During my college years, while preparing for my future, graphic design was never on my radar. As mentioned in my About page, I graduated with a degree in mass communication. More specifically, however, I have a concentration in broadcast journalism. There were many aspects of it that drew me in quickly: taking facts and details to form direct and informative stories, overcoming shyness through developing my interviewing skills, learning the inner workings of a studio, bringing a story to life through audio and video, etc. Still, being so passionate about namely illustration and writing fiction, I could feel my interest in broadcast journalism diminish a little each year.

I had knocked out many of my mandatory courses early on, leaving my junior and senior years full of electives and high-level mass communication courses. While filling up my semester with courses, I found a graphic design class and thought it would be perfect for me. I thought my interest in art and beginner’s level of basic photo editing would make this class enjoyable, and perhaps a little easier for me. As a kid, I used to love the idea of writing my own books and designing my own covers as well, so it seemed like it was time to finally give graphic design a chance with this course.

I hated it.

It was not the fault of anyone but my own, and I still did well on my assignments, but I had truly underestimated what all graphic design entails, particularly with designing for print. It was so overwhelming at the time that I had decided I graphic design was simply not for me.

Though I told myself that, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Even after I graduated and shifted more toward the marketing field, part of me longed to give graphic design another try despite the frustration of the class. In my spare time, I found myself practicing more and more with Adobe Creative Suite, trying to learn the basics, but never really having a project in mind.

Then came an opportunity for me to surprise a friend with something for their novel. I would not be able to do the cover, as it was already done by someone the publisher hired, but with the novel being brand new, I thought some potential promotional work could help for marketing purposes. No real stakes involved either: if it looks good, it could be used. If not, well, it gave me an excuse to practice.

The feedback, however, had me overwhelmed with joy and relief. I had never made something for someone like this before, and it was more rewarding than I had expected, knowing my friend genuinely loved it. We made it into a poster, and I then moved on to make bookmarks as well, all of which were used as promotional giveaways.

Feeling energized with a sudden passion for this sort of work, I continued to take any opportunities I could find to build upon my experience with freelance projects. Eventually, I was able to get my foot in the door with steady design work, involving myself in creative collaboration with clients to provide them with something they love, first with print and digital media, and later 3D spatial design and prefab neon design as well.

I still have a copy of my first design project in my office on my wall. When I look up, I see a reminder of where I started, and where this journey has taken me: from a hobby that began with frustration and a desire to learn, to a career I truly love.

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