Sarah Thompson, senior graphic design major, grew up in Hawaii, where beauty was all around her asking to be framed. She used passed-down digital cameras for years before saving up and purchasing a Canon Rebel T6, her first piece of legitimate equipment.

Homeschooled, Thompson had time to explore nature and sought out tropical birds to photograph.

Bird sitting on a tree branch, taken in Hawaii (Photographed by Sarah Thompson)

“I was able to just put down my books and look outside for hours,” said Thompson.

Thompson was invested in mastering the art of hand-lettering. The skill didn’t come to her naturally like photography seemed to. She remembers being bad and using that as motivation to keep practicing until it clicked.

“I was like, oh my gosh, there’s a difference between these letters and how they’re formed,” Thompson said. “I was like, okay, so thick is the downstroke and thin is the upstroke. I was like, That makes so much sense. And so literally I sat thinking for so long that one night, and it was just such a good memory.”

In 8th grade, Thompson met a woman from church who let her come over to practice lettering on her Cricut and iPad. Thompson invested in her own iPad and began creating sticker designs to sell online. She took free online classes to try and improve her skills.

“I would design them on my iPad, and then from there, I had to figure out how to make a transparent background,” she said. “What does PNG mean? Like all these things, just learning them on my own. Honestly, those are the golden days of design where you’re discovering these things on your own with nothing else to worry about. No one really likes walking me through it. I just kind of took the initiative to try.”

Even with her background in art and photography, Thompson didn’t think she’d choose to be a graphic designer as her main career. She was sold on the idea of going to law school and becoming a lawyer.

“The turning point was my original passion and calling to be a mother,” she said. “For me, I know that yes, I can multitask and I can do it well, but I really don’t want to multitask the beautiful privilege of being a mother. I was homeschooled. I’ve seen firsthand how that works for our family and how it’s been great. I want to be available for that.”

Thompson will graduate with her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design in May.

From Thompson’s portfolio: Duck-Duck Juice

Duck-Duck Juice is a kids’ juice brand invented entirely by Thompson. She intended to appeal to kids with the fun colors and duck character, as well as to adults who have nostalgic memories tied to Duck-Duck-Goose.

Identity and Brand: Duck Duck Juice (Designs by Sarah Thompson)

From Thompson’s portfolio: Easy Life poster

Thompson made this poster as a tribute to the band Easy Life, who were at the time being sued by EasyJet airline for having a band name similar to their airline’s name. Thompson said she loves incorporating stories she is passionate about into her art. The poster combines illustration, lettering and photography, all of Thompson’s best skill sets.

Easy Life design (Designed by Sarah Thompson)

You can find more of Thompson’s work here.