student's comments/James nesbitt

James selected Shoreline Community College because he had heard about the design program's good reputation. He entered the Visual Communications Technology program and became excited about a graphic design education. After many discussions with the faculty, he decided to work toward a transfer degree in order to pursue the University of Washington's four-year program. He found that SCC and the UW design courses followed a similar approach with heavy emphasis on research and concept. His training at SCC equipped him with the tools to succeed at the university, where the ability to solve design problems and a thorough understanding of methodologies is prized. James found himself competing with over 200 other applicants to enter the UW program. He was one of 21 selected.

James Nesbitt is passionate about graphic design, his chosen career, but it took him years to find the calling that would inspire him. He enrolled in community college for one year after high school, but left higher education to start work because he had not yet found a focus for his studies. He pursued many careers paths in aerospace mechanics, healthcare, and cable television, and finally landed a job as assistant to a medical director in a health plan. He began redesigning reports, and found it was easy to master document layout technology. He soon became a graphic specialist for the marketing department and taught himself to handle direct mail, brochures and other collateral. He rose to a design position in the organization and eventually learned enough to recognize that he knew too little. He decided to seek a degree in graphic design.

Currently, He works as a designer for Blankslate Marketing + Creative. He loves the variety and challenges himself by always presenting information in an easily understood, yet unexpected manner to make the journey through the material enjoyable. He learned, both at SCC and at the UW, that there is a huge difference between simple aesthetics and true research-based, targeted design.