Landing a big break in the world of graphic design

This week we meet Sharilyn Castillo, from Access Sports Media, a rising star in graphic design.

Landing in sports media after attaining her Bachelor’s degree from Purchase College was a surprise twist for her.

“I never really saw myself working at a sport's company,” she says. “Mostly because I had never really watched sports. I think the only sport I could really talk about (when I started) was soccer."

Who: Sharilyn Castillo

A sporting chance: Castillo’s breakthrough was a two-year stint at ESPN. “I started doing layout work, presentations, infographics and logos," she says. "Then I was asked to create a brand guideline for their app, which was one of the biggest moments of my life. I didn’t know much about ESPN, and wasn't really sure how to do it. But I worked through it and it was very successful. I also helped on campaigns and worked with Major League Baseball. It was a big opportunity.”

Current role: Graphic design, Access Sports Media. “Coming here was a game changer for me,” she says. “At ESPN, I was more of a print designer and here everything is digital.”

Castillo shares her story about growing her career in design against the odds.

My family immigrated from Ecuador a couple of years before I was born. I always knew that I wanted to do something in the arts and something that pushed me at work. When I got to college at Purchase, I had to check a box of a specific field of art, and I didn't really know what graphic design was. But I wanted to do something combining graphics, digital and the talents that I have as an artist.

My parents never really had an education. My dad helped push me into doing what I love: drawing and taking from his artistic abilities. I wanted to express myself and my parents were always there for me. They've always said that yes, money helps, but at the end of the day you go to work to be happy, not to be miserable.

Initially, college was very hard, coming from the Bronx and not really having a lot of opportunity there. Going to high school, I didn't have many resources. And in college, they expect you to know all of the programs already, so that was a struggle. But it was one of those things where I had to push myself to learn. In my freshmen year, most students already knew Photoshop and Illustrator, but I didn't. I had to challenge myself and catch up.

I studied screen printing, and had internships as a layout designer. From there, I discovered typography. I liked doing a lot of experimental typography. My classes were very, very challenging. There were so many different points of view and many students coming from a background of artists. So being able to showcase your work was good for me. My four years were about challenging myself and seeing how I worked as a designer.

The job market is all about getting yourself out there and being confident, tough and moving on from rejection. There's a lot of jobs out there for creatives. But people require you to have so many things included under your skills that it's very hard to know what to apply for. My family was very much into me getting my Master's degree, but for me, people look more for experience. If you know how to do it, then go into the field and do it.

The print industry is slowly declining. Designers like me need to get experience in the digital realm. It helps as designers now to have even a little bit of knowledge about coding or animation. I'm trying to learn how to code just because it gives me more opportunity to freelance and expand my clientele. The lead designer at my current job is into animation and I’m learning. He gives me the opportunity to try things and challenges me to learn more.

Building freelance business is about networking. At my first internship, I became good friends with the art director and creative manager. After I left, maybe a year later, she called and said, she had recommended me to her friends for some web design because she thought I was great at what I do. From there, I started expanding my clientele and getting along with previous employers. It's very nice knowing that they haven't forgotten about me, and getting recommendations from them helps me expand my name and what I do.

When people say that design is just painting and drawing and “so easy to do,” it really irks me. Design is such a process. But they’re not thinking about execution or how people will react. Creative in general is all about thinking and executing everything and not a lot of people appreciate that.

I am happy that I am a designer. Some people think that I should be something else, just because for them everything's all about the money. But for me, it’s more about my happiness and what I'm able to do.

I'm always thinking about where I see myself in the future. One day, I want to be able to give back to my community. But for now, I want to keep learning from mentors. Everyday, I look at other designer’s portfolios and go online and see how people are posting about their creative or what they've done. I like to see their process and what they went through. It always helps me. I want to eventually be a director, someone who is able to lead and who other creatives can look to.