Visiting a working design studio is like peeking into Santa’s workshop. Find out how the magic is made and you’ll never want to leave. With any luck this is where your design career is headed. Join us for tours of some of the best award-winning design agencies in Dallas.

Building a Portfolio that shows you the work you want to do!
How do you go about constructing a portfolio that reflects your personality and aligns with the kind of work you aspire to pursue? Alex will share insights on how developing a portfolio of personal projects facilitated his growth as a designer and enabled him to attract the projects he desired. The discussion will include tangible examples of personal initiatives, guidance on structuring them effectively, and practical advice on dos and don’ts. Additionally, Alex will outline how these personal projects and work directly translated into opportunities to work on projects that resonate with his individual style and interests.

The Emerging Creatives Panel is designed to offer valuable advice and insight to students from professionals just a few steps ahead of them. It’s a time for professionals to give back to the next generation and offer these students all the things you wish someone had mentioned before graduating.

Building Confidence to Leap Into the Unknown
Conquering obstacles along the way from college to corporate, to owning your own business, and the lessons learned that would easily make or break you from embarking into the unknown.

Good news and bad news. Once you graduate it’s unlikely a design agency will care about your GPA. If you have great work and, almost equally important, you’re willing to work hard and be teachable, you’re hired. Here’s the good news. You don’t have to wait to find out. Hear it first-hand from industry leaders. Tighten up your best work and get ready to show it off. Listen to the feedback and let it fuel your creative fire. You got this!

Picture this: you and a few friends sit down with a seasoned professional in the creative industry. You spend a little time listening to their life and career, then fire away some astute questions. As you marinate in the sage advice you receive, you begin to see yourself 25 years in the future with a long and glorious career of your own. Not a bad way to spend an hour.

Your Inspiration Is In The Process
It isn’t enough to feel inspired. I’d like to show you a better way to think about inspiration that leads with the process. How to recognize inspiration, what to do with it once you’ve found it, and how to use it in your design work to bring life and personality to your design concepts.

Areas of Interest
Over the years I have experimented and introduced many of my interests into my work. This talk attempts to break down the body of work I have created, and how these areas of Interest have affected the way I see the world and make my work.

If you don’t love the work you’re doing, why should anyone else?

Do you really want to do this?
So you have a camera. Someone told you that they like your photos. So now what? Do you think you have what it takes? Let’s take a deep dive into this. Let’s explore the life and business of a working commercial photographer.