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MAJORING IN GRAPHIC DESIGN

Austin Drouin

I grew up in a small town in Maine, its population just barely over seven hundred people. The towns only recreational area was the local Walmart, so as you could imagine, I spent a large majority of my time home. My father had always been an incredible artist, whether it be drawing with pencils and pen or designing websites for all the local companies. One of my most dearest memories was him drawing little portraits of me with weird faces; as an attempt to make me laugh or line drawings that I could color in on my own. While I didn’t realize it then, it is now clear to me that the purpose of those little drawings and art in general was to inspire not only me, but a society as a whole.

Now that I’m older and have a greater appreciation and respect for the arts around me, I realized that, I too could be the source of inspiration for millions of people around me. As I begin to research the broadness of this major, I’m realizing even now how relatively easy it is to have my art and my passion out in the public, or on screens, alike. If one day this career allows me to inspire many people to act and think in the right way, I will know that I have changed the world, even in the slightest, and my greatest dreams will have come true.

One day I hope to be using the skills and techniques that I have obtained here at Keene State College, at the large scale animation and film company, Pixar. There I hope to inspire the large mass of youth through the screen to become an inspiration, just as my father had done for me.

AREAS I WISH TO PURSUE

#1. Motion Design

Why Graphic Design?

I’ve been interested in all aspects of art and design ever since I could remember. I’m an intended Graphic Design Major and I’m hoping to use this class to build a strong portfolio in order to apply to the program. I have a passion for creativity that people seem to notice which encourages me even more. I’ve always excelled in art classes although I’m not the strongest drawer or painter, I was still able to design well and make appealing pieces. Once I entered High School I was able to take classes such as Graphic Design and Product Design and Photography as electives and that’s when I knew what I wanted to further my education in. I loved that I could make something out of nothing or make something into something entirely different and that there could be no boundaries.

Focus

Whenever people discuss career paths I always say I could never imagine having a boring desk job and why not make a living off of something I love to do? I wasn’t entirely sure at first of where I wanted to go with Graphic Design as a career but after my studies last year and just paying more attention to the media and what I saw in my every day life, I think I’d really enjoy Advertising Design and Package Design. I believe the two go hand in hand in some ways. The packaging of a product is essentially advertising for itself. Recently I was walking through a cosmetic store and noticed this bottle of sunscreen sitting at eye level. The bottle looked as if it were made from bamboo and had neon yellow writing that really caught my eye and I couldn’t help but to think that that was good marketing and design and that I would be good at a job like that. Advertisement design could be one of the most important fields because it’s what catches people’s eye and makes them want to go somewhere, do something, or purchase into something; they’re buying into the design and idea that they’re seeing. I worked at Nike for one summer and I always admired how they sold their brand. The designers of their ads that hung within the store or around the mall really used Nike’s visual identity and combined it with their own marketing strategies in order to make the company a success. They use larger than life visuals of dominant and powerful athletes wearing Nike products in order to say “Wear these clothes and you can be like these people”. Not to mention Nike’s simple but infamous Swoosh logo that can be identified by anyone, anywhere. I believe my experience working retail and helping with product placement and store visuals would really help me be successful in this area of design; I have an extremely good eye for placement. I think that’s also a good quality to have when working with package design. I really enjoy working with color schemes and fonts and placing things together in a way that would catch a buyers eye.

The Future

It’s exciting to think that the field of Graphic Design is always growing, changing, and excelling. New trends are always coming about and people are constantly changing what they like to see. Designers need to constantly be on their toes and staying tuned in to current events to better themselves and their work for their clients.

Apparel 

Typography