Maddie Aubry | Carolyn Barton | Malik Fequiere | Cheyenne Fowler | Kayla Gerace | Emily Herchenroder | Artur Ivanov | Gianna Klisch | Sam LaMothe | Sara Maguire | Eli Marburger | Jack McIntyre | Emily McMullen | Dylan McQuiston | Daniel Modestine | Shelby Montes de Oca | Iman Morsy | Rubie Nathanson | Zachary Nolter | Skylar Penrose | Miette Rivera | Emily Williams | Jolie Zinn
Maddie Aubry
My education and experience has shaped me into being a designer who loves to explore, push the boundaries of my own curiosity, and truly understand/embrace human-centered design. I push myself and others around me to emphasize the importance of using design thinking and research strategies to come up with solutions that will truly solve the problem at hand. During my time as a student, I have completely fallen in love with the design process and have learned to use that as a path to lead me to sustainable solutions. As a designer, I get most excited about UX/UI design but I also find myself interested in package design. If I could offer one piece of advice it would be to trust the process because not everything is going to go as planned or be perfect but through failure, you will learn a lot about yourself and where you want to go.
Carolyn Barton
I went into design school thinking I would be creating purely for aesthetic purposes. What I was opened up to during my time at PhilaU was the way that design can teach you so much about people and inspire change. If I could offer any advice it would be to create lasting friendships with the people in your studios, empower each other to work hard and celebrate each others successes (there is room for everyone to succeed!!!)
Malik Fequiere
Malik is a story teller that uses design as his medium of expression. His interests in fashion, art, architecture, and culture is what makes his approach so unique. In 2016 he started @mskfmag where he interviews creatives in different mediums so that they have a physical marker of what they have done. Looking forward Malik wants to be at the helm of a leading publication.
Cheyenne Fowler
I enjoy graphic design because communicating with others can be difficult, but in the design world of collaborating and creating, it becomes much easier for me. When I design I aim to connect with people on a deeper level beyond just the words on a page with further visuals like typography and color. I also enjoy drawing and painting as another way to express myself creatively beyond graphic design.
Kayla Gerace
If you asked me in kindergarten what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would've said an artist. Being a Graphic Designer allows me to pursue my dreams and push myself to reach my full potential. Graphic Design gives me an outlet to express my thoughts and feelings in a form of visual communication and a platform for me to solve problems using the design process. This creative outlet reach people in a different way through design and all of its processes. As a designer I love illustration and typography and am most drawn to package design and print publication. One piece of advice is to be confident in yourself and your abilities because you never know where you can go!
Emily Herchenroder
Passionate. Devoted. Determined. I take pride in my designs and aim to create something that can help others. My biggest goal is to work for a high-end magazine publication company and be able to create beautiful, lasting quality work that has an impact on the viewer. In my free time, I run a high-volume luxury resale business online, but other than that often I can be found binge watching criminal minds for the 100th time or in the taco bell drive-thru.
Gianna Klisch
I've known since I was 14 years old I wanted to be a designer and somewhere along the way it began to feel less like school work, and more like a passion. I love to be creative in other interests of mine outside of graphic design including photography, hand-lettering, fashion, interior decorating, baking, and painting/drawing. One day, I aspire to design for fashion, beauty, and other brand-name industries.
Sara Maguire
I'd love to work more with illustration, sustainability, package design, or book design after graduating.
Eli Marburger
Art and design have always been part of my life and over time they have become my life. Creativity has never really been difficult for me and I spend most of my time honing my skills to better express this creativity.
The rest of my time is spent on my various other passions such as skateboarding, skiing, and other outdoor activities. These passions can be easily spotted in my work and inspire much of my design.
Jack McIntyre
Instead of trying to be perfect, I like to embrace the flaws in design and life, nothing is ever going to be perfect so I think it's better to just accept the beauty in things for how they are. I like to describe my work as being goofy and doodley but also I love being weird with it. Much like my life, I think it's important in design to be able to have a sense of humor. I like playing video games, going on hikes, watching movies and reading graphic novels.
