In this unprecedented year, technology has played a larger role in people’s lives than ever before. Some people are even using technology to create art.

According to teacher Matthew Takeno, what makes junior Jessica King different from her classmates and other graphic designers is her passion for graphic design and her unique perspective. He elaborated by stating that she is unique among graphic designers because of her dedication to the craft and her willingness to try new things. King was first exposed to graphic design through her digital art class.

“A graphic designer does digital art. I chose to be a graphic designer because I really liked art my whole life, but then I got exposed to digital art and I liked it even better,” King said.

Along this journey, King has picked up a role model that encourages her to continue to pursue her passions.
“Probably my teacher Mr. Takeno. I look up to him a lot, he has helped me a lot and he has always just been very supportive with me and in the work I do,” King said.

Digital media arts teacher Takeno echoes this support.

“Her willingness to try anything whether is something really refined and sophisticated or something more artistic and expressive,” Takeno said.

However, Takeno’s class is not the only place where King can develop her creativity and use it.

“I’m in a nonprofit organization that spreads mental health awareness. Spreading awareness is a big accomplishment for me, and I can do that with graphic design, I do the graphic design awareness social media for it,” King said.

Not only does Takeno see the worth in King, but also her peers.

“With Jessica, I think one of our biggest accomplishments would just be developing consistent posts for our social media, because we work together for a non-profit organization and she develops infographics based on the information we give her,” senior Simrah Ahmad said.

Takeno does not only support King’s talent, but also gives her challenges to improve.

“We do a lot of different things, I try to get them as much professional opportunities as possible, so I’ll do planners design, if I have real companies or business that need logos, I’ll sometimes asign that as a project we have done stuff in the pass for like Hoag Hospital, or we will do stuff around school like a school planner, T-shirts for groups, or logos for sports teams and that kind of stuff,” Takeno said.

Along with King, Takeno’s class has helped a lot of young designers overcome difficulties.