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I’ve got a passion for solving wicked problems through creative solutions.
My name is Jeremiah Gilmer. I’m 5-and-a-half feet of pure passion for solving problems. I’m an artist, creative, educator, writer, concept maker, and designer. I love creating; it’s what keeps me awake at night, in the good way. Whether it’s video editing, 3D modeling, type design, or advertising design, I’m a passionate creator who is always looking for another problem to solve.
I was raised in southern Virginia. Growing up, I loved creating little businesses. I was the class entrepreneur, as well as being that art kid you always wanted in your group project. I always had a passion for the arts; theatre, fine arts, illustration, and design. After taking some graphic design classes in high school, I knew that it was the field for me. I loved learning and took every opportunity to learn something new whenever I could.
I attended Longwood after high school to further my education. While at Longwood, I was an art director at Design Lab, a student-run design agency that services clients from all over the country. I also worked as a staff designer with the Longwood Center for the Visual Arts to create advertisements and graphics for the museum. I graduated Cum Laude with a B.F.A. in Brand Identity, Motion, and Multimedia Design from Longwood in 2019. My interests in college included paper-craft design, metalsmithing, ceramics, fiction writing, studying film, and studying animation.
After graduation, I worked as the Graphic and Website Coordinator for the Children’s Museum of Richmond. My time there led me to work closely with early-childhood development experts and educators to create designs and graphics to promote the museum.
I then worked at Team Velocity, creating web and template banners and emails for car dealerships and manufacturers all over the US and Canada.
After Team Velocity, I took a position at the King Agency in downtown Richmond. There, I worked as an art director to produce creative and design solutions for a variety of clients, including McGeorge Toyota, Virginia Parks Services, Arby’s, and many more.
I’m currently freelancing and pursuing my Master’s of Fine Arts in Design Thinking from Radford University.
What are qualities every designer should have?
Clear communication: a designer is an educator that should be able to clearly communicate concepts verbally, through text-based communication, and through art. The drive to want to learn and improve, knowing how to research efficiently, and the ability to dissect a problem and look at it from multiple perspectives are very important qualities a designer should have. Of course, a great understanding of design principles like typography and color theory go a long way.
Who are some designers that inspire you?
Chip Kidd, for his creative perspective and understanding and application of psychology in design. Bradbury Thompson, for his ingenious concepts for magazines like OWI. Saul Bass, for his revolutionary motion graphics and posters that changed the film industry as we know it. Skollos and Weddel, for their creative use of dimension and typography.
Where do you see yourself in ten years?
I know that I want to do something in design. I can see myself designing large exhibits for places such as a museum or aquarium. I can also see myself being an Art Director or Creative Director at an agency. I enjoy interactive design and science so anything that involves that would be great. I also love teaching other people. I could see myself teaching at the college level one day.
Can you describe your design method?
Identify the problem, then understand, prototype, gain insight, and learn!
I first define the problem: who is affected, what has been done before, what mediums can we work with to communicate, what are the demographics? I then word map and brainstorm, often drawing icons and sketches of the words that come to mind. I do sketches of concepts and ask peers how successful they think the solution is. Critique and other opinions are crucial in my process. I enjoy using design thinking methods used by the LUMA institute: looking methods, understanding methods, and making methods.
What do you do in addition to graphic design?
Outside of design, I love bluegrass music and have played since I was nine. I have won three state championships on the mandolin and two on bluegrass guitar. I have played in bluegrass bands since middle school. I enjoy binging shows, fish and aquariums, antique design, animations/cartoons, and playing competitive videogames. I am always working on a music project, writing a book or short story, or working on an education campaign. I love being creative and working on things that can impact other people in a positive way. I am very fortunate to live in an age where we can produce works and publish them on the internet very easily.
What are some things you feel like you’re good at, and areas you want to improve?
I really enjoy print design! Posters and branding are very fun. I love doing motion graphics as well and have been doing video editing for a long time. I’d like to get better at understanding how front-end web development meets back end. Although I have experience using web builders and doing basic HTLM coding (like building the site you’re on now), I’ve been enjoying learning Adobe XD and learning UI/UX design.
What’s your comfort show/music/food?
Avatar the Last Airbender is definitely my comfort show right now. As for music, anything that makes me feel nostalgic: videogame music, bluegrass, soundtracks, just to name a few. Comfort food is a tie between pizza and soul food.
