By Abigail Roberts | Echo
With designs for Adidas, USA Today and Discovery Channel under his belt, this 2012 Taylor graphic design graduate reflects on his time at Taylor.
After sending out desperate emails his senior year, trying to plan his trajectory out in just a few short months, Graham Hauser landed his first official job in Washington D.C. as graphics designer for Discovery Channel.
His highest paying job to date, Hauser worked 10 or more hours a day on Photoshop designing Discovery Channel thumbnails for Hulu, Netflix, Amazon and more. For Hauser this was a complete learning curve.
"(But) I use that (skill) now to distinguish myself," Hauser said. "It elevated my craft."
He also applied many of these skills at his next job as designer and art director for USA Today.
Currently working at Yyes, a close-knit boutique and design communications firm in Los Angeles, Hauser has quickly grasped that Washington D.C. was a smaller pond. He could be a bigger fish there. LA, on the other hand, is much more like an ocean.
It is no secret that the art world is all about your ability to sell yourself and your work.
"If the person you're selling it to buys it, then you win," Hauser said. "You have to be an authentic person to succeed."
One of the major lessons Hauser took away from his time at Taylor was the ability to present himself well, how to "pitch creative."
As a music minor with a concentration in voice, specifically opera, the stage is no foreign ground for Hauser. While working with the Taylor music department, Hauser learned how to perform despite feeling uncomfortable.
One day for art class, Hauser and his classmates were presenting on branding. Everyone else went up shaking and nervous, but because of his training in stage presence Hauser was able to put everyone else at ease as he was going up to present.
On the other hand, Hauser pointed out that the amount of critique he had at Taylor was not sufficient. Sometimes, as an evangelical school, Taylor can lean toward the lenient side, valuing the individual's happiness and well-being over their ultimate success, according to Hauser.
"It's one of the things the art department at Taylor needs to get better at," Hauser said. "The (real world) can be ruthless."
Reflecting on his time at Taylor, Hauser holds fond memories of his Wengatz brothers, especially their 2010 and 2011 Melon and Gourd antics. He is pleased to hear that the tradition stood just as strong this year.
