So I’ve spent the last four years figuring out how to balance my college life, social life, and work life. Now that I’ve finally figured it out (I think…) I’m ready to move on to the big kahuna: “real life.” You know, when your parents’ health insurance doesn’t cover you anymore and the car they gave you 7 years ago starts to break down. The life with bills, responsibilities, and a full-time job.
Fortunately for me when I came to Virginia Tech in the fall of 2005 I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my education, and that choice has never changed. I am a graphic designer… not just any graphic designer, but a full-blown “can-you-believe-they-used-that-font” at the movies type graphic designer. Most of my friends don’t get it, and my family gives a polite nod when I start going into one of my rants.
For the fellow graphic design nerds out there who do get it, we:
- Know the difference between Helvetica and Arial (and which one is better)
- Pour over PRINT, HOW, and CMYK magazines in book stores for “research”
- Drink too much coffee or energy drinks… or both
- Make jokes about the word keming
- Know that finding a new shortcut in Adobe can change our lives
- And somewhat unheard of these days: love what we do.
I enjoy a good challenge, because challenges lead to seeking inspiration in the strangest places. Without them, designs tend to get boring and predictable. I work at a fast pace, but that doesn’t keep me from being obsessive about details.
Though I’m painfully slow with numbers and dates (yes, I resort to using a mental picture of dice when counting) I can learn a new program in no time. In fact, I’ve managed to teach myself Indesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Flash, Dreamweaver, and Modo. Courses I actually opted to take include: Print Design, Typography, Packaging/Branding Identity, Interactive Media, and 3D Modeling.
Besides design, I love embarrassingly uncoordinated dancing, dogs, and white-chocolate latte’s. I’m a member of a gym that I’ve sworn to go to for over a year, but I’m still waiting for that perfect moment of inspiration to make a fool out of myself on the treadmill. I probably text a little bit too much, and my latest discovery of twitter.com isn’t helping, but I’m officially connected to the world.
