Taking a full load of classes while juggling life can be hard for the average person to maintain. We have talked about how SCAD Atlanta students excel at taking classes, running businesses and maintaining jobs. In our final installment of “Living a Visual Life” we sit down with student-athlete-artist, Daniel Plasa.
Lawren Gabrielle McCord: How did you gain an interest in graphic design?
Daniel Plasa: My uncle is in graphic design and I believe that is where I got the talent. Every time I went to his house I would see his Mac computers and I did not know what they were; I was curious. I took art classes in high school and started in graphic design when I came to the U.S. from Germany in 2005.
LGM: What were you doing before coming to SCAD Atlanta?
DP: I have been playing sports all of my life. I was playing professional tennis by the time I graduated from high school. I had planned on attending an art school but I did not have time to complete a portfolio [and] didn’t apply anywhere. I continued to play tennis and to work in my family’s business, which is a bakery.
LGM: How would you define your aesthetic?
DP: My work is very simple. I would not define it as edgy at all. It is recognizable as very simple, yet powerful. With graphic design you create something that you want to look at, that you can keep and look at it again at home — as opposed to just forgetting about it.
LGM: How do you use references from the past, the Internet, technology and blogs?
DP: Through SCAD I have had the opportunity to take part in many informational lectures. The artist that I feel I can identify the best with is Massimo Vignelli. I do not keep up with blogs a lot. I do occasionally use different sites to begin my inspiration process.
LGM: How has SCAD prepared you for your dream career?
DP: I think that SCAD really prepares you to get a good job and to do well. I’ve learned to develop my own concept and how to draw different strategies to create my own piece. I recently interviewed with a recruiter from Nike. Nike is one of my dream companies because I can combine my passion for sports with my design career. I have also been looking into working with brand identity companies.
LGM: How do you juggle school and also maintain an active tennis career?
DP: I chose to do my undergrad in Alabama because they had the best tennis program. In Alabama we won three national championships. That is part of the reason I chose to come to SCAD Atlanta. The SCAD recruiter informed me that a tennis team was developing here. When I started the current coach had just been hired and the team was not together yet. I was helping the coach recruit for team members. But balancing classes and being physically active does not take that much time for me. It is only 2-3 hours a day!
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