Imagine being able to accurately draw out your thoughts on paper. For me, it seems impossible. But Cal Poly senior Jennifer Leo brings her visions to life on the computer screen.

The feel of a pencil came naturally for Leo at a young age, and she shortly progressed from drawing to painting to using construction paper to make art projects.

As she got older, her skills improved and soon she found herself a senior in high school debating what path to take her life down.

• Images Courtesy Of Jennifer Leo
• FLIP THE PAGE Creating a book is hard work, but Jennifer Leo isn't scared to take everything she learned from Cal Poly to bring one to life.

"I knew I wanted to pursue art, and I was considering so many different majors. I was thinking art history, I was thinking of dance, just anything that would allow me to be creative," she said. "Then I found graphic design, and I've always wanted to be a graphic designer."

Leo said it was easy to pick Cal Poly's Art and Design program because it has a graphic design concentration that enabled her the opportunity to have hands-on experience, dive in, and begin honing her skill.

Graphic design at Cal Poly encompasses everything from design history, publication design, and motion design, allowing students to really zero in on learning what features will catch somebody's eye. Students study craft prototypes and create concepts that real world companies will look toward, according to Cal Poly's Art and Design program.

"There's so many different avenues I can go into because it's so broad," Leo said. "I can still go into film; I can still even go into dance, like maybe making graphics for some sort of dance company. It just allows me to do everything that I love."

Soon after starting at Cal Poly, Leo started posting her art on social media apps like TikTok where she would receive hundreds and even thousands of views on videos of her craft.

Gaining traction on social media and being a leader that younger students look up to and ask for advice from, she decided it's probably best to focus on the business sector of graphic design and begin a portfolio that her classmates and social media following can refer to.

• Images Courtesy Of Jennifer Leo
• GET YOUR POSTERS Combining both typography and illustration, Jennifer Leo created tourism posters for Avila Beach by illustrating some of the wild animals' visitors can look forward to seeing.

Leo's portfolio contains a variety of different graphics she's made over the years, including a prototype for REI that was part of a class assignment and would align the outdoor company's website with the changing seasons.

Leo expressed fall with bare trees, leaves on the ground, and two tents side-by-side as a warm fire blazes in the middle. This graphic helps customers picture camping with REI products by a cozy campfire on a chilly fall evening, she said.

Leo's rendition of winter is for the athlete who can't wait to throw on their skis and fly down a mountain, with the cold, crisp air in their face.

"First, you have the prompt, right? See what deliverables they need and then from there you also have to see what limitations they have for you. Do they want things in a certain style? Are you limited to certain fonts and colors? Then, from there you can start brainstorming and sketching," she said. "Once you have some ideas, you present your ideas to either your professor or your client, and then they give you the green light for whichever direction they want you to go in and from there, you keep refining it, adding finishing touches."

Cal Poly's Art and Design program has opened Leo up to new design elements, as she said she never thought she would be interested in typography until she tried it through one of her classes.

Leo said the main difference between typography and illustration is the amount of time that goes into the projects.

"I've noticed with illustrations that it takes longer than just a typography-based project because illustrations require color, it requires something real like drawings with people or animals," she said. "A typography-based project is where you're just picking out fonts and maybe making some slight adjustments to it."

• Images Courtesy Of Jennifer Leo
• FOUR SEASONS Looking to redesign REI's website for one of her classes at Cal Poly, Jennifer Leo decided it would be fun to take its customers through all four of the seasons.

While typography is a great skill to have, Leo shines in illustration and draws inspiration from vintage graphic styles from the 1970s and 1980s and original NASCAR illustrations.

"I try to incorporate life and personality into my illustrations and always maybe end up adding some eyes, or faces, or mouths," she said. "Just because I think that it's really important for the audience's reaction when they see that kind of work. It really draws them in because they see something with the motion and that also impacts their own emotion and mood and tone." Δ

Reach Staff Writer Samantha Herrera at [email protected].