I GUESS I SHOULD INTRODUCE MYSELF

I’m Ethan, a graphic designer from Washington State, currently based in Ellensburg while finishing my senior year at Central Washington University. I’ve been doing graphic design for about 12 years now, starting at age 10 by making custom football card designs because I thought they deserved better layouts. That obsession stuck—and it turned into a real design practice pretty quickly.

In high school, I took on larger projects, including designing three yearbook covers and working on our senior slideshow. I didn’t want the slideshow to be the usual mix of photos and background music—I wanted it to tell a story. One year focused on how COVID completely disrupted everything, using audio clips, empty classrooms, and moments that captured how abruptly life changed. The following year, I created a tribute for a classmate we lost to suicide, collaborating closely with his family (including his mom) to make sure it was handled with care, honesty, and respect. Those projects shaped how I think about design beyond aesthetics—story and intention matter.

Now in college, that same mindset shows up in everything I do. I work at CWU’s on-campus marketing agency, designing flyers and promotional graphics for clubs, departments, and events across campus. I’m also an unpaid intern with CWU Athletics, creating graphics for game days, social content, and the overall visual presence of the program—still one of my favorite places to design.

Sports, culture, and storytelling drive my work. I care about energy, clarity, and making things that actually connect—whether that means hyping up a crowd or slowing things down to let a story land. I’ve been doing this long enough to know what I care about, and I’m still pushing to make the work better every time.