Today we’d like to introduce you to Stefanie Chen.
Stefanie, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My first memory of art actually involves my late grandfather. He was an artist himself who specialized in Chinese watercolor paintings. At a young age, I was able to watch him paint and draw while learning a few basics from him as well. I remember it blew my mind as a kid to watch him paint and blend all these colors together to create a masterpiece. Eventually, my parents put me in drawing classes so I could create my own art and it was something I always enjoyed doing. My family was very encouraging of it, but I don’t think anyone expected that I would make a career out of it.
In high school, it was time to really think about what my future would look like. Of course, I insisted on pursuing art and eventually saw graphic design as a path I could see myself on. As with all traditional Asian parents, they were skeptical and went through great lengths to help me see what else was out there. I ended up going to UCSD for a year, in the hopes of finding something else that would interest me, before finally convincing my parents that art is what I want to do, and I transferred to Otis College of Art Design. My four years at Otis were honestly a hazy, sleepy blur. I learned a lot, lost a lot of sleep, and also discovered how much I actually loved design. I particularly enjoyed the screen printing, bookmaking, and typography classes and even made my own font my senior year! As much as I enjoyed my time learning, I was elated when I was finally done. I remember I had an epiphany walking to my senior show-all the stress and sleepless nights were finally done and I was free! It was the best feeling.
At my senior show, I actually met my current boss. I started doing some freelance work with his company, Romero Thorsen Design, doing some small print projects, and about a year later, I started working full-time with the company. We specialize in environmental graphic design, and if you asked me when I was younger or even in my college days, I never thought I’d be working as an environmental graphic designer. We focused mostly on print and some web in school, so this was a pretty new experience for me. I mean, I went from designing 2’x3’ poster prints and books to signs that range from 10 feet to 70 feet tall!
Has it been a smooth road?
For the most part, it’s been a smooth road. I always had the support of my family and friends to pursue design, minus some things mentioned earlier, so that has always been a great help. The world of environmental graphics, on the other hand, has been a bit of a struggle for me. It’s caused me to question a lot of things and the path I was taking. It was so different from what I learned in college-posters, books, and websites. With environmental graphics, I could apply my basic design knowledge, but I really had to learn a whole component of architecture because of the construction and spatial elements of signage and wayfinding. Also, because I originally worked with print and web, where I could design something and see the final product in weeks or months, I was used to fast turnarounds. Working on signage and wayfinding, there would be such a long time before finally seeing it all completed.
Depending on the city we work with, permits, and fabrication time, it could be years from our initial designs before we see the final project built. I remember waiting to see my first project come to life, and how I was beginning to feel so insecure about what I was doing. I had other friends spitting out designs constantly, while I had design drawings that were ready for construction, but I would have to keep waiting before I had something complete to show. When one part of the project was finally completed, I felt so proud and accomplished that I designed these large scale, massive, painted graphics. Soon after, the rest of the project was completed and it was crazy to see my work come to life in a real physical space that everyone could experience. Since then, I’ve gotten to used to the longer wait times before seeing the end result, but it can still be aggravating.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I’m currently working as the senior designer at Romero Thorsen Design. It’s an environmental graphic design company that specializes in signage and wayfinding for retail, residential, and mixed use properties. We’re also delving more into interiors and architectures, which has been a great way for us to explore our existing construction and fabrication knowledge into related areas.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.stuffbystef.com
- Email: [email protected]
Image Credit:
Romero Thorsen Design
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