WHAT’S YOUR NAME?

Laura Mae Bousman(LoeMae)(Loe)(L-Bo)(Aurora Borealis)

...DEPENDS WHO YOU ASK.

WHERE ARE YOU FROM?

Originally East Hampton, Connecticut. I only lived there for eight years, and I don’t really remember much. I just

say it as an alternative to being from Irmo, SC which has quite possibly nothing to offer the world other than okra.

WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO BE A DESIGNER?

I love communicating, visually and physically. I love that 90% of what we say isn’t something “said” at all. When a person designs, illustrates, photographs, they are using a medium way more powerful than language itself.

Who can’t feel the color red? Who isn’t moved by a pho-tograph of a starved child?

There was a quote I read one time, I will never remember where I heard it, the best things in life I seem to forget writing down. Goes something like this, “everything not created in the Earth has been made by a designer.” So be-ing a graphic designer means being a part of something bigger.

We are creating the environment of the world.

BUT I DON’T KNOW. MAYBE I’M CLAIMING TOO MUCH.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE USC FOR DESIGN SCHOOL?

Academic scholarships. Seriously. Only reason. Hidden gem, though, hidden gem.

5WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVORITE DESIGN CLASS AT

USC? WHY?

Typography 246 with Larry Thacker. I don’t know if it was because the class was at 5:30. I don’t know if it’s because I love typography. I don’t know if it’s because of the peo-

ple in this class. I don’t know if it’s because we bought kites at the end of the semester to celebrate finishing

work for portfolio review.

...I GUESS WE’LL...NEVER KNOW.

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR HARDEST DESIGN CLASS AT USC? WHY?

Typography 246 with Larry Thacker. I don’t know if it was because the class was at 5:30. I don’t know if it’s

because typography is a highly underrated piece of the design puzzle people don’t normally think is difficult to

learn. I don’t know if it’s because of the people in my class, I don’t know if it’s because I was super loaded

with work for portfolio review.

...I GUESS WE’LL...NEVER KNOW.

5WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST STRENGTH AS A DESIGNER?

I GET IT.

I KNOW WHAT GOOD DESIGN IS.

I am inspired by everything that is art, culture, engineer-ing, life. If I don’t achieve good design, I know I haven’t gotten there yet. If I don’t get there, I’m not designing good design.

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST WEAKNESS AS A DESIGNER?

INCONSISTENCY.

That’s what I’ve been told, and I am working on figuring out what that means. Sometimes I am lazy and suck at projects because I let my friends and twitter and face-

book and tumblr and RVCA blogs and iTunes and iPods distract me. Sometimes I never hang out with my friends

because I get sucked into working on a project.

WHO ARE YOUR FAVORITE DESIGNERS? WHY?

The ones who inspire me. The ones who use their skills of engineering and math to create beautiful landscapes and cities. The ones who use physics to construct a building that stands for hundreds and hundreds of years that you can run to the top of and watch the sunset.

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE TYPEFACES? WHY?

PAPYRUSCOMIC SANS

COPPERPLATESKIA

WIDE LATINARIAL BLACK

MONOTYPE CORSIVAIMPACT

LUCIDA GRANDEMISTRAL

MONACO

Why?

Why not?

Their creators extended the rules of design. Each font pos-sessing both image and text. Both texture and legibility. Both

communication and design. What else in the history of visual communication has accomplished such a thing!?

WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE ILLUSTRATOR? WHY?

Jessica Hische: This is whyWWW.DAILYDROPCAP.COM

WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE PHOTOGRAPHER? WHY?

Scott Mutter. Because of an equation like this:

A CATHEDRAL + A BUSY STREET = BEAUTY

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE DESIGN STUDIOS?

RVCA

DESIGN OBSERVER

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE WEBSITE BASED ON DESIGN AESTHETIC? WHY?

HTTP://GREYHOUSECOffEE.COM

It helps to know the designer and the process behind the design sometimes, in order to truly appreciate a website. In this case, the designer was someone who has taught me a lot through my growth in graphic design and art.

NAME TWO OF YOUR VISUAL COMMUNICATION HEROES. WHY?

Paul Arden. One reason: “It’s not how good you are, it’s how good you want to be.”

http://www.arniandkinski.com/Sigur Ros. Music videos. Most moving peices of visual com-

munication and art I have seen. It can be hard for designers to master communication and art congruently.

DO YOU HAVE ANY DESIGN EXPERIENCE OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL?

Why yes I do. I painted my very own mural. Charcoal and acryclics covering one portion of my room. I designed it after I broke up with my boyfriend. The first time. Hopefully the next mural I make will not remind me of such pieces of my past.

WHAT ARE YOUR TWO FAVORITE PIECES YOU HAVE DESIGNED IN SCHOOL OR THROUGH OUTSIDE WORK? WHY?

THE529COLLECTIVE.WORDPRESS.COMBrand Identity work just makes everything make more sense. It’s like copywriting, marketing, graphic design, advertising, art and sales were siblings separated at birth.Also.Into the Wild poster for the first Year Reading Experience.Winning a design competition has taught me a lot about the value of good design.

WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE PIECE?

The flip Book. Hands down.

WHERE DO YOU PLAN TO LOOK FOR WORK AFTER SCHOOL?

In New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of, there’s nothing you can’t do. Now you’re in New York. These streets will make you feel brand new, the lights will inspire you, lets hear it for New York, New York, New York.

WHAT IS MISSING IN YOUR PORTFOLIO?

All the work I have yet to do.

HAVE YOU EVER TRIED TO MARKET YOURSELF FOR FREELANCE WORK, INTERNSHIP, ETC? WHAT DID YOU DO PROFESSIONALLY?

HOME CHURCHES AND ORGANIZATIONS. fAMILY fRIENDS. ...WHEN THEY LEAST EXPECT IT... I MARKET MYSELf. SELL MYSELf.

DO YOU HAVE YOUR WORK FEATURED ON A WEBSITE?

WWW.THE529COLLECTIVE.WORDPRESS.COMWWW.SHACKCOMMUNITY.COM

WWW.SC.EDU/fYRE/

WHAT WOULD BE YOUR DREAM JOB?

NEW YORK CITY. NYLON MAGAZINE.

WHAT WOULD BE YOUR JOB FROM HELL?

STUCK. CUBICAL. CAN’T. BREATH.