Avery Jagre 🎓

How would you define making it big?

Doing your best. Striving beyond mediocrity. Attitude! Visual impact. Believing in yourself. Always being kind. Asking questions. Owning your weaknesses. Capitalizing on your strengths. Achieving personal success. Failing but trying again. And again. Standing your ground. Claiming your space. Not being a jerk. Always being a student. Making something everyday. Enjoying the process. Again, not being a jerk. Experiencing joy in what you are doing. And then practicing what you preach.

What's a big move that has shaped you?

Moving away from home and going to CalArts. I no longer had my friends or family to depend on. I had to toughen up and learn how to become independent, self-sufficient and responsible for myself. Nobody was going to do the work for me, I had to get off of my butt and do it myself. But then I learned that I CAN do it myself. I had no other choice but to be exposed to new, scary, vulnerable experiences that were painful, embarrassing and shameful, but at the same time, were enriching, valuable and necessary. I failed hundreds of times. I received hundreds of bad critiques. I always felt like an imposter. I always silenced my voice for fear of any sort of judgment. I became aware of so many of my weaknesses, blindspots or technical inadequacies. I became humbled very quickly once I learned that I am not the best, smartest, most confident, or most talented person in the room. And that's okay! But I am proud of myself for staying the course, not giving up and finishing what I started. I am stronger, better, more confident and clearer about who I am as a designer. I am thankful for this entire experience and all of the amazing people I got to meet, especially my cohort of 4 years and my teachers. To all of you, I hope you will Make It Big in your own way!

What's your next big move?

In order to Make It Big, I first need to Get A Gig!

Biggest influence on your work?

To create visual impact.

Dream job?

My own creative practice.

Name an important lesson you've learned so far in your academic career.

To have tough skin, to not take criticism personally, and to always come back the next round better and stronger.

Three words that describe your current work?

Intuitive, iteration, image-making.

What's your signature design move?

To always add more stuff because you can never have enough stuff on the page! Just kidding, I totally see the power in negative space, subtraction, simplicity, minimalism, "less is more". Now it's about finding a happy middle ground between all of that..!?

CalArts Dance School

A creative partnership between two graphic designers, Alex and Jagre, and the CalArts Dance School to design event posters, secondary assets and clothing.

Collaborator: Alex Cerruti

Water Project

Visual letters and political posters about the subject of water.

Pro Practice

A collection of imagined design mockups for Nike.

IndiGarb Film

A film that mirrors the relationship between humans and our ocean life and portrays the impact of plastics and fashion.