For my WRT 205: Critical Research (Writing and the Arts) class, we were assigned to create an art interview piece. This required conducting an interview with an artist about their work, developing an introduction to the interview using both primary and secondary research, and “packaging and presenting” the interview in a clear and visually engaging way. One important aspect of this assignment was identifying an original, art-related idea from that interview, which should be highlighted in the introduction.

I decided to interview my graphic design professor Elizabeth O'Neil. As a student in her class, I’ve seen her approach to visual problem solving, as she navigates complicated software to create various designs. One thing that I aimed to learn is how she finds the creativity in graphic design while balancing her client’s vision with creating something functional for an audience. I discovered that for Professor O'Neil, creativity doesn’t just appear in the final product of a design. Instead, she explains that artistic expression manifests in the “explorations”, and from “owning the process” of creating multiple designs to present to her client. 

I really enjoyed the process of holding an interview with a person of my choice, and then writing about it. Not only did I have a lot of my own questions answered about graphic design, but it felt natural–like any other conversation. As someone who enjoys talking, learning, and listening to people, this was one of my favorite projects this semester. I invite you to explore my art interview project using the button below!