Designer Spotlight: Liz Hunt
Location: Omaha, NE
Employment: Freelance
Website: Lizahunt.com
Liz Hunt is one of Omaha’s latest emerging creatives. She is motivated, talented, and very personable. You may find her at many of Omaha’s art and design events and you can expect to see her work as she progresses through her career. We hope you enjoy the spotlight of Liz Hunt!
(THE SKINNY)
I started going to Metro when I was 20. Once I finished my Associates in Graphic Design, I decided to come to UNO to get a BFA in Graphic Design. I’m on my last year of school. I’ve been working all through school. Two and a half years ago, I got my first design job. I was an in-house designer at Gallup. It was the best way for me to learn about the design business. It was a positive, safe environment from which I was able to learn a TON. After that, I worked for a small publishing company as another in-house designer, but I wanted to do more. I took the big leap into doing freelance…only. Currently, I do work for a small web design company out in Millard, Downs Design in the Mastercraft building, as well as working with a few of my own clients. I stay very busy.
(THE QUESTIONS)
Ideally, where would you like to be in ten years?
I don’t really make goals. I have loose ideas of what could happen or what I hope will happen. With that said, I would like to be doing design work full-time, loving my job and the people I work with. I want to be solving problems in more creative ways than I ever have before. Those are my “goals”.
Where do you draw creative inspiration from?
I find inspiration anywhere, everywhere. I try to surround myself with people, things, and ideas that help me stretch my thinking and inspire me. I’m inspired by other forms of creativity like interior design, poetry, and especially music. I can also be inspired by simply watching birds play in trees. I think that all of life is art, we just have to see it from new angles and fresh perspectives. If none of these ideas work, I do Google images!
How would you describe your design process?
Intuition. My design process is all about my intuition. When I talk with a client, I am not just talking with them. I am getting a feel for who they are, what they like, and what they’re about. I observe them and listen to them. I think listening is a key point in this. I go without any preconceived ideas of who they are and allow them to tell me. Once I’ve got the “feel” of the company, I am able to work out of that feeling. I can re-tell that feeling through visuals. That’s my design process.
What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
The best design advice I’ve ever gotten was from our very own Nate Voss:
“If it’s not something you love, MAKE it something you love”.
He was talking about if a client ever wanted you to do something that you, the designer, didn’t think would look good. It’s basically the designer version of the “make lemonade” saying.
What direction do you see graphic design heading? Do you feel that it is positive or negative?
To be honest, I feel that it is becoming harder to find good design and designers. Being a “graphic designer” has started to become another trite career choice that online colleges throw around like paralegals or nurses. However, at the same time, I’m seeing many designers educating their clients about good design. I’m hoping in the future more people will understand that design and branding are very important.
(THE END)
