“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up”
– Pablo Picasso
I loved doing graphic design long before I even knew the term.
At a very young age I had a pastime of drawing little comic books in my notebooks. It took the common hobby of sketching characters and combined it with arranging images, text, and boxes into aesthetically pleasing compositions. During my senior year of high school, I had the opportunity of bringing one of my old stories to life. For the concentration project of my AP Studio Art class I made 12 pages of a graphic novel with my eyes now consciously aware of design principles. My work was given a 5 by the College Board, the highest score possible. I also aced five other AP classes during high school, which gave me enough credits to skip a full year of college.
the final page of my AP Art comic.
For college, I wanted to stay local and made the choice to attend Point Park University in 2017. After graduating summa cum laude in 2020 I still think it was a fantastic decision. Point Park’s graphic design major was still under development, so I instead majored In Multimedia with a concentration in graphic design. This has equipped me with crucial skills reaching far beyond design such as journalism, media ethics, web publishing, photography and video production.
In 2018 I began working with Point Park’s student organizations to take my skills outside of class. For the Psychology Confluence Alliance and Campus Activities Board I designed eye-catching flyers to promote their upcoming events. These experiences proved valuable because I was now creating work for someone’s individual needs rather than working off a rubric for a grade. It was also a much more conversational process, constantly getting feedback from the groups on what to tweak or improve.
“Mosh Pitt” – a mock magazine all about Pittsburgh’s music scene.
For some of my class projects, I chose Pittsburgh’s DIY music scene as my topic. These assignments gave me the wonderful opportunity to interview and befriend some incredible musicians. As I continued down this path, my talents began being noticed by my peers in the scene. I’ve been commissioned to do freelance work for some of my favorite local bands, including designing album artwork, lyric booklets, logos, stickers, t-shirts and even a music video.
The most valuable experience I’ve had as a graphic designer is my recent internship with Kelevra Ideas, an advertising agency in Bloomfield. Here I’ve been learning what it’s like to have a career as a graphic designer, working with other designers and content strategists for clients on a tight schedule. So far, my work at Kelevra has primarily been designing images for nonprofits’ social media pages and other promotional material, all with distinct brand identities to stay loyal to. I’ve had the opportunity to work with a wide variety of clients both local and national. I adore the work I’ve been doing with Kelevra and hope to one day land a career doing something equally as great!