Hey everyone! My name is Phil DeCicca and I am from Auburn, NY, which is less than an hour away from Syracuse. I am currently a junior at SU, but I just transferred here in the Fall. I previously went to Cayuga Community College, which was literally down the street from my home in Auburn. During my two years there I was part of the Studio Art program with a concentration in graphic design. While studio art is not what I am interested in, it helped me decide that I definitely wanted to continue my education in graphic design. I’m loving Newhouse and all the opportunities here and classes have been going well so far! This semester I will be working as a designer for What the Health magazine, so I am really excited about that! I love all kinds of designing, so I’m not sure exactly what I want to focus on in the future, but hopefully I get to experience as much as possible.
My favorite typeface can kind of change depending on what I am working on, but one that I have really enjoyed for a while is Bebas Neue. I’m not even sure how it’s pronounced, but I really like how bold it is. It is great for when you need an attention grabbing headline or bold title because all the letters are uppercase as well. The downside to it is that it isn’t very versatile because it is so bold. While I do love it, it definitely cannot be used for everything.
A piece of design advice that I would give is to not be afraid to ask for opinions about your work. As someone that typically doesn’t let anyone see one of my designs until it is done, I have found this to be very important. Whether it is someone that is skilled in graphic design or someone that has not experience at all, it can help a lot. GRA 217 was very helpful because we were able to present our drafts and improve our work with the help of constructive criticism. Not only did that help improve my projects, but it has also helped me become more aware of certain things when starting a new design.
