Excerpts from an interview with Susan Snipes

Susan Snipes, founder and Creative Director of Q Digital Studio, was interviewed by Melanie DePaoli, a graphic design senior at California University of PA last week. The following questions and answers are from the interview.

When did you first realize you were/are a creative person?

I actually don’t remember the first time I realized I was a creative person, that’s just how it was. My mother was an art teacher and ever since my brother, sister and I were tiny she would give us paper and paint, or crayons and then just let us do whatever we wanted. We of course loved it!

Was this field [graphic design] your first choice? If not, what was and why did you change.

I have always planned to do something visually creative. Though it was a meandering path to becoming the owner of a graphic design studio. In college, I took a lot of studio classes and enrolled in the Pre-Architecture program (it required a dual degree and I paired it with Art History). During my last two years of college, I had started doing some freelance graphic design work and some web design work. (This was in 1997.) So [after graduation] I started interviewing for web design positions. I picked up a few more projects and in a few months a full time position.

Looking back I see how graphic design (and especially web design) is a great fit for me. The creativity balanced with logic. I remember a break-through moment where I realized I wanted to be creating graphic design because of the wonderful impact it could have in the beauty that happens from a well-designed piece.

Knowing all you know now, if you could go back and do something differently (education/professional wise) what would it be and why?

This makes me smile! I have no idea what I would do differently. I LOVE what I do. If I had done something differently, I think I might have ended up in the same place I am now. Hmmm, I could have taken more risks earlier. Risks like leaving a full-time job to go out and start my own studio.

What changes have you seen in the industry since you started?

I have seen web design, flash, motion graphics etc change A LOT! I think these things have also caused quite a stir… Web sites used to simply be pretty brochures, (and some actually were graphic files turned into jpgs!) and now that’s certainly a lot different, all flash sites, fully programmed and content-management-powered sites, and hybrids with some of each. Some firms’ design and marketing exists SOLELY on the web.

I am pleased to see that web design and experience design are accepted disciplines (and embraced) in graphic design now.

What do you see for the future of the industry?

I don’t see any huge changes. I hope to see the continued growth of educating about good design, doing solid research and goal setting are the keys to success. And I hope to see more and more designers and firms involved in bringing creative ideas to everyone. It’s awesome to see so many community efforts by designers and professional design organizations (like what AIGA is doing.)

How does design affect your personal life?

Design and beauty completely affect my personal life. Good design translates into everything (not just the printed page or a digital site).

I also laugh at myself critiquing logos, typefaces and other designs wherever I am, just walking down the street. It’s kind of hard to turn off the design assessment feature in my brain!

If you were not in this industry what would you be?

If I wasn’t doing visual creative work of one kind or another (and I’m lumping things like painting, architecture and interior design in here too) I would be a writer, possibly a journalist, maybe fiction too.

What advice would you offer to young designers?

Be bold. Set your sights high. Learn as much as you can. Don’t take anything TOO seriously, have fun and check-in with yourself to make sure you’re doing what makes you happy and satisfies you.