PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN (PCA&D)
I’m Matthew Dornan, a senior graphic design student at PCA&D. I began my design career in high school creating graphics, flyers, and merchandise for local musicians in Frederick MD. I transferred to PCA&D in Fall 2022, after attending a local community college. During my time at PCA&D, I have worked on various projects, trying my hardest to gain a wide variety of experiences and to use my ability to capture many different effects in my art. The summer before my senior year, I interned at Force PKG, a packaging company in Lancaster PA, where I worked on designing packages, adjusting and creating new dielines, motion graphics, and logo designs. This internship further developed my design skills and made me even more excited to work in the field after graduation.
DO YOU FEEL THAT DESIGN SCHOOL HAS PREPARED YOU TO SEARCH FOR AND FIND A JOB?
Absolutely, I feel like the curriculum has a decent variety of projects that would prepare me for multiple sectors of the design industry. Also, from group projects, real-world clients, and even the in-school design agency, there was plenty of experience working for a common goal, and creating designs for other people. I also know that PCA&D has a great network for alumni to gain jobs in the field.
WHAT MAKES YOU FEEL INSPIRED?
I love trying to translate the feeling of something into physical art or design, whether creating an album poster or merchandise, a poster for a TV show or movie, or a package design based on an existing brand.
WHAT AREA OR AREAS OF DESIGN ARE YOU HOPING TO WORK IN OR SPECIALIZE IN?
No idea! I have some experience already in packaging and I enjoy it, but I would also eventually like to work in music doing merchandise design or album packaging. I have also always been interested in working on movie sets and designing props for movies.
