Hi, friends! Audrey Farnham here. I'm the newest recipe in Pixel Bakery's cookbook!
As a brand architect, I make sure everything from typography, iconography, and graphics are human-friendly, emotive, and aesthetically pleasing. I am primarily a visual designer with a budding interest in interactive and web design. I love creating design solutions that are clear, on-brand, and usable. If I had to distill myself down to recipe ingredients, I am equal parts illustrator, problem solver, and squirrel. Two cups of water and mix in just the right amount of saltiness. Honestly, I just really like playing with shapes for a living.
When I'm not baking pixels, I'm usually found kayaking with the Yeet Fleet Adventure Club or being oddly competitive at board games. Full disclosure: my ancestry traces back to a long line of table flippers and I refuse to play any game of monopoly in which I am not the banker. I also have an affinity for animals with people names and animals wearing people clothes. (Do yourself a favor and google cats wearing tights. It's literally the only thing getting me through this pandemic.)
I'm an originally self-taught designer who spent my twenties pinballing between freelance gigs and bartending (and a hilarious blunder into the local stand-up comedy scene). In 2018 however, I decided to whisk it all to go back to school (or as my friends call it, "sell out"). Before I knew it, I enrolled in SCC's Graphic Design and Media Arts Program and I was geeked, albeit intimidated. Although I had initial reservations, I adapted surprisingly well from the vampire-like tendencies I had adopted in my bartending days. Miraculously, I transformed into this real person who would get out of bed and have pants on by eight AM. I was learning a lot--like, more than I thought I would. I met my people and I vibed well with the collaborative environment; one might even say I was thriving.
Then 2020 hit hard, and unbeknownst to me, my new adventure would all but be derailed by a global pandemic.
Zoom replaced in-class critiques. I was learning web development remotely. Everyone's routine flew absolutely out the window (silver lining: NO MORE PANTS!). I found myself questioning whether I was in the right place, wondering whether I should--or could--stay the course. I even contemplated quitting school to get to work on my very own sourdough starter. Which was very big with the people from the internet at the time.
After a few minor meltdowns, I eventually--slowly-- started getting the hang of things. I utilized organizational tools and figured out the "touch up my appearance" feature in zoom. Nothing remained the same, but I leaned in harder to school none the less. I realized that the world oddly enough did not revolve around me and my comfort zone. I found a new rhythm and more so, my grit.
"If you accept the constraints you're under, you don't have to make compromises"
When I'm trying to look smart to other creators, I harken back to a quote from type designer, Matthew Carter. I'm paraphrasing a bit here: "if you accept the constraints you're under, you don't have to make compromises." I wasn't being stripped of what I set out to accomplish, even if the constraints seemingly kept piling up. My goals were simply taking on a different form instead. I had no choice but to lean into the change, and in that I found satisfaction. In place of fear, came a newfound hope for the future. Whether it's conforming to a pandemic, learning a new framework, or starting on a new career path, adaptability -more so even than my skill set- will be my most valuable asset in the future.
xoxo,
Audrey