As of yesterday, I officially closed the book on my student life, graduating from Eastern Connecticut State University with my Bachelor of Arts and major in Visual Arts (with concentration on Digital Art & Design). For me, the learning and experience doesn’t end here, however. Quite differently, it just begins. In the coming weeks and months, I’ll be reading up on design and exercising my skills with self imposed and sanctioned design challenges from TopCoder Studio and other potential employers.

I, like many fresh college graduates, will be out on the job market and am all too eager to sample my work, which ranges from off-the-wall to serious, and everything in between. I’ve tried not to limit myself on what I can design and who I’d like to work for. It truly is wide open for me, and I’m delighted to have the opportunity to pursue a career in something I’ve always known I loved.

My early design classes at ECSU taught me well. They taught me that Graphic Design isn’t about flashy or “in your face “colors” and symbols thrown together. Instead, I was taught from the ground up, by arranging basic information, and doing everything as simplistic as designing within black squares, to more complex projects revolving around specific premises which we had to design around.

One of our first such assignments was to visually express our weekly schedules. Sounds confusing, right? Well it was, especially in the onset, when we were told we couldn’t use any color (only type) and still had to emphasize important aspects of our schedule. This is when I first gained an understanding of the importance of type,placement and basic design elements. By the end of the assignment, everyone in our course had completed a proficient and effective graphic schedule. Mine takes the form of a color-coded “radar” with different “rings” corresponding to periods of time.  Exercises such as this helped to visualize information which is a crucial step, I believe to becoming a great designer. I’m at the beginning of my journey but I hope to make great progress this year and will keep all appraised of my upcoming jobs and events.

I am currently seeking employment in Connecticut, as a Graphic Designer, or something involved in the Graphics field. I am proficient in the Adobe Creative Suite and have web knowledge of HTML and CSS. I’m a hard-working conscientious individual who will do the job the right way and to the clients’ liking.

I look forward to beginning a new chapter in my life, while never forgetting my past, and always looking forward to the future.