Just Accepted Graphic Design Student is a Passionate Humanitarian

Full Name: Whitney Elmore

Age:17            

Hometown: Thousand Oaks, California

Year in School: Senior

FIDM Major: Graphic Design

FIDM Campus and Start Date: LA or OC Fall 2012

Admissions Advisor: Roxy DeGuzman

Tell us a bit about yourself. I am crazy, loud, driven, adventurous, and opinionated. I live life with a purpose beyond myself and believe in having the courage to be vulnerable and take risks. I love to laugh and meet new people. I am a club and high school swimmer and am a lifeguard and swim instructor during the summer, so most of my time is spent around the pool or at the beach.

I recently went on a mission trip to Guatemala where I lived with a family and taught in an art school for a week. I am passionate about social justice and humanitarian issues. I am involved with an organization called Invisible Children, a movement working to end the abduction of children for use as child soldiers by the Lords Resistance Army in Northern Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo, restore the war affected regions and bring Joseph Kony to justice. I have recently started an Invisible Children Club at my school and I am personally trying to raise 5000 dollars for the cause.

I want to travel the world and experience different cultures and be inspired and enriched by them. I love being outside,going new places, getting creative and learning new things and am ecstatic to be headed to Graphic Design College this fall.

What are your proudest accomplishments so far? In August, I went to a summer summit called The Fourth Estate with Invisible Children. There, the 650 of us young revolutionaries pledged to raise hundreds and thousands of dollars each, and by midnight on December 1st, we had a goal of having raised one million dollars. We called it ‘The Million Dollar Lockout’ and we were not going to sleep until the fundraising goal was met. It seemed impossible; one million dollars in four months is crazy, but we were determined.

When Friday rolled around we had raised around 900 thousand dollars, which is fantastic, but we had 100 thousand to go and 24 hours to get it. We hit the streets, we blew up Facebook and Twitter, we sang, we danced, we sold cookies, we called local businesses, went door to door talked to all of our neighbors, friends, and even strangers asking for spare change and donations. Our fundraising efforts were making 50,000 dollars every 5 hours and by 12:30 am, we hit one million and then kept going.

What made FIDM right for you? I have chosen to attend Graphic Design School at FIDM because it is a place where my creativity will be cultivated, refined, and enriched by both the campus environment and curriculum. FIDM is a place where I will gain knowledge and experience not only in the classroom learning from the expert professors and collaborating with fellow students, but also, out in the world working with companies and professionals in my chosen field. Most importantly, FIDM is a place where I will have the opportunity to be challenged to grow and to continually learn and develop into a stronger and more influential graphic designer.

Describe your entrance project. My entrance project was very personal and had a lot to do with my own passions and experiences. I created a store called Mundo which is Spanish for world, inspired by my trip to Guatemala where my eyes were opened to the real world for the first time. Mundo is a mix between Urban Outfitters, Whole Foods, and World Market selling items like equal exchange coffee, fairly traded soaps, and other home décor as well as brands such as TOMS, Crochet Kids, and Threads for Thought. I had to design a catalogue cover, bag, and magazine ad.

For the catalogue cover I scanned in a realistic and detailed headshot that I drew and made some enhancements in Photoshop as well as added the store name and text. The bag was an illustrated tree with all of its leaves fallen and a blue bird sitting on one of its branches in a cartoon-type style. Then the magazine ad was text accompanied by three light bulbs with heart shaped filaments. One of the bulbs was lit and represented the illuminated heart of a Mundo customer. All in all, my project was very personal and the styles were varied.

What are your career goals? My goal is to make a difference with my art; to create with an influence that has a deeper meaning, for something greater than me, others. I would love to work for a charity or non profit as a designer.  I want to open people’s eyes to the world around them and help people find their passion and live vibrantly and with purpose.