WHO IS MOLLY?

Molly Seamans is a graphic designer based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She will henceforth refer to herself in the first person.

HOW DID I GET HERE?

My love for graphic design came as a surprise to me. In college I studied visual arts, specifically collage and mixed-media. I also took graphic design classes, but I found my design work to be dry and emotionless compared with my mixed-media. After graduating—the "collage" field short on jobs at the time—I wound up playing in an indie-rock band and managing a bookstore.

One day, surrounded by book jackets, my epiphany came. Design doesn't have to be dry and emotionless! If the designer approaches the work with intelligence, wit, passion or grace the result is a beautiful and effective design. Ever since I changed my attitude, the more I challenge myself, experiment and have fun, the better the end results.

Pictured above: Life-sized self-portrait, graphite and charcoal, 2001. (My hair is longer now and I look older, but I still have that shirt.)