Jessica DeWitt, Art Director + Designer
Jessica DeWitt, Art Director + Designer
In this episode, Katherine interviews fellow Remote Year participant and design enthusiast, Jessica DeWitt, once in 2017 and again in 2021 about her creative career.
In the first interview, Jessica shares a lot about her transformative time at the University of Arizona, where she began her freshman year with hopes of becoming a forensic psychologist, worked in the music industry while she was a student, and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Communications.
Jessica touches on the importance of paying close attention to the activities and subjects that you really enjoyed as a child, as they may give you insight into what careers you may enjoy and be successful in later in life. Jessica shares that she rediscovered her childhood passion for art and visual design while in college, and eventually decided to study and pursue design professionally.
While graduate school in New York City didn’t completely live up to her expectations, Jessica loved living in the city and was able to hone her craft in the various design-related jobs that she had during her years there. Then she went on to travel the world with Remote Year in 2016, starting her freelance business, Dead Medium Design, along the way.
In the 2021 update interview, Jessica shares that after traveling with Remote Year, she eventually found herself back in Arizona, where she worked as a designer at Splinter. During her time there, she did everything from developing local businesses' digital identities to redesigning the conference room for the Arizona Coyotes hockey team.
Jessica is now working as the Art Director at Andela, an Africa-first startup connects talented individual software engineers in African countries with work opportunities in the United States.
Jessica DeWitt
Jessica is a brand alchemist, working to advance the goals and vision of companies through brand stories that resonates both internally and externally. She is an award-winning designer driven by the human experience working closely with companies and organizations that are actively striving to improve the world around them. Jessica creates human centered solutions that amplify and educate through research, strategy and design.
Show Notes
Education
University of Arizona, 2008
BFA in Visual Communications
Pratt Institute, 2013
MPS in Arts and Cultural Management
Career
Graphic Designer and Photographer, University of Arizona (2008 - 2011)
Jr. Graphic Designer, The Public Theater (2011 - 2012)
Design and Publications Manager, The Posse Foundation (2012 - 2016)
Traveled with Remote Year’s second group, Battuta (2016)
Senior Graphic Designer, 92nd Street Y (2017)
Designer, Splinter (2018 - 2021)
Art Director, Andela (2021- present)
Designer/ Owner, Dead Medium Design (2016 - present)
Portfolio examples
Jessica shared a few examples from her portfolio with us, a few of which we discuss in the interview:
Kachina: This is a detail shot of the handcrafted 6ft 5in Kachina for the Arizona Coyotes conference room I discussed. Each individual piece was hand painted and assembled. It is adhered to the wall using French cleats. The room was coated in a skated ice pattern with textures pulled from the Arizona Coyotes brand as well as an inspirational quote from Nelson Mandela about the importance of sport.
Jeremiah Program for Shesessions: This was a webpage I designed for the Jeremiah Program. This particular page served as a landing page for the virtual conversation between Nicole Mason (CEO of IWPR) and Chastity Lord (CEO of Jeremiah Program) focusing on discussing disproportionate job loss, lack of resources and health issues faced by single mother families and what policies effectively remove the barriers that hold single mother families back.
Harkness Dance Poster: This is one of the many season identities/concepts I created during my tenure at 92Y. I used the images of the dancers in dynamic poses and angled them throughout the calendar of events. The bright color palette as well as the images added movement and visual interest, catching the eye of anyone who passed by. This particular piece was a large-scale poster that was featured in the lobby of the Harkness Center in 92Y.
Staten Island Museum Subway Posters: This is one of my more recent projects and is currently being displayed in the Staten Island Ferry terminal. The Staten Island Museum wanted to highlight their permanent collection with a new perspective. Using strong geometric shapes and angles paired with pieces from their permanent collection, I aimed to create a dimensional exhibit experience.
Logo Samples: These are a couple of logos I have created in the last year. Diosas is lifestyle brand for the coffee enthusiast and is currently in development. Fringe and Flow is the marriage between yoga and macrame from the brilliant Sarah Rabideau. Finally, Seeress Silver is an incredible jewelry line.
The Modern Work podcast is produced by Conaway Creative. The team behind this episode:
Hosted & directed by Katherine Conaway
Editing & sound by Charlotte Oakley
Social media by Kelly Becker
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