global, integrating many different aspects, from branding and UI to motion graphics and illustration.

University and graduation

Chris always had a passion for illustration, initially aspiring to become an illustrator. However, while studying graphic design at university, he realised he could combine his love of illustration with branding and graphic work. His final year project, “World and Alternative” a brand and campaign around animation, allowed him to merge these interests.

At his graduate show, he approached someone viewing his work who later became his future manager at PlayStation. Although he didn’t land the job immediately (lacking UI experience at the time), this connection would later prove crucial.

 

Freelance

After university, Chris experienced several highs and lows. Freelance attempts, working in low-paying event graphics jobs, and experiencing a UX/UI role that lacked creativity and motivation, all contributed to a difficult year. However, he acknowledges this period (particularly being made redundant) as a “blessing in disguise” that pushed him toward better opportunities.

Following redundancy, in a search to reignite his passion for character design, Chris attended a trip to the Pictoplasma festival in Germany, which achieved just that. On returning home, he created a personal project around a music video app, specifically tailored to catch the eye of PlayStation’s creative team.

Making the most out of the PlayStation connection he made at his graduate degree show, he reached out with an email showcasing this work. This led to him securing a meeting that resulted in a 4-week placement, which grew into a full-time career. Chris emphasised that his attitude, rather than the polish of his work, helped open this door.

 

PlayStation – Junior Designer

Starting as a junior designer at PlayStation, Chris’s early work included creating in-game icons (such as for Killzone on PS4) and producing posters for game launches and social media marketing. As his experience grew, he  leaned more into branding projects.

Notably, he worked on the Champions League app for PS4 and was later promoted to middleweight designer, where he handled broader branding responsibilities, including logo designs and collaborations across different sectors.

 

Back to freelance – Different agencies

Seeking to broaden his skills outside gaming, Chris took on freelance roles at various organisations:

• Penguin Books – Helped design their Pride campaign, developing animated branding assets.
• Manchester International Arts Festival – Worked on traditional and digital graphic design projects, incorporating illustration.
• BBC – Produced motion graphics for BBC Sport and CBBC content, expanding his animation skills.

Chris highlighted that moving across different industries helped him evolve as a graphic designer, emphasising that “specific interests guide the work you do.”

 

Building a brand

Returning to PlayStation as a senior designer, Chris now focuses heavily on branding.

One key project was developing the brand identity for Rise of the Ronin, a 19th-century Japan-set action game by Team Ninja. Chris and his colleagues were tasked with creating a global brand identity that appealed to Western audiences while respecting the game’s cultural roots.

The project involved designing logos, brand guidelines, assets for launch trailers, and digital toolkits, ensuring consistency and flexibility across global markets.

Chris emphasised that building a brand is so much more than creating a logo, it’s about crafting a consistent visual identity that communicates the emotional and narrative experience of the game.

 

Some recent opportunities

In his current role, Chris continues to embrace a wide range of creative opportunities. He had recently been working on licensed merchandise which has been sold around the world through retailers such as H&M. He was even able to experiment with photography, aiding in the promotion of this merchandise.

Chris left students with the advice: Stay curious, don’t box yourself in, and create your own opportunities.

 

Our key takeaways!

• You can experiment with different interests and develop a range of skills through personal projects.
• Your attitude can be just as important as your portfolio.
• “Keep an open mind, and create opportunities for yourself”.
• Freelancing can expose you to many different areas of design, and allow you to explore these more freely.
• Don’t value yourself based only on the work you’re currently outputting but instead value yourself on your future potential.

 

 

– Written by Amirah Yasin

– Photography by Oscar Dudley