I move colors and shapes with my mind. While I may not have telekinetic powers, I do have idea-generating ones! As a graphic designer, I regularly convert coffee into stunning visuals. My specialties are branding, layout design, and package design; I also have experience in front-end web development. Not only that; as a former project manager, I also have production knowledge and strategic skills - a combination you won’t often find in one person.
READ MY STORY"The colors are all wrong," I thought while looking at the storefront. I must have been four or five years old. There were number and letter paper cutouts in different colors taped to the inside of the glass. I don't remember what they said - only that that this was one of the first times it dawned on me that other people don't see the same things I do - they would pick totally random colors, it seemed. I, on the other hand, always saw each letter and number in my head in the same colors - when I would see a number, there would also be a mental image or flash of its "illustration." It wouldn't be until years later that I found out that this is actually a mild form of synesthesia - a neurological condition where two or more senses are mixed up due to strong neural connections in the brain. This penchant for combining seemingly unrelated things would carry on later in life.
Growing up, I had an inclination for writing, drawing, designing things, as well as building things - out of legos, sand, or otherwise. My favorite toys varied, and at different times included lego blocks, puzzles, and a toy train set
As soon as I could hold a pen, sheets covered in doodles always appeared nearby. An early reader, I was extremely imaginative, and loved to get lost in stories. This carried over to everything I did, from creating scenarios for my lego trucks and bridges with their little lego workers, and the little poems and stories I wrote in elementary school. Throughout all of this, I was a very curious child, and would try to figure out how the world works - through reading encyclopedias, asking questions, or simply observing; but the pull towards storytelling and visuals was the strongest of all.
As an aspiring creative, I drew typography, read books of various genres, wrote short stories, and made drawings and paintings.
In my mid-teens, my family moved across the ocean to the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. I spent my high school years trying to adapt to my new environment, which was quite different from my country in Eastern Europe. I did a few creative things, like being part of a musical, and acting in plays; I also won a couple of art and design awards, and spent time as an illustrator and editor for the school newspaper. It was a challenge to be an immigrant child and balance that with school and extracurriculars, and to this day, I wish I had done more, especially on the STEM side of things.
That being said, I did discover something very important - that the thing that I'm creating has to have a purpose. This was why it was often challenging for me to finish stories, or to consistently make art "on a whim." When it came to design thinking, on the other hand, I excelled!
Taking into consideration my artistic inclinations and my strategic thinking when it came to putting projects together, I opted to go to design school. There, I developed my skillset, and got multiple design tools under my belt.
While in college, I was selected for an internship at a converting company (part of the printing industry - converting involves all the processes that come after the flat sheets come out of the press!). After my internship, I spent almost three years there as a project manager, working closely with the manufacturing teams, sales reps, and our customers, managing multiple projects of varying scale and different levels of complexity. Some of the most complex jobs involved many steps and multiple components, including but not limited to UV coating, lamination, die cutting, flat cutting, folding and gluing, spiral binding, and various tasks requiring hand assembly - and I would be there to make sure each step went smoothly.
These days, I work as a graphic designer for different clients and companies, helping push their brand identity and products to the next level. My production knowledge helps me come up with designs that are both well-engineered and aesthetically pleasing.
A minimalist at heart, I prefer to convey the point of each design in modern fonts and simple shapes, always striving for the perfect blend of form and function.
Have a branding challenge, or an idea you need brought to life?
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