Here are my top ten occupations/projects:
1. Graphic Novel Writer/Illustrator
My dream is to write and illustrate my own graphic novel. It’s a growing market, but it’s also a market in desperate need of family-oriented material. Most of the content out there is either too dark, too sensual, or too simplistic to entertain a broad audience.
Training in graphic design is critical to crafting a solid graphic novel. A strong understanding of typography and how to integrate it with imagery is essential to effective communication.
2. Storyboard Artist
As you can probably tell, I like to draw. Storyboards are similar to graphic novels, only they are typically less refined. The point of a storyboard is to compose the mood and pacing of a scene for film.
3. Motion Graphics (animated text, imagery, etc.)
It’s really fun to watch your own creations come to life and move around. Animated text is both dynamic and eye-catching. By breaking free from the static printed page, a whole new world of communication techniques become available – including the use of sound and animated imagery.
4. Atmospheric Designer (at theme parks, etc.)
I think one reason why people put up with long lines at Disneyland is because the atmosphere is so engaging. My favorite line (that sounds weird to say) is for the Indiana Jones ride. You forget that you’re somewhere in the middle of Anaheim and are transported to another world. Designing atmospheres like this would be a dream job – especially if I can incorporate drawing into the process.
5. Children’s Book Writer/Illustrator
This is something I actually have an opportunity to do. My family is in the publishing business, and I have been asked if I would like to make the illustrations for a book that is going to be re-released in the near future. I would love to be able to do this and, perhaps, make a career out of it down the road.
6. Interactive Web Design
I’m not one for coding. I can do some it, and it’s fun to make features work, but I would much rather build the concept for an interactive website than actually assemble it myself. It would be cool to see my concepts come to life on the web.
7. Book Layout and Design (typography, imagery, etc.)
I’ve actually done this before. As I said, my family is in the book publishing industry. I reflowed and edited the interior design of a trade book that was going to be rereleased. This was three or four years ago, but I would love to do this with books that have more experimental typography and integrated imagery. Also, interactive ebooks would be so cool to make. If you haven’t seen interactive ebooks before, check out Alice in Wonderland for the iPad.
8. Video Interviews with Book Authors
I’ve done this before as well, but I never finished it. It was part of my internship at Harvest House Publishers last summer. My coworker/mentor and I spent part of the summer researching interviews and video trailers for books. We were just starting to create our own author interviews when I had to return to school in the fall. I did, however, finish a few book trailers. Here’s one I finished: Prayers for Those Who Grieve (there’s some parts of it I like better than others. Making a trailer for a gift book is not easy, especially on a deadline.)
9. Character and Environment Design for Film/TV
This would be a cool job to have at Pixar or Dreamworks. I would love to be one of the people who designs the look/feel of characters and their environments.
10. Board Game Design (particularly the mood and imagery of the game)
In retrospect, the board game project we did in our Collaborative Processes class last year was actually pretty fun. We made KattyWampus, a charades-style game with a few twists. Our box looked awesome, and it was fun coming up with the cat-character. This would be fun to do again at some point.
Share Your Thoughts