Sharing my Platt College San Diego review. This is my experience attending Platt College and my journey to becoming a graphic and web designer. You might want to also start thinking about checking out Platt College in person for yourself after reading this! Woohoo! Grab a cup of coffee and get reading my amazing college experience at Platt College. Let’s dish about that artist lifestyle and what to expect if you want to move to sunny San Diego and enroll at Platt college.
Are you all about that art life?
How about becoming a Graphic Designer, Web Designer, 3D Animator, or Digital Video Producer?
You have the passion for anything creative and that’s your vibe. You probably get described as “sooo creative” by your family. You probably have had some of the “artsy moments” that I had growing up. If you can relate, you should consider following your dreams and attending Platt College in San Diego for graphic design, web design, 3D animation, or digital video production. This is where you’ll not only grow new skills to rock an artistic career but also unlock hidden creative doors you never dreamed possible! Speaking of doors, here’s the front doors of Platt admissions.
Platt College: 6250 El Cajon Boulevard San Diego, CA 92115-3919 | 1-866-752-8826
Here’s my early years followed by my incredible experience studying for graphic and web design at Platt College in San Diego.
Does this sound like your early art years? If so, you need to check out Platt College.
Well, I was that kid that was always drawing or doing anything creative. let me sketch you a quick napkin drawing how that started… when I was a toddler playing with crayons my grandma noticed I only colored using my left hand. She was so excited to see that I was a lefty. (take a sip of that coffee Mmmm!) Yes if you were THAT kid, that kept quietly amused drawing for hours and got better with time, that’s your first clue. You were born with that creative passion and it’s running through your veins and you need to harness it.
That creative passion is just embers of light that need to feed, and yes, that fire will happen. Pretty soon, you’ll go from crayons to paint to digital art! Yes, you’re gonna be on fire with talent if you keep it up. That’s where we sadly see many artists sink or swim. You have to have passion, the hunger for developing your skills.
That MOMENT when you look at your old work with EMBARRASSMENT because you’re SOOO Much better now. 😉
That artistic passion followed me
Grade school, I was constantly drawing. I was doodling so hardcore that my friends would ask me to draw them stuff. I was the kid with a box of markers always in my backpack. I was drawing my teacher. I was drawing flowers, everything I thought of was ending up in my sketch pad. My science report on iguanas had a masterpiece of art attached. I actually found a real iguana and sketched it into a masterpiece. Weird, maybe for a fifth grader.
(fun fact the first logo I designed was in 3rd grade that was used for the official school T-Shirts – never told my family that one! I was shy and embarrassed?)
Art also was my therapy
When I was in fifth grade, my step-dad died and it was followed by some dark years in my family living without him. I went from quiet to even quieter. Art kept my sanity, it helped me deal with the sadness felt at my home everyday for years.
Middle school is where my creativity met technology
Ok, by middle school I was getting into playing computer games, computer graphics, video game graphics, I just thought that was the coolest thing back in …(1997) lol. My first test I gave myself to prove I could be a graphic designer was to try and duplicate an elaborate print design I liked, the school’s “no homework coupons.” This required knowing the right fonts, leading, how to make stars, spacing etc. I figured out to to duplicate it, even the special blue paper I found at home. I amazed myself so much but I was of course too goody two shoes to ever use the coupons for my own advantage. I was for the first time proud that I could recreate something I thought was cool.
High school is where I started making my own graphic designs and websites
After studying what “good graphic design” was for years I started critiquing the daily junk mail and advertisements I saw in magazines. I took a desktop publishing class in high school and started learning the basics of Adobe Photoshop 5.5 and Programs like Quark X Press, Illustrator. I got a taste what real graphic designers did. I had a hard time with the programs and wished I could afford them to use at home. That took the back burner because I started getting into more creative avenues, web design. I was the only girl in my high school that wanted to join the web design club. The teacher didn’t even bother or encourage me. He just thought it was cute… I wanted to redesign the school website. I wanted to learn! I started learning by right-clicking on websites and just studying the code. I self taught myself the basics and in high school I had my own website that I designed! It was my sandbox to learn as much web after I did my homework, late at night. The content was my poems, my art sketches I scanned and optimized them for web.
This is my “make it or break it” moment. The most critical moment in a budding artists journey
Then I thought it was “for the best” to quit my art dreams and “grow up”. In high school, I had a senior exhibition due and I needed to job shadow a successful person… I took a big step back and thought about MY future. Inside I was torn that I had to suppress my art dreams. And take the “safe respectable choice.” There’s a ton of pressure on you to research a career, give a presentation and make your parents proud on your career path. Making my mom proud and pleasing her seemed more important at that point in my life. Dive into a career in the medical field and you’re golden, right? I thought I wanted to be a surgeon, but it was just to make my family proud. (thought my steady art hands would save lives)
My mom then became my hero – “Follow your dreams, be happy.”
I was unhappy and “growing up.” One day, my mom picks up some art off her coffee table that I drew. She asked if I drew it, because she thought it was incredible. ( it was anime) She told me that I need to look into an art career instead. I was so happy that I had that confidence in her. A big weight lifted off my shoulders in that moment and I cried with happiness. I told her that I wanted to check out the graphic design college that was next to my orthodontist, called Platt College. And history was made.
