Name: Christopher Lee
Place of Employment: Leeway Design
Job Title: Full-Time Freelancer

How long have you been an AIGA Houston member/volunteer & what do you get out of being an AIGA member/volunteer?
I have been a member of AIGA since September 2009. More so than contacts and networking I have been really inspired by the different meetings, functions, and activities.

You’ve recently graduate, what advice would you give students in school right now?
Employers and clients really like experience in a potential candidate and the best way to gain more experience is through freelancing, collaborating, and interning. The market is really competitive now but it’s also very fertile so stay hungry!

You currently are on a job hunt, how does being an AIGA member and being actively involved help you?
Many of my initial interviews have been through contacts with AIGA. In addition to that, employers like seeing candidates actively involved with their field’s community.

When you aren’t designing, what are you doing?
Hmm. Usually I’m taking in the world around me. Everything I soak in gets metabolized into inspiration for expression.

Who are your design heroes or what designers are you following right now?
Ian Anderson of The Designers Republic really got me into commercial art all those years ago. Clean, simple, and bold with a spot of wit here and there; many have emulated but only one is the originator.

What is your greatest accomplishment to date as a designer?
That would probably be poster I designed for a Japanese foreign language class which became instrumental in getting students to sign up and register. It showed me first hand the influence of eye-catching imagery.

What’s your favorite typeface?
I tend to float towards Century Gothic.

What type of music do you listen to while designing?
It varies depending on the project but usually some form of electronic or weird techno haha.

Where can we find you?
I’m on Facebook, Linkedin, Behance (leeway), Flickr (genobee), and DeviantArt (idoltaxi).