FullBleed

Wisconsin-native Jen Fose admits to being the black sheep of her large, mid-western family. Of her 25 cousins, she’s the only one who “stayed the somewhat uncertain course of a creative professional.”

Now, the 25-year-old is living in DC and working with the Creative Studio team at Ogilvy; not necessarily your black sheep of design leaders in the industry.

“My family members have all selected very practical career pathways and have become either accountants or engineers,” she said, acknowledging that she’s always received widespread support from her family for her creative pursuits. “I’ve proven that you can make a living doing something a bit less conventional.”

And being somewhat unconventional is something Jen’s been motivated by since she was young, when her grandmother introduced her to drawing.

“Some of my fondest memories are of my grandmother and I sketching together when she baby-sat me. As a child, I was constantly designing or creating something, whether it was a mural, a film, or a cd cover for a fake band my friends and I pretended to be in. I remember once wanting to be a doghouse designer, of all things! I just always knew I was going to be a creative in some capacity.”

As she moved from hometown exploration to collegiate education in the University of Delaware’s visual communications program, she found new influences — in her design classmates. She said the program was competitive, keeping only those students who demonstrated hard work and dedication.

“I was given an extraordinary opportunity to meet some great people that are as passionate about design as I am. Each of my classmates influenced me in different ways, but they all pushed me to be the best designer I could be.”

Being the best designer assumes some degree of experimentation, which Jen said has been harder to come by in the tightened economy. She’s found that clients are less willing to explore new ways or printing or to attempt innovative layouts. Instead, she said they are sticking with more inexpensive solutions that still communicate messages effectively. But she’s not deterred from continuing her pursuit of the unconventional and has been practicing her crafts in her free time.

“The best piece of advice I’ve ever received is, ‘Practice.’ You can read all you want and ask as many questions as you need, but the only way to get better at something is to put your knowledge and skills to work.”

She admits that print is her first love, but has been expanding her knowledge and skills by becoming more involved in the interactive world of the web.

“I’m constantly trying to learn new things to improve my creative skill sets. And because the internet has become such an integral part of our daily lives, web design seemed like the obvious choice when looking for my next skill,” she said.

“I think as a print designer, the web has been this mysterious other realm that I was always nervous to wrap my arms around. But as of late, I’ve finally taken the plunge, and it is slowly revealing itself to be a wonderful resource.”

Branding and package design remains her current passion, however, and she’s aiming eventually to land in an agency specializing in those areas.

“I’ve always enjoyed the process and conception of branding and package design. They are the things that got me interested in graphic design in the first place.”

As she continues to grow in the design fields, she wants to become an expert in related brand experiences spanning advertising, print, and web.

“When I retire, I wish to look back on a successful design career that didn’t force me to sacrifice other things I wanted for myself in life, like a family. I’m determined to have it all.”

See more of Jen’s work online at: http://cargocollective.com/jenfose