The Self-Education Process (So Far) 

I’ve been spending a couple of hours each day exploring various resources to begin to immerse myself in the vast world of graphic design. I’ve been reading Ellen Lupton’s Graphic Design: The New Basics, The Principles and Practices of Graphic Design, and Graphic Design Thinking. I am also taking introductory level courses on both Udemy and Coursera in addition to exploring videos that interest me on Skillshare. 

Another aspect of this exploration has included forming a big collection of my favorite brands and looking further into their various influences. In this way, I am learning a lot about the branding process across product lines as well as learning about designers who inspire me.  Something I thought is interesting to note is that radically different art forms, no matter how abstract, can inspire the brands we know and love.

 I’m also trying to get involved in Boston’s design community by attending events held or sponsored by Boston’s branch of the AIGA organization, which advocates for design as a vital cultural force. This month I plan to attend an evening lecture on the significance of the ampersand. 

Finally, today marks the beginning of my final school year, my last first day of school. I have never been so excited about my semester schedule because all of the classes feel more relevant than ever. I will be taking branding, integrated marketing communications, and a design strategy elective, all of which support what I think my specialization in graphic design will be…

Specialization

Through my ongoing exploration, I have gravitated towards product packaging design. The tactile process appeals to me. It is artistic and complex. I’m intrigued by the challenge of establishing a cohesive brand identity from a series of creative elements, not only for a single product, but across many different types that collectively form a product line. I’m a little intimidated about learning to think in three dimensions, but I’m excited by the prospect of being able to hold the physical design in my hands and see it on a store shelf. I like the idea of giving life to a brand and influencing people’s interactions with the products they encounter. I want to make strong impressions and establish relationships between people and the products they live by or choose in general. 

What also appeals to me about package design in the dynamic process it entails. I’ll have to consider color pallet, which translates to ink considerations, and paper textures. I’ll need to work with printers to transform the design from behind the screen of my vector program to physical reality where it can be touched and handled. I’ll have to develop a mindset that can visualize the design at each stage it’s in. 

I am new to the world of design. 

In September I will officially be a senior at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business where I am majoring in marketing. I have gained countless skills from the business school and had the privilege of being taught by distinguished and inspiring individuals. Most of all,  I am grateful to Questrom for guiding me to realize the value in connecting with people. However, I came to understand that I need to take a different route to do so. In particular, I discovered that my strengths and passions lie in the artistic side of marketing, in strategically reaching people through a blend of written and visual communication. 

BU is comprised of various colleges, each with its own character, and Questrom is known as a joke among students for being the school of snakes. This is in reference to the coldhearted competition among the aspiring professionals. Most people are shocked when I tell them I’m a business major because I would probably be the doe-eyed kind of creature that would get eaten by a snake. While the vibe at the business school is Type A, stern and cutthroat, I on the other hand am a whimsical, daydreamy, romantic who collages in her spare time, watercolors, and writes short stories. 

Over the years, two professors I bonded with for sharing a love of writing asked me what I was doing in the business school when it was clear that I favored unbounded artistic projects. My answer was always that I liked the thrill of a fast-paced environment, collaborative problem solving, and healthy competition. That is all true in regards to the kind of student and worker I am. However, the real reason I chose Questrom and stuck with it was that I did not want to see myself as the animal that gets eaten by the snake. 

In truth, I wanted to prove to myself that I could handle the rigor and be someone worth taking seriously.  I thought I had to stifle my true, creative self in order to fit into the mold of a “successful business woman,” in order to be respected by my peers. I said I wanted the security of a job post-graduation, but what I really wanted was a more fundamental kind of security: I wanted business to validate my sense of self-worth. 

Deeper into my career at Questrom, as the pressure increased, I felt drained of color and motivation. Feelings of inspiration were replaced with boredom and dread: I felt trapped in the mold I had built for myself. But the interesting thing was, the stiffness that had become unbearable pushed me back into the arms of art. My saving grace became stream-of-consciousness writing, doodling, and intention-setting, and every few months I would go through a new journal. I started collaging again too. I realized that creating layouts, communicating meaning through the use of text, lines, images and color engrossed me more than the work to which I was supposed to be devoting the majority of my time. 

And that was when it hit me: I am meant to be a graphic designer.  I want to help people forge and communicate their brand identities. I want to scout out problems and solve them creatively. I want a job that is dynamic and allows me to live colorfully, because I am of value to society when my creativity is unleashed. I had been afraid to think bigger because I couldn’t initially see the shape of what would take place. Now, even though I am changing direction late in my college career, and even though I do not know where it will take me, my passion is ignited again, and I have never felt more secure.