Get To Know The Art Director
MEET ALEX FREILICH
Alex is a Art Director, Graphic Designer and Illustrator at DRP for the last 6 years. He attended college at Eastern Connecticut State University where he majored in Digital Art & Design with a minor in Studio Art.
What was your first job? What skills from that job do you use today?
I was a cashier at a local grocery store in my old neighborhood when I was 14. I learned a lot about accountability, and being independent and although it wasn't a lot it was empowering to make my own money.
My first real full-time design job was as a Graphic Design Associate at LogicSource in South Norwalk. I learned a ton there - how to to think / problem solve quickly, stay calm under tight deadlines, work with a variety of people on a daily basis, and on top of that actually living in those programs 8.5 + hours a day five days a week gives you the technical experience needed to grow quickly as a designer.
What do you most enjoy about your job?
At DRP I enjoy the people I work with as well as the environment we have built for our team - it is so much more fun to be here then in a big corporate environment. In regard to the actual work we do - I love working for an agency and getting to be a part of a variety of projects for different brands, there is always something new every day and that is the best as a designer.
Tell us about someone who has inspired you or helped you along the way? How has that person impacted your work today?
My mom was always an inspiration - being a single mom and raising two kids is one of the toughest jobs out there and then throw in managing her own career as a personal chef, it was always very impressive to watch. I try to keep that in mind and use it to motivate myself to keep pushing and continue to grow in my career and in life.
What is something you wish you’d known before entering your line of work?
I wish I was more aware of how many aspects there are to a job as a designer outside of design - before experiencing it first hand, I don't think I realized how many other things I'd be responsible for - meetings and calls, going to events, research and prep work, communicating with clients and internal team members frequently, etc, It may all sound really obvious and it is now but coming out of college I just don't think I realized how many other aspects of a design job there are day to day.
