Seattle

Last week I got the chance to visit Seattle for a travel studies class. For starters, it was awesome. I grew up in Washington (though three hours from Seattle) and it felt like home to me.

You'll see my friend Kylie featured in a lot of these photos, we basically shared life stories and bonded, as is supposed to happen on all road trips, right?

Ok, now for the juicy details, why was this trip so awesome you ask? (Other than getting out of Idaho, no homework for a week, and making new friends?) I'll break it down for you.

The first day of the travel studies we stopped by Fitch and Possible. We toured possible and got to sit down and talk with a designer at Fitch.  I was really inspired by their process. We walked into one of their work rooms and images and ideas were plastered all over a giant mood board. It was cool to see how physical graphic design is. (A lot of times people think our faces are just glued to computers, it isn't so peeps.)

Tether, this is what I went to Seattle for. They're all about story telling and I love that. Their firm felt like a family. When asked what is it like to work at Tether they responded, "Everyone here is so...kind. It sounds cheesy but it's true, there's no drama." Who wouldn't want a chance to work at a place like that? And their work is killer, check it out for reals.

Skype was next, and awesome, (Located on the HUGE Microsoft campus.) We got delicious beverages, that's a plus! There were so many great inspiring things said during our question and answer session, but to sum it up my favorite quote was, "Go one hundred percent at whatever you want to do, and go get it." And "Ask A LOT of questions."

That evening we got the chance to explore Seattle. Kylie and I went to the Space Needle (after hiking miles to find the best fro-yo around.) The last 4 pictures are from our (very high) view of Seattle from the top of the Space Needle. The elevator is like a theme park ride for those of us who are.. well...wimps.

It's incredibly hard to sum up this trip in just a few paragraphs. Bravo to those who are still reading, ( I like you.) The next day was just as cram packed with awesome design firms.

Turnstyle. I don't know how, but the firms seemed to get cooler and cooler as we went along. Turnstyle was no exception. First off, the design of their studio was beautiful and everything Pintrest had led me to believe design firms should be. So, points there. My favorite quote (that they quoted) was, "Style is a simple way to say complex things." - Jean Cocteau

Artefact. I was blown away by Artifact. We got the opportunity to talk with Jennifer Darmour, and my notes from what she had to say are the longest of all. I left feeling like I could now change the world with design. One of my favorite things she talked about was how supportive everyone at artifact is with new crazy ideas. When someone has an idea the reaction is, "That's crazy, how can we do it." Crazy ideas are the reason we have everything we have. I love that.

One last thing she talked about was, "Be a brain, and find your passion." Don't do things just to do them, find a reason and a passion and a way to make it all mean something. That really resonated with me because I've been thinking a lot about what kind of designer I want to be, and what does it mean to me. Is it all superficial? Or am I going to be able to inspire people and make a change in their lives. Now I realize it's all about making a change for people and making the world a better place. Design can change the world guys. That's what gives me the motivation to get through the homework that I'm right now procrastinating for this blog post.

Each place we visited had something different to offer and they all added upon each other, without even trying! Being a graphic designer is even better than I thought. The crazy thing is this is only half the trip captured in words. There was so much more! Perhaps there will be a Seattle part two. Until then, I hope you at least got to enjoy the pictures!