I remember discovering graphic design in a Layout & Design class in my early 20s. Something that would let me combine my skills and creatively solve visual problems for people? I was immediately interested. A few years later, I decided to go back to school. I had to face the facts and be honest with myself — graphic design is what I wanted to do.

I’ve learned so much in my time at Weber State, but the road to getting a BFA has been far from easy. Sure, art students may not have to take a ton of tests or write many 10 page research papers, but we have our own challenges. One of the biggest challenges for design students is the one I’m facing right now — Senior Seminar.

Senior Seminar is supposed to be the last class you take as a design student. It’s all about building a professional design portfolio, and part of that is your personal brand. It takes a lot of introspection to figure out who you are as a designer, and it’s difficult to distill all of that into a personal logo. How do I figure out who I am as a designer when I’m still figuring out who I am as a person?

My process so far has been just doing a lot of sketches; versions of my name, images or symbols that might represent me, or anything else that comes to mind. I’ve been focusing a lot on hearts because I feel like that’s a huge aspect of my personal brand — a deep love for design. That love is what brought me here in the first place, and it’s what has been driving me forward ever since. I’ve got a whole lot of work to do between now and graduation day, but I’m proud of how far I’ve come, and I know I can do this. We can all do this.