If I wasn’t in graphic design, I might’ve been a chef.
You could’ve easily found me in the kitchen as a chef since that was what I was interested in. Then I became very passionate about photography. Then, when I applied to the Illinois Institute of Art, I switched gears and learned they had a graphic design program.
As it turned out, they said, “Oh, you can actually do both do graphic design and photography here.” I thought that was so cool to take pictures and design things from a computer screen that would go up on a poster board or in a package design.
I think about the designs of products on the shelf more than most.
My first job out of college was package design and it’s kind of a shock. Here you’ve got this rectangle box design on your computer, then it prints out and becomes this thing you see on the shelf in a store. You’re like, “Whoa! I made that.” It really gives perspective into what catches people’s eye. Now I always see products in the store and think about how someone put some real thought and effort into that.
I never expected to have my work at ComicCon.
I was working at a company that specialized in trade show displays and typically only worked in fabric. It’s really something to go from designing something on your computer to designing on a very large scale for trade shows. I happened to attend ComicCon at McCormick Place and didn’t have any plan, but I’m so glad I went because it featured some of the work I’d done.
What drove me to ER2 Image Group? My dad.
Really! To be completely honest, my dad actually drove past ER2 Image Group’s building and said, “Hey, they look like a fun place. You should go check them out.” I was completely unaware of this place. My parents lived down the street and passed ER2 all the time. Good thing he noticed.
I was just looking for an environment to help me grow. Here’s where I found it.
I’d done package design, photography, trade shows and more. I was trying to discover what else could challenge me and it didn’t take long to realize ER2 was a place that had everything for me. And it does. No two days are exactly the same here.
What do I do for fun? Stay home!
Seriously, we bought a house three years ago and anyone who has gone through that process knows how big of an accomplishment it is. So many times, we’ll enjoy staying in and watching movies in this place we get to call our own.
The thing I like best about working here is the different opinions.
That may sound funny like it’s a negative. But it’s not. ER2 does a great job of bringing everyone’s opinions and perspectives together. You can have any idea but when someone adds to it, it becomes a whole new thing you never could have imagined on your own.
I can make a mean tiramisu. You can ask anybody here.
I may not be a full-time chef, but I love the distraction of cooking. And that tiramisu recipe is one nobody else can top.
“It’s pretty cool to see something you worked on, put a lot of time into over weeks and weeks, knowing you got frustrated with it at times and then you see it live, catching everyone’s eye.”
