Jaheed Hussain: Championing creatives of colour
INTRODUCTION
Jaheed Hussain is a graphic designer and writer based in Greater Manchester and founder of Fuse; a platform elevating the voices and work from creatives of colour.
Founded just over a year ago, Fuse now has 11 chapters, spanning across 5 countries around the world with over 12,000 followers across platforms.
In October 2020, Jaheed curated and produced Fuse’s first digital magazine.
This interview took place via video call in September 2020.
Your typical designer finds comfort in visuals, as opposed to words. So how, when and where did your love for writing come from?
Probably from when I used to be younger — I was always reading something during school and loved picking out unique books to read during English lessons. My earliest career aspiration used to be an author, way before I did anything even close to the creative spectrum. So, I always try to include words within my work whenever I can!
Did you experience any resistance to pursuing a creative career growing up? And if so how did you overcome this?
Not necessarily no. My parents were supportive of letting me pursue whatever I’d wanted to. I’d definitely have wanted to do something creative either way, but having that freedom essentially meant that they'd trusted me. Hopefully I've made them proud!
Why do you think there is such a diversity issue within the design community?
I honestly have no idea to be honest with you. Design feels like a socially-inclusive job compared to others and in return, society plays a massive part in what we see. Diversity (among other things) is such a huge problem outside of the design world and it feeds back into our industry. Plus, there's definitely a sense of apathy towards it by people. Not everyone is onboard with talking about the problem, so it never ends with a solution. There's no definite answer.
At what point did you realise that Fuse was far more than just a university final major project?
At the end of our first event, back in July 2019. I officially graduated a few weeks after and realised that this was an opportunity to give back, to highlight those less-represented and create my own space. During that first event, people kept coming up to me and saying how refreshing it had been, along with its importance in the first place. I genuinely hadn't realised the platform I'd built had that much of an effect on others.
“I genuinely hadn’t realised the platform I’d built had that much of an effect on others.”
What impact do you think founding and running Fuse has had on your personal and career development?
It's probably elevated my own practice! I only ever started to gain opportunities as soon as Fuse launched, which I never would've expected. After graduating, I'd gotten my first *real* work experience through an internship at Yolk Studios - that was because of mine and Fuse's own social media presence. I also got to speak at Pechakucha Manchester in September 2019, about Fuse itself. Thanks to Kyle Soo (boss of the Pecha team) I'm now a part of the team and helped out with events after the one I spoke at.
How did your features and collaborations come about with the likes of Creative Boom, Creative Review and Intern Mag?
The Intern collaboration came before the other two mentioned; right at the start of my third year! I emailed Alec and pitched the idea about my experiences within creative education. I talked to him about the reasons behind it, telling him that it'd be important for others to realise the problems I faced so that hopefully it won't happen for others.
The Creative Boom and Creative Review feature happened a day apart (crazy, right?!) Katy Cowan from CB helped me massively with writing up a press release about Fuse (as well as doing the feature itself!) I then pitched myself to CR with the press release and they got back to me, something I never expected to happen. They asked me a few questions and we talked! Sounds less nerve-wracking that it really was.
Congratulations on the recent launch of Fuse Magazine! Can you tell us what it’s been like collaborating with such a variety of creatives on the project and what do you hope to achieve with the publication?
It's been a dream to work with so many people at the same time! I had such a good response from the open call Tweet and post meaning that a ton of people had sent in their work. I got to chat with creatives from all over the world, getting to know what they love to do and why. Like mentioned in the first issue (which you can download right now!) I always wanted to do a magazine, in some capacity.
Now that it's here, I hope it inspires others to discover new people and new ways to showcase creative goodness. I hope this means that anyone can feel confident in doing what they want - regardless of their employment status or follower count. If I can, literally anyone can.
“I hope this means that anyone can feel confident in doing what they want - regardless of their employment status or follower count. If I can, literally anyone can.”
© Fuse Magazine 2020
With the continued and rapid growth of Fuse Manchester, and the very ‘online’ nature of the business, do you ever struggle to switch off? How do you find your escape?
Always. It's the thing I struggle with most. Fuse's platforms are growing and you have to keep active to keep growing, meaning I never get a chance to get off the phone. Even when I take a bit of a break, I end up feeling like I haven't done enough! It's a massive cycle. But, I do switch off as much as I can - usually, I'm playing games or watching videos and obviously, Netflix. I love gaming and always have done - so I try to keep up-to-date in that industry and play whatever I can!
What advice would you give for any 2020 graduates starting their 3rd year and embarking on their Final Major Projects?
You've got this. It'll be a struggle but off of the back of it you'll have incredible projects to show. For your final projects, surround it towards whatever you're passionate about. It'll look good either way but conceptually, build on whatever you love to talk about. It might even become something you keep working on and growing, so that one day - it's yours. Also, relax as much as you can & take care of yourselves.
Recommended reading
Disobedient Objects by Catherine Flood & Gavin Grindon
Bit Rot by Douglas Coupland
Recommended listening
Anything by Mac Miller, Bastille or old-school Kanye
Recommended follow
Follow Jaheed
Instagram: @jaheedhussain_ / @fusemanchester
LinkedIn: Jaheed Hussain
Website: https://jaheedhussain.co.uk/work
If you’d like to reach out to Jaheed, drop him a DM on Instagram or Twitter.
