Major: Multimedia with an emphasis in Graphic Design
What is your current position/career?
I am Graphic Designer and Social Media Marketing Manager at Hoppy Beer Gear. Hoppy Beer Gear is a Merchandise and Brand Development company that mainly creates merchandise for a bunch of different breweries across the US.
How did Cal Lutheran and/or your multimedia program set you up for success in this position/career?
Connections, gaining confidence, and practicing my skill set set me up for success as a graphic designer.
Coming to Cal Lutheran, I barely knew what I wanted to do, let alone declare my major. It was intimidating at first with so many students with great talent and I wasn’t sure I was good enough for the major, but I continued to take the MULT courses and finish my projects to get them done and get the grade. It wasn’t until my sophomore year, after taking typography that my confidence and skills in design started to click. I would ask for help any chance I could, start my projects early to get feedback sooner to improve my projects and my skills. The professors want their students to succeed and are willing to help in anyway they can to see it happen. Once I got to the point that I wanted my projects to be something I was proud to put in my portfolio, I got excited to get my first draft out and get feedback from other students and professors.
Changing my mindset from wanting to finish the project just to get the grade to wanting each project I make to be something I put in my portfolio transformed my skills. Being a Multimedia Major gives you the tools to learn a wide variety of skills, but it’s up to the student to put in the work to master them. Learning subjects such as photography to Illustrator to After Effects helps broaden your knowledge when it comes to applying for internships and jobs, which makes students stand out.
What skills or proficiencies did you acquire at Cal Lutheran, through your studies or other activities, that you now use in your current position/career?
I use the Adobe programs daily as a graphic designer. I mainly use Illustrator and photoshop to create mock ups for clients with their logos (sometimes preexisting / sometimes I develop) and other artwork for livestyle wear. I use the knowledge I gained from the Web Design to manage and update our websites, Typography and Brand Identity help me create logos and new artwork for clients, Advanced Digital Art has given me many of the projects that are in my portfolio. The general upper division courses for the Mult majors have made me challenge myself in programs that I grew into comfortably using after practice and trial and error. It gave me the confidence to at least try rather than saying I don’t know how to do that.
In general, what were some of your favorite aspects of the multimedia program? Such as research, classes, professors, etc.
There are some courses that are required for the major and emphasis, but these ones were my favorite: Digital Illustration MULT-462, Typography ART-383, Advanced Digital Art ART-480, Graphic Design MULT-463, Brand Identity MULT-4ST, and Advertising Art ART-385.
My favorite professors are Eric and Barb. They have helped me push myself outside of my comfort zone and challenge my skills to bring them to the next level. They believed in my talent more than I believed in myself which helped me prove to myself that I could do this.