Design has always been a large part of my life. Growing up I was drawn to advertising, whether it was through packaging, print, or digital media. I never thought too much into these interests and explored other studies. Once in college, I felt directionless with my major and career goals at the time. As I looked into other career options I kept finding my interests leading me to graphic design. I decided to take a risk, having never taken an art class at this point, and change majors. I knew that if I worked hard enough I could be successful with the switch, and I’ve enjoyed every day of it.
One of the major aspects of graphic design that interested me was how it is heavily client-based. As someone who has worked in customer service, going as far back as high school, it’s a challenge I’ve grown to love. Balancing client needs and wants with my personal design choices adds an extra level of difficulty to the designing process. In the end, I am not making the work for myself but using my work to solve a problem for the client. Even if the client doesn’t end up picking my favorite design, I’m satisfied with a different option solving their problem. The other major aspect I enjoy is the ability to create precision that can continually change. With digital work nothing is permanent until you decide that you want it to be.
As a student, I’m still developing a personal design style. I try to work with design elements outside of my comfort zone to gain experience while I still have the freedom in school to choose my designs without too many restrictions. I believe it is better to go too far and then refine, instead of only work with what you know. I do enjoy working with type, but I lean towards imagery over type. I like a minimalistic structured approach that contains the essentials and keeps that as the focus. I like the challenge of a minimalistic design because there are not many other elements in the design to hide mistakes. Each element has to be perfect and be able to hold up on their own.
My ultimate goal as a designer is to make designs that assist in reaching potential. There is no reason that everything in life can’t be beautiful, even while serving a purpose. A good designer can draw the beauty out of a design, no matter how mundane it is. It is easy to think of beauty as some grand thing, but beauty comes from the details. In design, I see beauty as elements such as line spacing and balanced color. I want to continue exploring this beauty, and help others to see it too.
@chelsea_d_esign
davisc15@students.ecu.edu
919.340.3603
davisc15@students.ecu.edu
919.340.3603