What brought you to AU, specifically the Art and Design program?

I visited various design schools. They flaunted flashy student work, huge studios with hundreds of computers and resources, and impressive portfolio reels of alumni working for brands like Disney or Google. But what stood out among all that noise when I visited AU was seeing the same caliber of work in a humble package. Classes a quarter of the size. Seasoned professors accessible at nearly any moment (not just by appointment only). AU’s approachability and promise of an education that could rival any other is what ultimately lead me to pursue the Art and Design program.

Share a favorite moment (or moments!) during your time at AU.

Most of my favorite moments—or conversations, rather—happened in the open-door offices of my design professors before and after classes. Groups of us would hang out and chat about everything from design trends and art blogs to music and whatever the lettuce is in a Taco Bell quesadilla.

One conversation I distinctly remember was with Tim Speaker about how the music of the XX is like an audio representation of design minimalism—the spare instrumental presence like negative space, the sporadic picking of guitar like proximity. It was a heady conversation. But what it taught me was how much more compelling things in life are if we view them through the lens of design. How someone is trying to communicate an idea.

Yes, the conversation was stimulating, but these moments are what made my time at AU special—the candid, spontaneous ones. Where the professors recognized the curiosity and fire and *chose* to stoke it.

Do you recall a particular time or experience during your time at AU when you KNEW you were at the right place and studying the right discipline?

Day 1 of Graphic Design 1. Jane Dorn was defining graphic design for our class.

“Imagine coming up with an idea that you could share with thousands—potentially millions—of people and they all could understand your idea simply by looking at one single symbol. And that symbol not only means something, but it looks beautiful too. That’s visual communication. And that’s graphic design.”

Hooked. And have been ever since.

Where do you work? What do you do there? How long have you been there? What do you find the most rewarding about your work?

I’m a Senior Art Director at FerebeeLane, a brand communications agency in Greenville, South Carolina. I’ve been at the agency for six and a half years.

We’re essentially an advertising agency, but what sets us apart from many is our value of design and narrative-style communication. We develop marketing strategies paired with creative ideas to help our clients communicate their brand stories to their audiences.

Where my role falls in all that is on the creative concept and execution side. On any given day I’m developing the ‘look and feel’ for a photoshoot, an ad campaign, or collateral materials. I’ll then articulate that direction by writing copy or developing visual inspiration and moodboards. I also have traditional designer responsibilities like creating brand identities and print and web designs.

I also serve as in-house photographer at FerebeeLane on a wide range of projects—capturing stills for campaigns, ads, product launches, and social media assets.

The most rewarding part of my work is reaching the ah-ha moment in the creative process—the idea comes together and everything makes sense. There’s a natural path for execution. Everything just feels right. It’s usually a grueling process to get there, with hundreds of iterations and potentially several re-dos. But there’s nothing quite like that feeling.

What was the scariest thing about entering the work place?

Probably that first-ever moment when you’re handed a project and it requires all the skills you’ve worked to develop over the course of four years, and it’s due in an hour.

What is something you know now that you wish you’d known as a student.

• Ditch the ego.
• Pay closer attention in Print Production class.
• Work in teams more.
• You know that feeling called “bored?” Bottle it or something. You’ll never feel it again.
• Just because you *can* do everything doesn’t mean you *should*. Focus on being great at a few things rather than mediocre at many things.
• Write more. We’re in the business of communication, and that doesn’t just mean pretty fonts.