Where it all started

Back when I was in 8th grade in Chicago I designed the logo for our class trip to Washington D.C. I hand drew the logo and at the time I didn’t know I was basically doing graphic design. I spent a lot of time drawing since I was a Kindergartener, but I remember gravitating towards drawing letters and words.

I still remember when my homeroom teacher unveiled the freshly printed D.C. t-shirts. She dragged a huge box from behind her desk and opened it. She looked down into the box and she paused. She took one of the shirts out and she held it out so the whole class could see it. She was beaming. It was such a rush for me to see what I drew on a piece of paper printed on t-shirts.

There were tons of other school groups in D.C. and they were all wearing school t-shirts. Even back then, I realized that our t-shirt design stood out. I even had a few classmates thank me for creating the design because it made us “look so cool” compared to everyone else.

I felt good having the skill to make something that my friends and teachers could wear and enjoy. It gave us a “look” that made us proud to represent who we were and where we came from. And many years later, I’m still chasing that same feeling. I’m designing logos today and it’s just as fun and rewarding as it was back then. Oh, and I still have the shirt!

* This website is an archive of logo designs I've created and explored throughout my career.