What factors and experiences in your life will allow you to be a disruptor? For your blog this week (due 12/1), please write at least 300 words about the things that make your vision unique. What do YOU bring to the table in your work (design, photography, video, etc…) that is distinctly your own? How does your past influence your approach to what you are learning in this program? Please be specific about the ways you are aware of the singularity of your perspective in your (newly) chosen field.
My lifelong interest in graphic design began at age fifteen when I discovered the political punk artwork of bands like Crass Records. Coming from a poor, broken home, their DIY principles deeply resonated with me. For the first time, I found artwork that aligned with my worldview. To this day I still love Crass members Gee Vaucher and Penny Rimbaud’s art and politics – their music and ethos have stood the test of time.
In 1998, I got my first job and became immersed in the local punk scene and aesthetics. That same year, I was introduced to Photoshop as a teacher’s assistant. With their encouragement, I used my access to digitally manipulate punk imagery into original t-shirt and patch designs. My art teachers nurtured this innate talent and DIY spirit. Graphic design became my outlet for self-expression and liberation.
After over twenty years developing my amateur design skills through punk projects, I chose to attend the Seattle Central Creative Academy to finally pursue this passion professionally. With my wife’s support, I am pivoting my career to devote myself wholly to nurturing my creative talents full-time. The academy feels fated, like an opportunity that acknowledges the merit of my scrappy, self-driven background.
What truly sets me apart is my decades-long dedication to the punk scene’s DIY principles. From scavenging discarded resources to upholding an anti-establishment ethos in my aesthetics, this background gifted me uniquely resilient design skills. I aim to retain this identity as I bring my honed talents into professional design environments that have typically prioritized polished technical skills over gritty self-motivation.
My resourcefulness and determination have powered my design capabilities for over twenty years without reliance on expensive training. I believe these DIY ethics from my upbringing make me a disruptive force, able to stand out and make a lasting impact in the design world. My goal is to demonstrate that creativity bred from scarcity can yield artistic talents as strong as those cultivated through privilege.
