I am a designer, I attended MIAD (Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design) and graduated with a BFA in Communication design in 2017. During my time at MIAD in addition to graphic design, I studied industrial design which has given me the ability to think outside of the confines of two dimensions. In the end I chose graphic design to be my career path, but I still have a passion for product design. In my opinion all forms of design relate to each other and can be influenced by one another. Crossing disciplines has proven to be one of my greatest assets.
During my education I worked with artist Niki Johnson to design a catalog for a gallery entitled Preservatif. In addition to that I worked as assistant throughout a commissioned public sculpture. During that project I researched materials, rendered models, created presentations, then once the design was confirmed I worked on the build of the sculpture. Also managed the project while Niki was out of town, supervised workers and kept project on schedule. Final product is hanging in the UW Health: American Center Hospital.
Right after MIAD I worked for Jacobson Rost a local advertising agency in Milwaukee. There I worked with account executives and production teams for the first time. It was a great learning experience and gave me opportunities to develop skills. Two projects that stood out were a Point-of-Sale piece for NAPA shock absorbers and a motion graphic for Miller Coors. The Motion graphic was to be used in stadiums as a banner to promote safe drinking habits and remind people not to drink and drive.
My latest job was being the in-house designer/art director for a post-print machine sales company by the name of Best Graphics Group. I worked on everything from updating brand and current logo into something a bit more developed, to designing email campaigns, to designing sales and internal resource materials, to finally redesigning their entire website. Designing a website was a new enterprise for me, while I had done some web design in college, I had never done a project on this scale. I worked with a web developer to build out the design. It has been a wonderful learning experience and a great opportunity to expand my repertoire.
As a designer I want to produce work that people can enjoy, and work that really engages the public whether it be brand identities, advertising, or even a website. As designers our interests and values become part of our design, whether it is overtly apparent or more covert often depends on the ask. When I go to design it almost feels like putting together a puzzle that has no pieces yet, and that can be intimidating but it can also be very exciting.
ianedwardpowell@gmail.com