UNITE with AIGA

UNITE was a unique experience where a novice student designer could meet, mingle, and learn from local professionals from multiple disciplines around San Diego County. 

I was privileged enough to meet with Paul Drohan of Mirum about portfolio website tips, Angelo Outlaw about life as an in-house designer, and Donald Gould for an illustration demo on how to utilize textures.  The quick, 30-minute Q&A style presentations were not only informative, but very personable.  Each presentation only had 5-10 in attendance, which left a lot of room for getting your specific questions answered quickly.   

Although I am nowhere near the portfolio stage of my career, Paul really emphasized the importance and possibilities of a web-presence for one-self, and the best way to reach your audience and/or future employer.  Donald highlighted the use of ordinary, cheap objects to add an extra layer of organic depth to photoshop images.  By using paint, household objects, paper, and a scanner, one can obtain a more light-humanist approach to the work.  Speaking with Angelo was especially educational since he also came from an engineering background and made a switch to design mid-college term.  Not knowing much about in-house design, he described the pros and cons of both in-house and agency design lifestyles. He answered many of my questions about life-style balance and how to land your first job!