What are your expectations for the trip and design appointments?

Traveling is always a great source of inspiration for me.  There is always something more then the destination for me – it’s the journey and things that can be learned along the way that constantly motivate me to travel.  I am ecstatic for the opportunity to visit New York with a group of like-minded design students and teachers, I expect to gain a ton of new knowledge about art and design that will enable me to grow as an artist and individual.  I’m looking forward to the design appointments and expect they will help me to understand what it’s like to be in a real working environment.  I also hope to gain a better idea of how my skills fit into the workplace right now, what I can improve on, and where I want to focus on getting too in the design world. 

 

What company or companies are you most excited to visit?

At this point in time I see myself working for a smaller, independent design firm collaborating with a relatively small number of individuals on a variety of projects that run the gamut of creativity.  For this reason I’m most excited to visit some of the smaller firms such as Enamel and Baseline.  AIGA is also another company I’m excited to visit, their history and what they mean to graphic design is not to be overlooked.  I’d be lying too if I didn’t say I’m pretty stoked to visit Nickelodeon as they pretty much ruled my Saturday afternoons growing up - if you don’t know what the Aggro Crag is then hop up on Youtube right now and get educated.

 

How do your interests or skills fit with the firms that we are visiting?

I’m interested in pretty much anything related to graphic design.  My design interests are primarily centered in communication design, identity design, typography and print design so my interests definitely fit in with a good majority of the companies we are going to be visiting.  I’m constantly looking improve both my knowledge of design, and actual production skills so I think that all of the firms we are visiting will do a great job of providing this for me. 

 

How would you define “West Coast” design? How does it defer from “East Coast” design?

I feel design on the “West Coast” is more willing to break some of the traditional rules typically guiding design in general.  In terms of layout, color, and overall style “West Coast” design seems to take more risks by going against the normative grain to produce something visually appealing.  “East Coast” design seems to stick more to traditional, proven methods that continually and consistently produce great results.