SAMANTHA JAMES
As a designer, I try to make work that everyone can relate to. Part of the fun of being a graphic designer is that we get to work with such a wide variety of people to come up with all kinds of products. I believe that the goal of a graphic designer is to match their design with the content of the client while adding a little bit of themselves into the work. Working closely with your client helps ensure that you make something that hopefully the two of you will love in the end.
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I started out college not knowing what I wanted to do with my life, and honestly not even wanting to go to college in the first place. I freelanced here and there over the years at community college, but it really wasn’t until my senior year there that I realized I could get into graphic design full time and that this is what I should have been doing since the beginning. With the encouragement of my parents, I decided to transfer to Salisbury University and work on getting my BFA in Graphic Design.
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While taking the fundamental art classes was always fun, it was my graphics classes that really kept my interest in school alive. I learned quickly that before you start anything on the computer, it is much more effective to sketch out some basic layouts by hand. After I have worked out
these ideas manually, I bring them to life on the computer. This makes it much easier to adjust the design as needed, while still referencing your original design idea. My favorite software before attending Salisbury University was Adobe Photoshop, but after taking classes here I really fell in love with Adobe Illustrator. Combined with a drawing tablet, it allows an infinite amount of space to spread out ideas and stimulate endless inspiration and possibilities. The ability to “draw” on the computer has been so much fun to learn.
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For these pieces, I wanted to create something a little bit more personal than usual. College has been a giant chunk of my life, and I wanted to capture some of the things that came to mind when I looked back at my time in school. I photographed my hands for reference, and then used those images as templates to create these designs. I chose pink for the background because anyone that knows me can tell you that it is my absolute favorite color. I chose to keep the hands black and white with just an accent color for some items to add emphasis to whatever item I am focusing on in the design. All of these designs were made in Adobe Illustrator and then were later printed or sent off to be made. I would say that this work describes me as an artist as well as a person. I’m a stubborn perfectionist, and these designs reflect my personality by carefully placing components in relation to one another while maintaining an edginess that makes them unique.
(Click Photo to Enlarge)
Work