Emily McMullen
I am a Graphic Designer just getting to out into the real world, and I am most interested in practicing brand design and package design. My goal in my career as a Graphic Designer is to be able to make logos, icons, packages and more that will have ubiquity and style. Outside of designing, I am most passionate about crocheting and my Etsy Shop called Emily's Lots O' Knots.
Dylan McQuiston
My favorite part about design has to be the problem solving it takes to get any visual solution complete. Without that strong background and research, even the most visually appealing work doesn't serve a purpose. I also have a strong interest for social good design, along with specialty food/package design (how my capstone came to be). Outside of Graphic Design, my girlfriend and I have a house full of tropical plants, along with our two cats Wonton & Peach. My advice to fellow designers is to use your resources (including our amazing professors), take breaks (you'll need it, despite convincing yourself otherwise), and do work you're passionate about!
Daniel Modestine
Ever since I was a little kid I admired graphic design, specifically branding. I would pick my favorite NBA teams based on their logos. From there I grew up with a design mindset and never looked back. Outside of design I am flipping items on eBay, working at my family bar, or playing video games. My goals are to eventually to start a business, move to California, and live a comfortable lifestyle. My advice is to chase your dream, work endless hours and when life gets hard stay positive...it will all work out!
Iman Morsy
As a designer, I try and bring in both culture, my various interests into my work. My goals are simple. Try new things, grow, and live purposefully. My advice would be to dream big, and be curious. Be your most authentic self and astonish them. However, most importantly, use and name your layers.
Rubie Nathanson
I like to explore the outdoors as much as possible by mountain biking, cycling, running, and even roller-blading! When I’m with friends I love tossing the ol’ disc around or even starting a pickup game of frisbee. My advice: Always keep yourself busy with things you like to do and want to do.
Zachary Nolter
I am a simple designer who likes a challenge. I’m not specifically interested in any one part of design but instead find it all fun. Aside from all of the serious design mumbo-jumbo, I am a fairly simple guy. I enjoy street art, photography, and I am a big fan of craft beer and local brewing. My biggest goal that I have had since a young age is to work for the Walt Disney Company as a designer, but for now my goal is to get my first job. If I had any advice to give, I would say listen to your professors, they know what they are talking about, but if you have a legit reason besides “I think it looks cool” speak up and work with your professor.
Skylar Penrose
I've always loved art and wanted to do something that let be create for the rest of my life. That's found I ended up in graphic design. In addition to my passion to create, I've always wanted to do something that can help others. Through my work, I've found that design can be a powerful tool to better ourselves, our communities, and the lives of others. In the future I'd love to work for or with non-profits.
Miette Rivera
Outside of school, I spend my time with my girlfriend and our two dogs. I play the drums so I'm always tapping on things, and I love a good nap.
Emily Williams
I am a designer who loves challenging myself and pushing my designs in different directions whenever possible. I love detail and typography. Outside of design I play for the softball team and enjoy being active. My goal is to get into the real world and get a job that lets me be myself and create work I am proud of. My advice for younger designers would be to spend as much time learning as you can. Fall in love with the research and the concepts behind your projects because it is the feelings you evoke that will make your designs that much more powerful.
Jolie Zinn
My favorite parts of Graphic Design include the freedom to be innovative and creative while problem solving, figuring out what deliverables would be most effective to solve the problem, and what experiences will be most engaging. In our profession, I'm most in love with print design and hope to find myself working for a creative magazine one day. My advice would be, definitely use your resources as far as professors, peers, AIGA members, when it comes to critiquing your work and building networks/relationships. It can only improve your work to get an outside perspective, and building those relationships can potentially help land a job. My other piece of advice, would be experiment, innovate and design for things personal to you. For example, keep drawing in your sketchbook and find YOUR style, find a social cause you feel strongly about and design a PSA, research a problem you care about and innovate a solution. Becoming a Graphic Designer is more than just assignments that professors or employers give to you! Design for things you care about and recognize you can make a change!
