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Why the hexagon?
Growing up, my dad's special nickname for me was "honeybee," which is what Melissa means in Greek. Now I look back and the name always makes me smile. I am happy to be compared with industrious, task-oriented bees. They work without pause at the labor that is necessary for their survival, but it's not a chore to them. Bees do what comes naturally to them, and in the process they create something useful, enjoyable, and sweet.
The hexagon, reminiscent of the wax cells in a honeycomb, represents me not only in name, but in work ethic and enthusiasm.
Melissa Andrews
Graphic Design and Illustration
I have lived and worked in the Northwest all my life, enjoying this area’s proximity to the mountains, coastline, and also the perfect-sized city of Portland, Oregon. I began my studies as an art major, especially enjoying watercolors and pen and ink drawing, and then became interested in artistic sandblast etching on glass. Working for Savoy Studios of Portland, I developed my eye for design, and skill at both deep carving and light airbrush-style etching.
While continuing in the world and work of glass etching, I changed focus and began generating designs that were cut in vinyl and machine-etched on glass. Enjoying the challenge and variety of this new outlet I enrolled in the Integrated Media program at Mt. Hood Community College, with a concentration in graphic design earning my A.A.S. in 2010.
Graphic design provides the challenge and creativity of combining words and images to convey a message. Fully understanding what the client is seeking; researching and developing a successful and eye-catching graphic solution is my passion.
Here are a few of the stories behind the images from the home page.
The event, Small Islands Big World,
was more than just planning a luau to Alexis Cabrera, Multicultural Programs Coordinator for Mt. Hood Community College’s (SAB) Student Activities Board. A Pacific Islander from Saipan, Alexis wanted to share her heritage and culture in a personal way. She requested that I use a photo she took in my design of the poster. I brightened up the colors in Photoshop, and used her photo in classic postcard style to invite the campus to participate in this authentic evening of music, food and island dancing. She loved that the postmark on the card was from Saipan and that the stamp held the images of the Mt. Hood Community College and the SAB logo.
Starbucks held a contest to come up with
both a tagline and an image to convey a message of celebration for their 20 years in Oregon and Southwest Washington. I offered two entries that they ultimately chose between. I continued to develop the design, accommodating requests for changes and variations including their idea to make the steam in the shape of “20”. The celebration culminated in an event at Pioneer Courthouse Square where Starbucks founder Howard Schultz spoke to the crowd, shook my hand, and presented me with an autographed copy of my poster.
A health and wellness “fair” sounded too
clinical to SAB director Holly Corbitt and Wellness Programs Coordinator Dan Moe, so instead the event was planned as a day of celebration. Bright, bold, fruit represented five different areas of activity that were spread all along the campus mall. Large directional posters pointed students to vendors and activities, and an event map further guided participants to areas of interest. The weather that day was cold and overcast, but the event was a wonderful success, well and enthusiastically attended.
James Dezellem, Dir. of Communications
for Mt. Hood Community College’s Associated Student Government approached me with the idea of an activites calendar to be posted in the restrooms throughout the campus. He researched holders for the bi-monthly calendar of events, and we worked together to choose the format and set the guidelines for the template. After the name “The Call of Nature News” was chosen, it was pure fun to take off on the “CNN” logo and make the calendar dates run down vertically on a roll of toilet paper squares.
