Profile in Professionalism

Meaghan Doak '12 (Pylesville, Md.) has a good start on a career in graphic design thanks to York College. She's already had work she created in class published internationally. 

Doak designed a typeface in a Typography I class taught by Melanie Rodgers, assistant professor of art, last spring as a first-year graphic design major. These typefaces are modular (built on a grid) and are created online on a site called Fontstruct, where they can then be viewed, selected and downloaded for use by the public, according to Rodgers. 

"It was exciting for students to put their new knowledge to use and then to see it go public," she said.

Shortly after uploading their work, several of the students in the class – including Doak – were designated as "Top Picks" by the editors of the site, which distinguishes their work from a vast amount of submissions.  While this was a nice nod for Doak, who is also a member of the Spartan women's lacrosse team, further recognition of her work was yet to come.

This past summer, she was contacted by Ogino Fumiaki, on behalf of a publishing company in Tokyo called BNN, Inc. He asked for permission to feature her typeface, Bella, in a volume of typefaces called "Type Fontbat." She contacted Rodgers to check on the legitimacy of the request. 

"She asked what I thought and I said, 'Are you crazy? Of course say yes!' " Rodgers said.

The book was released in Fall 2009, and Doak plans to use this recognition as she works toward a professional position as a graphic designer. 

"It feels awesome to get published my freshman year," she said. "As a hands-on learner, this opportunity was perfect for me. It will be a good step toward what I want  to do in the future, to help me get an internship and then a job."

Find out more about how York College prepares students to be professionals through the Center for Professional Excellence.