Norwalk Community College

Spotlight

Matt Willard, Design for the Web, Graphic Design, 2015

History Symposium Poster, Graphic Design II

My interest in illustration and design began at a very young age. I would spent countless hours before and after school attempting to recreate the drawings of my favorite comic book, cartoon, and videogame characters. These fantastical creations mesmerized me and I was awestruck by how such seemingly simple lines and colors on paper could be made to feel so real. It was the life given to these characters and environments through visual narration that would give life to my journey as an illustrator and designer.

At first, when I began my studies, I was lost and overwhelmed by all that I needed to learn. So I set out to find as many role models to guide me as I could. Artists like Andrew Loomis, Richard Schmid, Jason Chan, and Henry Yan were all substantial in building my knowledge in design and set the bar for the level I wanted to reach and kept me focused during the inevitable challenges that I would face during my education.

Along with my role models, I credit the desire to learn and investing the time into practicing as the most influential contributors in my progress as an illustrator and designer. They helped change that intimidating blank piece of paper from my biggest adversary, into my closest ally.

Today, I make it my goal to always learn something new in the field of illustration and design. Through the guidance of the many great instructors at Norwalk Community College I have greatly built upon my skillsets and have ventured into new realms of design, creating memorable experiences and visual narratives as a mobile and web designer.