SEARCHING

 

“There is beauty in every stroke,” says Morgan while sitting outside of Boots Bakery sipping a cappuccino. Holding back a half smile, she glances at her worn notebook full of hand drawn typography, meticulously detailed and surrounded by doodles. The 2015 graduate of SFCC is a graphic designer at Helveticka.

Graphic design wasn’t the obvious path for Morgan. She started her college journey right out of high school at the University of Washington. “I was expected to go to a good school, because that’s what you do when you finish high school,” she says referring to the expectations of her family. She quickly found, “It wasn’t for me and I couldn’t justify spending that kind of money not knowing what I wanted to do or study.”

 

DISCOVERING

 

Morgan soon found herself back in Spokane, searching. She ended up at Eastern Washington University where she finished her history degree. Still a bit lost, she started collaborating with a friend who worked with her at The Shop, a local Spokane coffee shop in the Perry District. They were running a printing press and making small batch print jobs for local businesses. She became obsessed with the letters, shapes and subtle intricacies of typography. She fell in love with the creative process.

Her newfound hobby cast a light on her current direction. Soon, Morgan had enrolled in the graphic design program at SFCC. “It was really hard to convince my parents that this was a good move. Community college was not in their vocabulary.” But after an interview with graphic design instructor and eventual mentor, Greg Stiles, it became rather obvious it was what she wanted to do.

Morgan Lynch - graphic designer

DISCOVERING

 

Morgan soon found herself back in Spokane, searching. She ended up at Eastern Washington University where she finished her history degree. Still a bit lost, she started collaborating with a friend who worked with her at The Shop, a local Spokane coffee shop in the Perry District. They were running a printing press and making small batch print jobs for local businesses. She became obsessed with the letters, shapes and subtle intricacies of typography. She fell in love with the creative process.

Her newfound hobby cast a light on her current direction. Soon, Morgan had enrolled in the graphic design program at SFCC. “It was really hard to convince my parents that this was a good move. Community college was not in their vocabulary.” But after an interview with graphic design instructor and eventual mentor, Greg Stiles, it became rather obvious it was what she wanted to do.

SUCCEEDING

 

The program was surprisingly challenging, says Morgan. The instructors and students didn’t settle for sub-par effort on anything. “It was more like a family atmosphere. The students and instructors see all your work and freely critique everything. It makes us all better,” she says.

“I wouldn’t have made it through the program if it wasn’t for Greg Stiles. He pushed me. Turns out, every piece of work that I thought was finished, could always be improved. I would take the feedback, and it would always lead to a better end-product.”

This meticulous attention to detail led Morgan to win several local and national Addy Awards from the American Federation of Advertising. A panel of professional designers and advertising agency professionals chose Morgan’s work for the prestigious honors.

These awards and her attention to detail helped Morgan succeed in her internship with Helveticka, a design agency in downtown Spokane. The agency usually hosts a graphic design student, but not all of them are hired. For Morgan, that was the goal. She started work full time the day after graduation.

“The Falls definitely prepared me for getting a good job right out of college,” she says.

Morgan has recently moved on to a position with Magner Sandborn, a local Spokane creative agency.

RESOURCES

Get Started at SCC or SFCC Now

SFCC Graphic Design Program

Helveticka

Morgan’s ADDY Award Designs

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