I took the Platt tour and fell in love
Platt college San Diego campus
I brought my mom with me to check out Platt college. Every classroom looked so interesting to me. The campus was neat and tidy with so much artistic student projects on the walls I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of. I knew this was a place I could quickly grow and bloom. The campus was small, comfortable, and inviting. For someone that was such of an introvert at the time, it was also very appealing. Small groups of students you get to personally evolve with? Teachers that give you 1 on 1 attention? I was sold. The high quality facility, newest technology, teachers and students makes it that one of a kind college gem. It’s all about quality not quantity at Platt.
I started my Platt courses…
I felt like a kid in the candy store. All my creative needs were met. This is college?! Cool! Designing magazine layouts, learning the newest software, I was learning and using what I learned faster than I imagined. The first courses were graphic design, once you learn graphic design and get your feet wet you’re ready to dive in.
The graphic design classes are at your own pace. There was always a T.A. in the class ready to swoop in and rescue you if you were confused or stuck while the teacher was giving a lesson. Better yet, the teacher will always stop and make sure everyone is on the same page. I remember the intimidating interface of Adobe Photoshop, I thought I’d get lost in there. Luckily the curriculum is designed in a way that you slowly learn tools and methods to design that you can apply towards the next project. Everything sinks in and comes together at the end of the class.
You get inspired by the person sitting next to you
My thirst for knowledge never ended. Constantly inspired by classmates work. As we all graduated from class to class, I loved how we could assume who crafted which masterpiece on the walls of our classroom. The student projects always reflect a piece of the student’s soul. Sounds amazing and it’s usually always the case.
A taste of some of the AMAZING student art you see all around
Here’s two amazing examples of student art. I really love these! The piece on the left is by Natasha Englehardt, titled The Princess Strikes Back.( Check out her Behance portfolio!)On the right a skateboard design by Jarod Octon. (Check out Jarod Octon’s official website too!)
It gets better… $$$
While I was learning web design, I realized this is a passion I want to keep learning and growing every way I can. Now I was taking freelance design jobs for both web and print and doing them after my homework. I was making that money honey. Sure, there’s that dreaded “starving artist” phrase that will haunt you when dealing with picky clients that don’t understand value in your work and I sure gained my experience woking through that. I might even have to write a blog post how to survive that journey. The option to freelance or work for someone else is always an amazing opportunity to gain.
Platt made me thirsty for knowledge
Platt made learning exciting. I never missed a class. My thirst to learn more and become more valuable to employees was on fire. I would wake up in the middle of the night to enjoy the silence and play with code, able to deeply concentrate, or design a new interface and code that. All I could hear was the fan in my computer tower and megabytes shuffle as I made changes to huge files. “code is poetry.” Yes.
Unlock your creativity at Platt College
I was amazed how Platt unlocked my creativity and gave me the playground to run and explore “drawing with every color in the crayon box.” For example, I was originally only interested in their outstanding web design courses and didn’t realize how great I was editing and producing video and photography. I also had no clue how much work and creativity went into video production. The video production courses were so much fun because you get to work with your classmates as a team. Since Platt, I have taken most of those skills to create informative youtube videos for fun (I even monetized them) BTW, my website eleganceandbeautyreviews.com was picked up by The New York Times and placed into their fashion section in the paper and also online!
Platt College’s Faculty
The platt faculty will feel like family. Everyone there is so kind and AMAZING. Platt hand picks the best of the best. Your teachers are people that LOVE what they do, so much it’s contageous. They are always happy and excited about the curriculum. My teachers made every class special in their own way. Remember, it’s quality not quantity. The teachers there are some of the most amazing people I have EVER met. Passionate, that’s the one word I use to describe them.
Everything Comes Together at Platt
I gained a solid foundation at Platt college. It prepared me for the real world. I took many jobs in the industry within the ten year period upon graduation. I have also enjoyed creating my own websites for fun.
Imagine a classroom filled with creative people
Platt attracts creative people to say the least! If you’re creative, you’ll simply love sitting in a classroom filled with like minded people. Your energies will fuel each other like fire to wind. It’s beautiful thing when creative minds can visually translate what they’re thinking. The “quick sketches” I’ve seen on the wipe boards you’ll never want to see erased. The famous creativity I witnessed at Platt College’s winter festivals were creative on so many levels. Students free styling, playing music, dancing, art exhibits, you’ll be amazed.
Platt Friends for Life
Another amazing benefit you get only at Platt college, you grow with your classmates as a team. You know their passions, and they feel like family. I have a few friends I made at Platt that are life long friends. I’m amazed at the talented people I went to school with. I’m happy to see them thriving in their fields of expertise.
Join me for my Platt College Commencement Speech 10/16/2015
I’m so honored to be picked to be a speaker for the Platt College graduation ceremony. It will be held at the Joan Kroc center in San Diego at 7:00PM. I welcome you to come hear what I have to say about my experience with Platt College first hand live in person.
Do you have any questions about my experience at Platt College? Please leave a comment below:
Thanks, Jen
