Recently updated on February 9th, 2021 at 07:50 pm
Kassidy is a very busy freelance graphic designer/illustrator located in Jersey City. Wearing many hats, Kassidy designs flyers, business cards, logos, and websites. Additional pursuits include being an editor/writer for t-shirtmagazine.com, the premier t-shirt site, and serving as assistant web designer for BrandxHype, a brand development firm (www.BrandxHype.com) and ThemeFiend.com, the premiere shop for Big Cartel themes and templates.
How did you find yourself in the world of design? I’ve been into art since I was a baby. It’s in my genetic code to create cool artwork. I was inspired by comic books, anime, video games, and hip-hop. I have three brothers who are graphic designers and my sister is studying fashion design. In school, I was always the class artist. In college, I fell in love with party flyers and web design.
What education did you pursue to gain the required knowledge and skills? I majored in graphic design, at New Jersey City University. I later switched to illustration. But most of my design knowledge comes from online tutorials, trial, and error, and learning from others.
What was your first design job? In high school, I designed custom t-shirts with colored markers and sold them to my classmates. One of the teachers commissioned me to make t-shirts for her son’s bowling party.
Can you mention some of your noteworthy clients? I’ve designed flyers for PromoGuinee, a non-profit organization that holds fundraisers to provide money to help improve the education system in Guinea. I’ve also designed logos and flyers for a couple of school organizations including the African Students Organization, Performing Arts in Christ, and Black Freedom Society.
What do you like most about your career in design? Not only do I get to make money doing something I love, I work on my own time. I also like expressing my thoughts visually and sharing it with the world.
What does the future hold for you in terms of designing? One day, I hope to design posters and album art for famous rock stars and rappers.
How long have you been using Next Day Flyers and what have you had printed? For about 2 years. Flyers and business cards are the products I order from Next day Flyers.
Do you have a favorite project that stands out over others? I can’t choose just one, but I really like the flyer I made for my clothing line, KSDY. It provides a colorful snapshot of the different t-shirt designs. I also like the flyer I did for the History of the Black Panther Party.
Would you share a challenge that you learned from? When I first started, I didn’t set a limit to client revisions. Even though I completed the project exactly the way they originally said, they kept changing their mind and wanted more revisions. Moral of the story: set a limit to how many free revisions you are willing to make.
Any words of encouragement for those new to the field of design? Life is good when you turn your passion into profit. But if you really want to make a lot of money, think of ways to make passive income. Sell prints of your designs; compile all of your best designs into a book, and sell it online; or write an e-book on a design technique that you’re good at.
Okay, now you get to make your own promotional pitch: I’m working on a new clothing line, called KSDY. I designed graphic tees and apparel, inspired by urban pop culture. Check out the designs at ksdyshop.com.
P.S. Kassidy’s design work can be found at HardBodyGrfx.com
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