Life & Work with Eliana Rotunno of Riverside, California

Today we’d like to introduce you to Eliana Rotunno.

Eliana, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I first discovered my interest in design in high school when I took interior design courses. That’s where I began to see that art wasn’t just something isolated to fine art—it could be integrated into business and serve as a meaningful, strategic asset. Around the same time, I was working at a small coffee shop, which sparked my interest in entrepreneurship and gave me a glimpse into how small businesses operate day to day.
When I started applying to colleges, I knew I wanted a design program at a Christian university where I could grow both creatively and spiritually. After being recommended California Baptist University, I toured the campus, and that experience really confirmed my decision. My tour was led by a graphic design major who took the time to show me the department more closely. I saw the awards the program had been winning and how much it had been growing and developing, and I was genuinely impressed. That’s when I decided to take a chance on the program.
From my freshman year, the program immersed us in design right away. I appreciated how much the faculty value hands-on learning, getting students involved in internships, and creating opportunities to work both on campus and alongside professors. I’ve been part of a cohort of creative students who are passionate about integrating faith and creativity. We’ve spent a lot of time learning about concepts like objective goodness, truth, and beauty, and how those ideas shape the way we design. We’ve also developed our creative processes in a way that intentionally includes our faith, recognizing that our work ultimately has a greater purpose.
Throughout my time in the program, I’ve been given opportunities to grow as a leader. One of my professors invited me to work with the Lausanne Movement, an organization focused on evangelical missions and global church research. I joined a graphic design team supporting his projects, and I now serve in a project management role for a major editorial project. That experience has helped me develop both my design skills and my ability to collaborate and lead within a professional setting.
Now, as I’m heading into my senior year, I’m continually amazed at how much I’ve grown each semester—not just as a designer, but in how I think, create, and approach my work. My professors consistently challenge us and hold us to a high standard so that we’re prepared for the industry.
I truly enjoy graphic design, and I see it as an essential part of building a successful and professional business. After graduation, I’m looking forward to working for a company where I can help develop their brand and contribute my skills to create clean, thoughtful, and effective design. I’m excited about the relationships I’ll build, the mentors I’ll learn from, and the opportunity to keep growing. Most of all, I’m grateful that I get to do work that I love—work that is meaningful, purposeful, and allows me to use the skills I’ve been given to create something beautiful and impactful for others.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I remember being in one of my first design courses at university and feeling overwhelmed by all the technical aspects—file types, exporting, file sizes, and even the fear of losing everything if my computer crashed. I honestly questioned if this was the right field for me because it felt so “tech-heavy,” and I didn’t think I would ever be good at that side of design. But over time, I became more familiar with it, and what once felt intimidating started to feel natural. That experience really shaped my mindset and taught me to approach things I don’t know with a positive attitude instead of fear.

Since then, I’ve learned the importance of trying things even when I’m not confident or experienced. I’ve become okay with the fact that my work won’t be perfect, but that there’s value in simply being willing to try. I saw this play out when I designed a car wrap for a student engineering team. I was hesitant at first because I had no experience with that kind of project, but I decided to go for it anyway. The process wasn’t perfect and definitely came with challenges, but it was intentional, collaborative, and honestly really rewarding.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a Graphic Design and Visual Experience major with a concentration in graphic design, and I’m also double majoring in Christian Studies. Being in the graphic design concentration has given me a really well-rounded course plan where I’ve been able to learn a little bit of everything. I’ve taken a photography course, all of the required graphic design courses, a UI/UX course, and classes focused on typography and branding. Compared to other concentrations like photography, illustration, or motion design, my focus is more on typography, branding, layout, and advertising.

At the moment, I work as a graphic designer and project manager for the Lausanne Movement, where I’ve been growing a lot in my skills in typesetting and layout, especially for publication design. We’re currently working on an editorial series called the Light Briefings, which are about 30-page documents that feature articles from global leaders on different global trends. I handle the typesetting, originally designed the layout system last year, and now oversee image direction and cover design as well.

This year, I was awarded a Gold ADDY Award from the Inland Empire Advertising Awards for an integrated brand identity project. The project that won was my airline branding concept from my brand identity course, which made the experience especially meaningful. It was really rewarding to attend the awards with my department and represent California Baptist University as a recipient. That experience confirmed how much I enjoy branding, and I think I would really thrive being part of a team that works on branding projects or within a company that is continually developing and refining its brand.

I really enjoy making projects look polished and professional. I tend to be detail-oriented—especially when it comes to gridding, alignment, and overall visual consistency—and I find a lot of satisfaction in making things feel clean, intentional, and visually compelling. I see real value in being able to produce professional, industry-standard work for an organization that wants to communicate credibility and excellence through its design.

What was your favorite childhood memory?
One of my favorite childhood memories is being in the backyard with my siblings in the afternoon, watering our orange tree and waiting for our little turtle to come out and walk around. It lived in our backyard. We would take sidewalk chalk and grind it down on the concrete to make this powder, then mix it with water from the hose to create our own “paint.” After that, we’d go over to the side of the garage and start painting all over the wall.

It felt like we were making little murals, even though we were just kids and couldn’t reach very high. I loved how creative it was and how we just made something out of what we had. It was messy and simple, but really fun, especially getting to do it together while our mom was inside taking a nap.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eli.designco/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eliana-rotunno

Image Credits
Micah Thomas