Today we’d like to introduce you to Carissa Bloemeke.
Hi Carissa, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Many things have changed since my childhood, but my obsession with art is one thing that will always define who I am. I have been surrounded by art my entire life, which has inspired me to become the artist I am today. Growing-up, my house was covered in my grandfather’s abstract paintings, the theme song was my brother playing the drums all night, my grandmother and I would enjoy all-day craft sessions, and I would often shoot and edit homemade music videos with cousins and friends to pass the time. Art classes were my strong suit in middle and high school. I excelled in advanced art studios, art history, pottery, and yes, I was even a band nerd.
I also volunteered at art museums. This led me to graduate from the University of Central Florida from the School of Visual Arts and Design. My BFA is in Emerging Media specializing in Graphic Design. I have worked as an in-house graphic designer for the past seven years. I took the route of working as a corporate graphic designer since college, as I have always been interested with in-house branding, as opposed to working at an agency or freelancing. My pursuit of this path in graphic design lead me to where I am today, as a Senior Graphic Designer at Tavistock Development Company. To me, beauty in life lies in what we decorate our surroundings with – design, painting, sculpture, fashion, textiles, furniture. If we are surviving in this world, why not embellish it with a pop of color? I live that motto every day in pursuit of my passion in art and design.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Becoming a professional artist wasn’t a linear path in my life. It was more of a wobbly line that veered and landed into where I find myself today. It was the obvious path that I should have taken from the beginning, but I found myself trying to reject my passion in college because I was afraid of becoming the stereotypical “starving artist” that society warned of. On the other hand, my family pushed me to pursue art. Luckily, I was able to figure out how to attend college – I almost didn’t. I am a first-generation college-attendee in my family. As a senior in high school, I didn’t know how to apply for college, let alone pay for it. I did some research, rolled the dice, and applied to a single school: The University of Central Florida. I managed to be accepted, then blew my life’s savings on my first-semester dorm payment. I quickly realized that obtaining a bachelor’s degree was not going to be easy. After attempting to major in criminal justice, then losing my scholarship from failing math, I finally decided to follow my passion and switch to an art degree. Thankfully, I was accepted into the UCF Graphic Design program.
During my schooling in the program, I worked as an intern at a digital publishing agency BlueToad, Inc. I took a different approach than the typical route when finding this internship, which was the first falling domino that led me to my current role. The design program would typically suggest students to print houses and design agencies, but instead, I decided to go to an unrelated generic career fair on my own and singled out companies that would be interested in hiring a graphic design intern. I scored the position at BlueToad as a dual customer service representative/graphic design intern, then after three years of working there while also in school full-time, I proved myself to be worthy of hiring as a full-time Graphic Designer. After five years at UCF, I graduated with my BFA. Soon after, I was poached to begin working as a Senior Graphic Designer at Tavistock Development Company. After all of this, my advice to anyone would be: don’t be afraid to follow your passion. You don’t always have to take the well-trodden road there. Luck might find you in unexpected places if you are hard-working and dedicated!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I specialize in being creative! Whether that is creating a new brand as a graphic designer, designing a mural as a painter and an artist, or conceptualizing the environmental design. The majority of my time is spent working as a Senior Graphic Designer for Tavistock Development Company in Lake Nona, Orlando. I concept and implement custom branding for our ancillary businesses and make custom environmental designs to add personality to the experience of the communities we develop. I also freelance on the side. Projects I am most proud of are: designing the brand for Ft. Lauderdale’s Pier Sixty-Six Hotel & Marina, award-winning gold design of LN. The Lake Nona Magazine, chalkboard mural of the logo I designed for Pixon Apartments in Orlando, and environmental designs for monumental large-scale building murals. These include the Prismatic mural at Lake Nona Town Center and a new mural currently being installed at Pixon Apartments. What sets me apart is that I love to work in all creative mediums. I dabble in a range of everything from graphic design, video editing, music, environmental design, muraling, watercolor/acrylic painting, to makeup and fashion.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
Mentors in both of my most recent in-house design endeavors have been of significant impact to my career, to whom I have endless thanks for. Specifically: Kathy Brown who suggested me for the current graphic design role I hold. She has been one of my biggest role models and is a constant ray of sunshine. Quyen Vo-McGonnell, who has taught me to be my own advocate and is an inspiration as one of the smartest women I know. In school, my professor Victor Davila in the Graphic Design program was endlessly supportive and gave the best advice. I learned so much from his teachings. My family deserves endless credit in the fact that they have always been supportive towards my goals and keep me positive. My brother, Jerimee, is the best at bouncing ideas off of and collaborating with. My dad, Don, has taught me that working hard and keeping a level head will get you anywhere in life. And of course, my biggest cheerleader – my mom, Karen. Thank you for always pushing me to pursue art and to be no one else except myself!
Contact Info:
- Email: carissa.bloemeke@gmail.com
- Website: www.carissabloemeke.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carissabloemeke/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carissa.bloemeke
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/CarissaBloemeke
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6D-iicDPAWwLsmPcCLKN5Q
- Other: https://www.behance.net/carissabloemeke
