Alyssa Matheus

Ever since I was very young, I have been passionate about art and desired to discover a career path that would allow me to be creative. I chose to take many graphic design courses during my time in high school, which allowed me to develop a new interest in computers as well. Not only did I lead projects for good causes, such as designing onesies for NICU babies, but I also gained experience working with clients and using the Adobe Suite. Now, I concentrate in Design within the Digital Communications major because it allows me to communicate my ideas visually and make a wide array of products, such as logos, posters, clothing, and brand identities.

Until my sophomore year of college, I have not had any video experience and did not think I was interested in that medium. Quickly, I learned that it is essential to understand videography as someone interested in advertising and promoting. As a student worker for the Design, Media, and Technology Department at Lebanon Valley College, I had to create promotional videos, which meant teaching myself how to use Premiere Pro. It was a great learning experience teaching myself the ropes, but I still have a long way to go and improve.

I never expected to be studying programming while in college, but I ended up learning and improving this skill the most. I started with no experience at all, and within two years, I could build fully functioning and responsive websites using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, and SQL. While it is stressful, I have learned that I can use my skills in design and user experience with these programming languages to make front-end websites that are aesthetically pleasing and easy to navigate through.

As an aspiring graphic designer, it is essential to have skills as a communicator so that I can convey a message or a story with everything I create. For instance, with advertising, storytelling is a crucial aspect of persuading users to buy a product or donate to an organization. Throughout my time at LVC, I have created content strategies for businesses and used my communication skills to boost their online presence.

User experience is critical to every field because it is the experience a person has using a product or service. As a designer, I need to understand whether my website or product is easy to use, navigatable, and functional. I learned that it is important to use the Human Centered Design model to create products or services focusing on how the user will experience it, not just how aesthetically pleasing it is. With this knowledge, I have made product prototypes, conducted tests, and redesigned services.

I was always told that understanding business would be crucial to my future career and it would be beneficial to minor in it while in college. Luckily, business is already heavily integrated into my major and is focused on the technology side. I have learned the steps to take in entrepreneurship and how to develop a business plan that includes branding and marketing strategies. It is very beneficial to be able to understand the business I am working for in the future to effectively create branding for that business.