David Conley
Graphic Designer / Videographer
University of California, Irvine - Division of Continuing Education
Milestones
My road in life has taken me all over.
I started teaching myself Photoshop my sophomore year of high school. But I didn't think much of it; it was more of a hobby.
I wanted to be a sports journalist straight out of high school. But I didn't get into the universities I wanted.
I committed to study at UCI as an Undecided / Undeclared student. At orientation, they announced a new major: Computer Game Science. I thought to myself: why not?
Over the next 4 years, I worked a lot on game projects as an artist, because of my Photoshop experience. It was fun, but I never pictured a career in it.
Instead, I got involved on campus. As an RA, SPOP Staffer, etc., I began to gravitate towards student affairs.
I got my first job at UCI due to my experience in student affairs, and because I had a unique background in computer science. At this job, I was able to show off my design skills.
Over time, I realized that the design work was what I looked forward to every day. I would lose track of time on nearly every design project I found myself on.
Eventually, because of awesome mentors and colleagues at work, my abilities got noticed. I was picked up by my current team at Continuing Education: DesignPlus.
Keep following my journey
Education
High School
Redlands High School
Redlands High School
Bachelor
Computer Game Science
UC Irvine
Computer Game Science
UC Irvine
Career
Graphic Designer / Videographer
I edit and create graphics for educational videos, which supplement online courses.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Design
Education
Being Creative
Day to Day
I am considered a jack-of-all trades, so I am often called in to help with a variety of media-related things. There are days when I'll be out helping my team film course material. Other days I spend back at my desk, splicing those clips together. And then there are days that I consider the most fun-- making graphics that make our instructional videos shine. Right now, one of my favorite things to do is to use my coding experience to create graphics templates for my teammates to use.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for everyone
Practice, practice, practice. So much of my design work was stupid little side projects, like making Facebook cover photos or T-Shirt designs for friends. But it gave me the reps I needed to hone in on what I really needed to as an artist. Oftentimes I would just Google tutorials and spend a couple hours trying to learn a new technique. So when the moment came at my first professional job to show off what I could do, I had a portfolio ready to show.
Recommended Education
My career is related to what I studied. I'd recommend the path I took:
Bachelor
Computer Game Science
Computer Game Science
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Myself:
"You're nowhere near a good enough artist to make a professional career out of it."
