When I was a teenager growing up in Milwaukee and first heard the term graphic design described simply as “visual communication”, I fell in love with the concept and vowed this would be my major, okay call it my passion, when I went off to college.

Graphic designing can refer to any number of artistic fields which center on visual communication and presentation.  Visual representations of ideas or messages are formed through the use of symbols, images or even words.  What I found to be the most challenging (and fun) project in school was when we took the names of dozens of firms and created logos for them based on their industry and company goals.  I found it to be some of the most exciting (and fun) work I have ever done.  I saw companies come to life in those small pieces of artwork. 

Graphic design, though, is more than just creating logos.  You see a lot of graphic design in advertisements for magazines or illustrations in books.  Graphic design can even spill over into web designing on the internet. 

I found that the talent needed most to succeed in this field was the ability to listen.  Listening to my clients, understanding the vision of where they want their company to progress to and then incorporating the appropriate colors, shapes and words, bringing their ideas or that vision to life.  If I’ve done my job correctly then I have inspired a customer’s trust in that company, and its ability to provide superior customer service to them, and they want to do business with my client.