by Leah Willis
Contributor
A lot of people look at graphic design majors and think that we have it easy. Yes, we aren’t writing papers all day, but nothing about it is easy.
I remember Graphic Design 1, the first graphic design class I took, with MaeLin Levine, who has served as a mentor and amazing instructor throughout this entire process. I was so overwhelmed looking at all the different tools, and I thought to myself, “I will never be able to do this.”
A few years later, I am so happy to say that I can.
As cheesy as it sounds, the point from where I was then to where I am now has been such an incredible trek. I have had to really push myself, struggle and think outside the box to get to this point.
Being a part of the graphic design program has been amazing because it is such a collaborative environment and I have been so lucky to learn alongside and work with amazingly talented students.
Putting together my portfolio has been such a whirlwind of emotion, but an incredible experience. Fellow students and I joke that our portfolios are our children — we take care of them and love them and, at times, they make us cry. We have been up all night because of them, but at the end of the day, we are so extremely proud of them.
The thing that I love about design is that, if you can dream it, you can figure out a way to do it. Design takes every element and mixes it all together to create this magical world. It is my playground.
I went into design with the dreams of being the next Grace Coddington (the creative director of Vogue) and, as much as I’d still love to do that, I have also fallen madly in love with branding.
I guess we will see where I end up from here. I have dubbed a David Bowie quote as my newest mantra, “I don’t know where I am going from here, but I swear it won’t be boring.”
As of now, that’s all I know.
