Artist Credit:
Kristin Don - Alumni
The Art Institute of California - Hollywood
Fashion - Fashion Design
Design Success Stories
Katy Poon: 2006 Graphic Design Graduate from The Art Institute of Vancouver
Employer: Electronic Arts Canada
Career: Interface Designer
"The Art Institute of Vancouver helped me prepare myself for this job by teaching me how to present myself." — Katy Poon
What's Katy doing today?
Katy is working at Electronic Arts Canada as an Interface Designer. She's part of the team that designs the menus, HUD elements, icons, and loading sreens for video games. As a part of her job, she creates many motion demos, and she's thankful for the Flash skills she learned while attending The Art Institute of Vancouver.
Creative inspiration
Finding the right career was easy for Katy. She quickly knew that interface design was perfect for her. She states that "I am a perfectionist and am always looking for perfect composition (I even arrange my Photoshop windows and palettes so they are perfectly aligned with each other!)." She credits her education for teaching her how to present herself to prospective employers. She knows that tips from Career Services at The Art Institute of Vancouver enabled her to make a good first impression.
Getting out there
In her free time, Katy continues to challenge herself as a freelance designer, working mostly in web design and development and print.
Marie Pacelli: 2005 Graphic Design Graduate from The New England Institute of Art
Employer: The New England Institute of Art
Career: Graphic Designer
"My instructors excited me with their enthusiasm of design and criticism, and pushed me to create better pieces." — Marie Pacelli
What's Marie doing today?
Marie is in charge of designing and coordinating the production of all print and marketing materials for The New England Institute of Art. She designs brochures, flyers, posters, invitations, ads, billboards, outdoor banners, vehicle graphics, and signage for open house events. She is responsible for meeting deadlines and works within budget constraints while maintaining the school's brand. She also creates a monthly newsletter and gallery invitations. Her job keeps her busy: "I could be managing up to 15 to 20 projects at a time. The majority of my projects each have a basic timeline, which include several phases beginning with the initial concept phase to the final product phase."
Creative inspiration
Marie created an Admissions Folder to hold relevant information given to potential students. She states, "although a folder might not seem as grand as a 12' billboard, it is actually even more significant because it possesses sticking power. It is a give-away piece that serves two functions. It's a folder and constant reminder of the school." The design goal was to create an attractive piece that symbolically displayed the school's creative nature through type and imagery. Fun design elements include small symbols floating around, representing the programs, technologies, and tools with imagery like a computer monitor, paintbrush, and other media symbols. She used Illustrator CS2 to create the folder artwork.
Getting out there
"I think all of my professors had their own significant influence on me," Marie says. While in school, she learned how to work with programs and think outside of the box. She also learned to market herself. She believes her success is due in part to her instructors. "They excited me with their enthusiasm of design and criticism, and pushed me to create better pieces."
Pavla Dlab: 2006 Graphic Design Graduate of The Art Institute of California - Orange County
Employer: Flipcide
Career: Designer
"These are the professors that are going to prepare you for the reality that lies behind the doors of design firms and agencies, big and small." — Pavla Dlab
What's Pavla doing today?
Pavla is working as a designer for Flipcide. She is driven by her mantra: "Work hard. When you think you're done, work on it some more." She believes that if, at the end of the day, she can objectively look back on her work and be content, that she's doing something right.
Creative inspiration
A true love for design inspires Pavla, who states that, "one main separating factor between designing and creating is the concept." She explains that despite how important aesthetics are in design, work needs to have a strong message and conceptual backbone to rise above the rest. "This is what is going to help pull you to the front of the rat-race and land that position at your ideal creative firm."
Getting out there
Pavla had the privilege of staying in contact with a former professor from The Art Institute of Calfornia — Orange County. This relationship resulted in her obtaining a job at Flipcide. She knows that in the workplace, word-of-mouth is one of the best ways to get to her creative destination.
Christopher Ellsworth: 2003 Graphic Design Graduate from The New England Institute of Art
Employer: Founder and President, CGE Design
Career: Graphic Designer
"My education at The New England Institute of Art gave me the discipline needed to succeed." — Christopher Ellsworth
What's Christopher doing today?
Christopher is the founder and president of CGE Design, which is about to open its new corporate headquarters in Boston's South End. In just the past year, his business has tripled.
Creative inspiration
As both a businessman and artist, Christopher is motivated by responsibilities to provide his clients with exceptional work. To keep his creativity flowing, he keeps multiple and multifaceted projects running smoothly on various time frames, adding a new dynamic to his professional freelance career.
Getting out there
As a freelancer, Christopher emphasizes that he succeeds by not becoming discouraged at what may seem like a devastating professional rejection. He believes his education at The New England Institute of Art gave him the discipline needed to succeed — balancing creative as well as business-minded coursework which he's found crucial to succeeding in the communications arena.
Brittany Langdale: 2007 Graphic Design Graduate from The Art Institute of California - Orange County
Employer: DraftFCB
Career: Jr. Designer with DraftFCB
"Doing so many different types of projects in school definitely expanded my skill set." — Brittany Langdale
What's Brittany doing today?
Brittany is working as a Jr. Designer at DraftFCB. She's currently working on a design for Taco Bell that will be placed in restaurants across the United States. Her excitement about the project is evident as she states, "once it is done and displayed in the stores, I can say that I was the art director on this project and did it on my own." She credits her experience studying at The Art Institute of California — Orange County with helping her to balance the many aspects of her job. "Doing so many different types of projects definitely expanded my skills set. Now I can tackle anything that is thrown my way at work because I've had some experience designing it before." Brittany spends her days in meetings with clients, at photo shoots, or working closely with the art director on different projects.
Creative inspiration
Inspired by her success in the real world, Brittany recommends that current students gain work experience while still in school. She emphasizes the benefit of internships — and states that her internship complemented her in-school learning by giving her real-world experience that boosted her portfolio.
Getting out there
The day after the portfolio show at The Art Institute of California — Orange County, Brittany contacted every potential employer who had given her a business card. She thanked them for viewing her work and asked about job opportunities. DraftFCB replied back quickly and she interviewed the week after she graduated. Brittany knew the company was right for her as soon as she walked in the door. "DraftFCB was looking for someone who liked to work with typography. That happens to be one of my favorite things, so when I mentioned that in my interview and they saw how many type explorations I had done in my portfolio, they were excited."
Brandon Martin: 2007 Graphic Design Student from The Art Institute of Colorado
Employer: H+L Architecture
Career: Graphic Designer
"Fully understand what it is you want out of this education and don't let anything stand in the way of it. Own your decision to be in school." — Brandon Martin
What's Brandon doing today?
As an in-house designer at H+L Architecture, Brandon is part of the marketing team that works alongside architects, interior designers, and landscape architects.
Creative Inspiration
Brandon explains that his inspiration often comes from music. In the project "Athens," he tackled the challenge of distinguishing and identifying the 10 conference rooms located within his company. Each room was given the name of a city and it was up to Brandon to create an appropriate image for the city. The images had to give other employees a memorable visual representation of each room so that they could remember where to meet by image — not room number. He enjoyed having the freedom of no boundaries for the project, explaining, "I was able to work without constraints. Just me, myself, and my creativity moving along."
Getting out there
Brandon concentrated heavily on his education, limiting outside distractions while working two jobs and an internship. He believes that his success lies in the fact that he never settled on the first job offer he received following graduation — instead he continued interviewing and waited for the "right energy" to come. Brandon also credits his instructors at The Art Institute of Colorado for helping him to turn his thoughts into reality — never settling for anything less than the right opportunities.
