Monday, August 25, 2008

About me

Hello, my name is Oleg Vasilyev and I am currently a senior at CSUN. My inspiration for Graphic Design originates from the day I migrated to this country about a dozen years ago. Ever since I laid my hands on all things artistic, particularly sophisticated video games, I naturally developed a strong grasp for the arts. My first semester of basic art classes was a bit of a jump-start for me in terms of becoming familiar with the area of GD. However, I can distinctly recall that my second year of school truly opened up my eyes when I realized that I was capable of producing pieces of art that were very close to being professionally designed. From that moment on, I accepted the fact that I would be a designer for the rest of my life - as I have always wanted to be. I find that flat design like posters, brochures (or multi-page design overall) and advertisements are my greatest strength, especially when they involve typography.

During the last several summers I spent quite a bit of time working with kids (to pay for the bills..) and acquired quite a few interesting skills. I received certifications in some cool things that require quite a bit of responsibility. I am now a certified archer, zip line operator and ropes course runner which includes team-building, belaying and facilitating. With my experience with kids, I do have hopes of one day to have the opportunity to design for their particular demographic. Also, here are a few photos of what I typically did (note: they were not taken by me and certainly not uploaded by me, as you can see, they look like crap):



The first photo has me on the right, supervising a few newcomer co-workers making sure that they carry out a standard procedure before actually sending a person down. We're about 30 feet in the air and if you look closely, the way it works is we attach a person on a tandem line to the zip line, which is basically a steel cable, and then they plummet down to theirs deaths, er, enjoyment. The next photo is the ropes course section (this time I'm on the ground, doing what, I'm not sure). The ropes course is essentially very much like a regular challenge course. The only difference is that you are fairly high up in the air. It's quite an experience for anyone, and I highly recommend everyone to try it out. I'll even operate it for you! Not for free though, haha.

I look forward to another wonderful semester, and to taking one of my favorite classes offered at CSUN.