AIGA St. Louis Student Design Conference

To be honest, I was equally stocked and terrified to be invited to talk at my first out of state speaking engagement. The board of AIGA St. Louis reached out to me to be the keynote speaker at their student design conference and I was so excited to accept!

After much debate in the kitchen with my husband about what I should present, I settled on my career after nearly 10 years and lessons learned along the way. Success, messy moments, and all. I hoped that I could impart some tips and tricks to the student attendees, things I wish I had known when I was 22.

I started with my later years in college at UW-Whitewater in my art major, making terrible design and style choices, but getting by nonetheless.

Then moving onto my first job out of school at Manifesto in Milwaukee. It was quite an experience in the advertising and experiential world, often having to work on projects where I had no idea what the heck was going on!

Next moving to my design agency phase at Rev Pop in Milwaukee. This was like being thrown into the deep end of a creative pool which was also a 9-5 design bootcamp. Everyday all day creativity was required. As tough as it was, it helped my skills grow more than expected.

Then the pandemic..DUN DUN DUNNN…which thrust me into full-time freelance work sooner than I’d expected. Many projects later, I am where I am today! I’ve shared the presentation below if you’re interested in my journey, the work, and the process. Maybe I’ll share some videos or clips of this talk? Honestly if that’s something you’d like, please let me know lol.

After so much prep, I was calm during the talk but glad it was over. I got to attend a letterpress workshop where I was able to create my own print and type set my own design! Another low key dream of mine, you can see this in the print photo below. Then finally, I could relax and eat tasty food in a new city! Every city has something amazing and unique to offer and St. Louis was no different. We stayed at The Last Hotel, explored downtown, ate lots of amazing food, saw The Arch obvi, stumbled into a fundraiser to convert a church to a center for creative youths at Sophie’s Artist Lounge, and had a once in a lifetime dining experience at Bulrush, a restaurant inspired by indigenous cuisine.

I love exploring cities and this was such a perfect opportunity to experience the great city of St. Louis. Thank you AIGA St. Louis! I can’t wait for my next speaking engagement. If you’re interested in hosting me in-person, virtually, or via interview, feel free to reach out.