Ever since I was little I found myself entranced by the world of design. I remember sitting in Mrs. Evans' fourth grade class doodling the logos of my favorite sports teams in my spiral notebook instead of paying attention (Sorry Mom and Dad...and Mrs. Evans). Each team had their own unique logo and distinct color scheme to go along with it – an identity…a brand. At the time, I had no idea this was considered “art”. I thought “art” was limited to simply painting or drawing. I didn’t know a computer would turn into my best friend.
That being said, turning to graphic design was actually a happy accident. I knew I wanted to be involved in the art world somehow, but I couldn’t find my niche. I was never truly sold on painting, as I found it to be messy and tedious at times and while I appreciated sculpture and three-dimensional works, I knew those weren’t the answer either. I enjoyed drawing, but with all the charcoal pencils and numerous sketchbooks it just got to the point where it seemed like every day I was buying new art supplies. It was in 8th grade when I was first introduced to Photoshop. I had drawn a self-portrait and my teacher insisted I scan it on to the computer and colorize it using the paint tool. At the time the idea seemed weird to me, as I just wanted to fill it in with colored pencils like the rest of the class. However, I eventually gave in and I haven’t turned back since. Photoshop gave me the opportunity to color “inside the lines” just as I would with markers or paints, but with much more flexibility and perhaps most importantly, much less clean up!
After that fateful day in the eighth grade, I began to explore more and more of Adobe’s catalog; moving from Photoshop to Illustrator and then on to InDesign. Fast forward to today and graphic design and I remain in a committed relationship. With my work, I try my best to incorporate my love for design with some of my other interests, but all while never forgetting my “first love”.