The latest instalment of Industry Insider delves into the world of Finley Sutherns, an 18-year-old graphic designer carving out his path in the world of sports design whilst balancing university studies with a part-time role and freelance projects.
Fin shares his journey from childhood doodling to collaborating with professional football clubs. Discover his creative process, the challenges he faces, and the invaluable lessons he’s learned along the way, all while navigating the exciting and unpredictable landscape of sports design.
Tell us about yourself, what do you do in your current role and what roles have you done previously?
My name is Finley Sutherns, I’m an 18-year-old graphic designer working in sport, mainly within football of all levels, my main focus is in social media and print design, this includes creating social media suites, ad-hoc graphics, match day programmes, and much more that are used by clubs throughout the season.
I rarely take on freelance work nowadays as I’m currently employed part-time with Surprise Shirts and find that my time for freelance is limited, but I do occasionally freelance on the side when I have the time.
Despite my young age, I’ve already had the opportunity to work with a number of clients up and down the English football pyramid from clubs in the top English divisions and all the way down to non-league level, while also working with agencies for either long-term work or one-off projects.
I hold a Level 3 Extended Diploma in Creative Media Production awarded by the University of Arts London which I studied at Penwith College in Cornwall, I achieved a final grade of a Distinction (the equivalent of 3 A-Levels) and I’m currently studying a degree in Graphic Communication at the University of South Wales in Cardiff.
What three words would you use to describe your role?
Exciting, Stressful (sometimes), Unpredictable
“Normal” isn’t a thing in sport so what does an “average” week look like for you?
An average week for me sees a lot of hours in the Adobe suite, experimenting with personal work, working for Surprise Shirts and completing any freelance work I have, as well as juggling assignment work for university, making sure to hit those deadlines! I spend any time away from work I have creating ‘passion pieces’ for fun and for experimental purposes.
In between, I also make sure to find time to jump on social media, interacting with other designers’ work, posting out any new work, answering unread messages and chatting in group chats with my network! – I also have an unhealthy collection of design books that I like to read occasionally for research purposes.
How did you end up where you are right now? When did you know you wanted to work in sport?
I’ve always been really passionate about graphic design from a very early age. I wasn’t the usual kid in the sense that I’d spend a lot of time drawing website mock-ups and the “latest and greatest” football boot designs. I also loved designing fictional football club/brand logos… (on MS Paint).
My family have all had very creative histories, dad being a musician and in life, mum was an author, artist and illustrator so I’ve always had a lot of influence. We had a very creative household; someone was always working on something!
I started to take graphic design more seriously in 2018, learning the basics including what the industry standard programs were and how to get started. In the 2020 Covid lockdown, I decided to start publicly branding myself, setting up my social media platforms, a portfolio, etc and eventually started to gain understanding of the programs and develop my skills.
My dad and his family always had a very big football background, he’s always been a Man Utd fan from the earliest years of his life, and he brought me up around United from the very beginning. From my earliest memory, United and football has governed my life – what a blessing that is. I initially experimented in lots of different areas such as brand identity & logo design and creating album artwork and gig posters for bands to try to find my feet in the industry. However, around 3 years ago, I realised that I could viably combine my two greatest passions, football and graphic design and turn it into a career, I fell in love with it and realised that was the career path for me. Since then, it’s just spiralled… It’s all-consuming.
I was also lucky enough to have 3 fantastic lecturers during my time at college, two of them being graphic designers themselves. They really helped me on my journey and encouraged and inspired me to pursue my dream, and I’m still on that journey! (Special shoutout to Stuart and Scott).
What is your number one focus when it comes to your work?
I’d say my main focus is to never lose sight of why I’m doing all this in the first place. It’s because I love it and I want to do it full-time until I eventually retire. I think when it gets tough and the stress creeps in over emerging deadlines, masses of work or no work at all, it’s easy to lose sight of your passion, motivation and drive. Especially at my age, there shouldn’t be much room for that.
I have so many years ahead of me and I just try to enjoy it as much as possible. It’s easy to get down and unmotivated when we miss out on opportunities, lose jobs and/or don’t have the work coming in for a period of time but it’s all part of it, so just go with it. It’s easier said than done but I always try to rationalise. Don’t get me wrong, I have my days.
What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned in your career so far?
The most important lesson I’ve learned so far would be to never give up. That is unbelievably cliche, I know. But when things get tough and stressful it’s always important to remind yourself that you can do it. For example, even if it comes down to learning a new program, it may be tough, and you may not get it first try but it’s 100% worth it in the end. I’d also say it’s vital to ensure you’re allowing yourself wind-down and relaxation time in order to avoid burnout and creative block. I’ve gone full days without stopping and it’s impacted me a lot mentally.
What are you excited about in your industry at the moment?
At the moment, I’m really excited about the new creative directions that football clubs are going in terms of design, we’re seeing some lovely new styles emerging at the moment such as very photography/typography heavy graphics suites, I think it’s a good reminder that the possibilities are endless and it doesn’t all have to follow the same styles, rules and direction.
If you could change one thing about your industry, what would you change?
If I could change one thing about the industry, I’d say the opportunities for younger people in the industry, especially for full-time positions. The majority of clubs and agencies, don’t want to put trust in younger people because of the general stigma that we’re “incapable and/or unreliable”, while that could be the case for some, age shouldn’t necessarily be a factor in choosing if someone is fit for the job or not, if you’re able to prove yourself and you fit the criteria for the role, you should be treated equally, I’m grateful that I was trusted enough by Louis and Rob at Surprise Shirts to be given the job.
Sport is a hectic industry, what do you do to switch off?
It can be hard to know my limits sometimes, but I always try to remind myself to take time to relax and unwind and I’m definitely getting better at that. When I do catch a break, I usually go for a walk in nature, watch a movie, listen to some music and/or see some mates to make sure I’m maintaining a social life, stable wellbeing and not overdoing it. That way, I can rejuvenate and get the creative juices flowing again.
When everything important is out of the way and it’s time to relax, I make sure to stay out away from my setup where a lot of technology is around in order to clear my mind and put my focus into relaxing. With that said, it’s never good to put your feet up too much, otherwise those deadlines aren’t going to be hit.
If you were to give a piece of advice to someone wanting to do your role, what would you say?
If I were to give a piece of advice to someone wanting to pursue a role as a graphic designer in sport, I’d say network, network, network. Networking is definitely really important in any area of sport.
I strongly believe in ‘it’s not what you know, it’s who you know’. Building my social media platforms such as Twitter and LinkedIn have been a pivotal part of my journey so far. Having lots of connections has played a huge part in getting freelance gigs and my first job in the industry.
The experience I’ve got so far in order to get my foot in the door. I’ve met loads of amazing creatives in sport and it’s not only led to opportunities already but it’s also allowed me to build friendships, and lasting links for future opportunities. I’d also say regularly creating ‘passion pieces’/concept work and posting them on a variety of social media platforms will really help you to get noticed, as well as having a professional portfolio and maintaining it constantly. This will also lead to many more opportunities.
I’m still on my own journey, I’m young, eager and passionate and I’m no expert, but I can speak from the experience I do have and say those points are key.
How to connect with Finley Sutherns…
You can find me on the following social media platforms, I’m always open for a chat!
X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/FinleySDesign
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finley-sutherns-1aa1a926b/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/finsutherns
Portfolio: https://finsuthernsdesign.com
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/finsuthernsdesign.com
Email: hello@finsuthernsdesign.com
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