Just for students: Alex DeArmond

Alex came to graphic design by a roundabout route. He attended Carlton College in Northfield, Minnesota, for his undergraduate studies, earning a degree in religion in the mid-1990s. After graduation, he joined the westward migration of recent college graduates and headed to Seattle. There he found work as a clerk in a large law firm, a position he held for three years and which he describes as "a glimpse of corporate American life at its most deadening." Unsure what to do next, Alex left the law firm to help a friend open a restaurant. Part of his contribution to the endeavor was producing promotional materials. The experience made him think seriously about design as a career.

While still working at the restaurant, Alex began taking night classes in design at a private art school with a faculty of practicing designers. One of his instructors offered him a brief internship, and subsequently a full-time position in his small firm. Alex worked there for one year, coming to the decision that graphic design would be his lifelong career. He decided that returning to school full time would be the best way to improve his skills. After taking another night course, this one taught by an alumnus of California College of the Arts, Alex applied to CCA's undergraduate design program.

Learning through professional education

Alex moved to San Francisco and entered CCA as a third-year student in graphic design. During the year, he entered his work in design competitions, including a local American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) competition and the Adobe Design Achievement Awards.

After completing his first year in the program, Alex met with CCA graduate design professor Martin Venezky for a portfolio review. He suggested that Alex would best develop his talent either in graduate-level design studies or in a challenging internship—like the one offered by the Walker Art Center. Alex applied to the Walker and was selected. He also won the San Francisco AIGA Enrichment Award, which enabled him to participate in a summer program visiting and working with design studios in the Netherlands. While in Europe, he learned that he had won the Adobe Design Achievement Awards prize.

Learning through work experience

Alex calls his internship "an intense, gratifying experience." At the Walker he worked on exhibition graphics, gallery guides, and various promotional materials for the institution’s eclectic and extensive programming. Though he was given the autonomy to work independently, his work was reviewed by the Center's design director and internal clients. The experience introduced him to the overriding practical aspects of real-world design, such as budget, schedule, constraints on content use, and functional application. The internship also helped him develop a sense of his own approach. In 2002, a series of gallery guides he designed for the Walker was included in the AIGA's "50 Books/50 Covers" competition. He was offered a permanent position with the Walker, which he of course accepted and holds today.

Advice for students

Alex now designs catalogs and books for the Walker. "The cultural mission of the organization and the passion of the people I work with are major sources of job satisfaction," he says. When you’re starting in your career, he suggests, find people to work with who you respect and can learn from. As a student, you need to "learn to handle feedback well," citing his own experience in the graphic design program at CCA as an important lesson in the value of critique. And, he says "get your work seen in contests, school shows, and every possible venue"—a valuable experience that can raise your visibility and open up new opportunities.