Why design?

Although my love for design started far before I can remember, the first time I realized that it could potentially be what I do for the rest of my life was during a Pennsylvania State University college tour. Sounds boring, right? I can assure you it was. Although I now credit that tour for changing my life in the best way possible. It was the summer before my senior year of high school. Originally interested in architecture, I remember sitting in the large, modern entryway of the school with my mom, when a man walked up to us and asked if we were interested in taking a tour of the building. He handed both of us pamphlets on the majors within the school, and contrary to what I was there for, graphic design caught my eye first. I told my mom to go on the architecture tour for me and take pictures, while I went on the tour of the design facilities. To make a long story short, I fell in love. I knew it was a perfect fit for me since it combined something that I’ve always wanted to be good at (art) with something that I truly enjoy doing (communicating with others). The more I thought about the potential of this being what I do with my life, the more excited I got. I love design because it allows me to change the way people interact with and view the visual aspect of things they use in their everyday lives. I’ve noticed along my design journey that the aspect I struggle with the most is tying together my typographical choices with that of the rest of my design. In this class, I hope to learn how to make these connections between type and design work better as one cohesive design piece.