Career Goals

          The career path I have chosen to follow is Graphic Design. I first started pursuing this job in high school by enrolling in art and computer design classes. While in school I learned a lot about editing software, basic programing and web design. These classes gave me the foundation of learning editing programs to build upon in college. At BCTC I am learning how to use editing programs such as Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign and web design applications such as WordPress. I feel that I have learned a great deal in high school and college about graphic design and have gained many skills that I will use in my career.

Inspirations

  I have had many inspirations in graphic design over the years. One of the first artist to inspire me is Derek Riggs, the artist who created all the covers for every Iron Maiden album. When I first saw the cover of Power Slave it fascinated me and made me want to listen to the album. Some of my other favorite covers are Number of the Best, Somewhere in Time and Fear of the Dark. Another album artist who has inspired me is Ed Repka. He has created covers for bands such as Megadeth, Municipal Waste, Death and several other bands. Much like the Riggs album covers, this one fascinated me and made me want to listen to the music. I feal like these covers have not only affected my taste in music but also inspired the style of art that I love and want to make.   

Favorite Designer

          My Favorite designer and my biggest inspiration is Derek Riggs. We have talked about him briefly already, but now I will to go into more detail as to why I love his art so much. One of the most unique qualities of Derek’s covers is the diversity of inspirations. For example, the cover for Somewhere in Time is very futuristic and is inspired by the film Blade Runner, but the cover for Power Slave is inspired by Egypt and is very ancient looking. These covers not only show greater artistic value but also creativity and diversity. All of the Iron Maiden albums feature the bands mascot character (Eddy the head) on every cover. The albums art change to reflect the music it advertises and so does Eddy. These covers are not only divers in style but are also reflective of the music itself. One thing that stays constant on each album is the focal point of the art, which is Eddy. Derek Riggs album covers are both consistent while also changing drastically from cover to cover and I absolutely love these album arts.               

I like this website because it’s good for logo creating and design research for assignments.

I have used this website in the past for doing research on past projects on editing designs.

I really enjoy using this website for finding new fonts and completing typography projects.