— GEORGE CARLIN

“The secret of

is doing something you

well, and being for it.”

doing it

— GEORGE CARLIN

This zine is essentially an in-depth ‘about me’ and an illustration of who I am as a designer.

As a quick overview of who I am I will tell you that I’m a twenty-two year old, Apple-loving,

pop-culture addicted student attending the University of South Carolina. I’m an Art Studio

major with an emphasis in Graphic Design. I’m also a minor in Art History and I might as well

be a minor in Photography. Unfortunately, USC sets up their major programs in such a way

that can’t double minor in photography. Either way, I still consider myself as knowledgable

enough in the field of photography. Every single spread of this zine features a photograph taken

by me. I’m a carefree person who enjoys having a good time with friends but I’m also someone

who knows what he wants and will work hard to accomplish his goals. I’m nervous about the

future, but extremely excited for it as well. I’m looking forward to what’s going to happen in

my life. I know I’ll get there.

— DAVID STARR

I can’t tell you a specific moment in time when I knew that I wanted to be a graphic designer. What I can tell you is that design definitely wasn’t my original plan. Coming into college, I thought I wanted to become a psychiatrist. All I can say about that is that it only lasted a semester. I realized pretty quickly that psychiatry wasn’t my calling. It took me another full semester before I realized that I should try out designing. I had always dabbled in design when I was younger, but I never really thought that I could do it for a living. Every day, I learn more about how design affects so many aspects of the world we live in.

I don’t know what the future holds, but I know that my ultimate goal as a designer is to become a professor. After my first semester of design, I was very inspired by my professor to teach. However, I know I need to take the proper steps first. I need to finish with my BFA in Design and then continue school in order to get my MFA. After getting my Masters, I should work as an in-house designer to gain experience. I truly feel like you can’t be a good professor without proper experience. I’m excited for the day that I’m standing in front of my first classroom full of students.

— DAVID STARR

"Goo

d designers are praised for their technique.As students, we are constantly told that if we’re not making an impact or making people think about the idea of our design, we aren’t doing our job. It’s amazing to go around and ask people what they think graphic design is. Vague answers are pretty much all you’ll get. You might get the occasional person who knows a designer so they know a bit more, but is still unsure of exactly how much design affects. Graphic design touches on essentially

everything that we encounter in our daily lives. We see it everywhere. So why not make as much of an impact as we can through our jobs? There are numerous ways to create an impact in society through design. Social awareness is a huge stepping stone into making an impact. When it comes to creating designs for social awareness, obviously the sole purpose of it is to usually just make people think and to create a call-to-action by the

Grea

t designers are praised for their impact."

— TATE LINDEN

audience. If you’re audience doesn’t respond to the call-to-action you were

hoping for, it doesn’t mean that your campaign failed. The audience could

start talking about your design. “Hey, did you see that billboard on the way to work

today?” You never know how your designs could affect the world around you.

As a student, I’ve always enjoyed the projects that focus on creating some kind of social change.

It’s always interesting to create something that could change people’s views on issues. I wish I had more

time for personal projects. At some point, I want to create a series of posters based on social awareness issues. I guess you can say that’s a future goal of mine.

One that will be accomplished.

"Design in the key to everything. If you learn how to design you can do anything."

"Design in the key to everything. If you learn how to design you can do anything."

I’ve always said that I wanted to do something I enjoyed for a living. Graphic design is that career for me. Although various difficulties sometimes arise, I always look to the future and remember that teaching design to a classroom full of students would be my ultimate goal. I

know I’d enjoy doing it for a living. Even if I’m not a professor full time and I had to work at the same time, I’d still be perfectly fine with that. Working would keep me updated in the field of design. I’d be able to bring the most current knowledge about the field to my students.

I think it’s arguable that the Bauhaus School was a prime example of design thought. The Bauhaus, which was created in 1926, was designed to help the students focus on self-discovery. The idea was that they needed to essentially ‘unlearn’ everything that they thought they already knew. This very much reminds me of the design field. Although designers shouldn’t forget everything they already

know, it’s important to keep a clear mind about what can be done. Designers should be creating something new as often as possible. Graphic design allows us, as designers, to provide society with visions that are completely new. We can always be inspired by the past and others, but it’s important to keep pushing yourself to create something never seen before.

“Find something you’re passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it.”

It’s hard to pick favorite aspects of design... favorite typeface, favorite

designer, favorite studio. These are all things that can change frequently.

I’d argue that my favorite typeface changes weekly, but there are a few

that I always come back to: neutraface,

“Find something you’re passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it.”— JULIA CHILD

melbourne, and helvetica. As far as my favorite designers go, there are a few. I like David Carson’s creativity (although I don’t always enjoy his end result). I also appreciate the typography skills of Neville Brody. It is almost impossible to decide who my favorite designer is. Design changes way too frequently, but arguably, that’s a good thing. It keeps the design field interesting and unique. It allows me to continue learning about the newest techniques of design.