The Moment I Knew I Loved Design: Lessons from Design School

I always enjoy September and the back-to-school season. The leaves start changing, and the air gets crisper (even though it’s been unseasonably warm in Minnesota). This time of year always brings me back to my college days — specifically, the day I knew I wanted to be a designer.

Flashback to 1989

It was a sunny, spring day in Moorhead, Minnesota. I was in my graphic design class in college. I had just finished up a final project: a branding project of choice. Mine was a health club concept. To my surprise, my favorite professor, Dr. Boggs, called out my project in front of the whole class. He thought I had nailed the research, concept, and idea and shared it as an example. This was the moment I knew I wanted to be working in a creative field as a designer.

A Professor Who Made a Difference

I really admired Dr. Boggs. He was funny, always cracking jokes in class, but he also expected the most out of his students. His leadership helped me create better work and refine my craft with each project. His critiques and feedback on my work were also helpful, and that is still a part of the process in my client work today. I learned early on to have a thick skin in this business and that feedback is not negative but a way to continually make the work better.

My College Projects

I truly enjoyed completing each of my assignments. Back then, most of these were hand drawn with pencil, ink, and paint. Without the use of the technology we have access to today, this provided me with the building blocks needed to create design concepts and solutions from scratch as well as the space needed to slow down and take my time. I believe this is still necessary for great design today.

Here are some portfolio slides from a few of my college projects, from left to right, top to bottom:

A drawing of a something in the room, in this case a light fixture, with different color treatments
A logo for an architecture firm called Quadrata
Two lowercase letters “d” and “g” interposed in an interesting way
Mock-up book cover design for The Color Purple
Two words using a font and placement to create meaning visually
An abstract line drawing showing texture

Did you have a college professor or teacher who inspired you to do your best work? Reach out and share your story — I would love to hear it!