Campus Celeb: Christie Liberatore

Campus Celeb: Christie Liberatore

Major: Art and Graphic Design, Class of 2011

Though she started out begging to take art classes to hang around her big sister at age two, Christie Liberatore has turned her love for art and design into a real-world career.  You may have even seen her designs around campus from her work as a design intern for UMD.  As a design assistant for Urban Outfitters, Christie credits her art background from Maryland in helping her to get the experience she needed to land her awesome dream job.

How did you know you wanted to study art?

I was 2 years old when I took my first art class. I was actually too young to be admitted into the class and too young to remember any of this, but according to my mom, I forced (or whined) my way in, all because my older sister was taking the class. At home we had a five-gallon tupperware container full of crayons and markers, binders of awesome papers for scrapbooking, and endless coloring books. Looking back, it was a form of entertainment and leisure for me as a kid.

In high school I took art as an elective but never took myself seriously enough to consider doing something creative for a living. Therefore, I never even considered applying to an art school. When I first started at UMD, I took an art class but I went back and forth thinking about what I should major in. I thought about something in the field of Nutrition or Communication (both of which would probably have ended horribly because I eat too much cheese and am a terrible speaker). But when signing up for classes and planning my schedule, I would always get so pumped about the art classes I’d be taking. During my sophomore year and 4 art classes deep, I remember thinking: “I love taking art classes, so why the hell wouldn’t I major in it?”  When I told my mom my plan, her first question was, “So what are you thinking about doing with that?”  I didn’t really know, but I knew it made me happy. I realize now that if you’re passionate about something, you’ll push yourself without even realize you’re doing “work”. It’s fun and you look forward to doing it. 

I was accepted to the design school within the art program at UMD and became obsessed with all things design and typography related. I had always wanted to take a semester study abroad but realized that if I wanted to take all the design classes within the program and graduate on time, it wasn’t possible. I ended up taking two short-term abroad programs. During my junior year over the winter break, I took a UMD abroad program in London that focused on Marketing and Design. Then that summer, I went to Berlin to do another program that specifically focused on Design and Propaganda. While there, we put together an art show in Berlin for the public as our final project. Realizing design can be sometimes be client-, fact-, and trend- driven, I didn’t want to lose touch with my more creative and expressive side. I ended up applying to the Art Honors Program, which accepts 8 people a year, and takes place during a student’s senior year. I was shocked when I found out I got in! It was an incredible experience. The 8 of us each had our own studio within the ART/SOCY building that was available to us 24/7 with our own set of keys. Our professors, classmates, and friends could come through our studios and check out what we were working on and give us feedback. This space and feedback was crucial to growing and experimenting as young artists trying to figure out what we wanted to do and say. At the end of senior year, we exhibited our thesis work in Herman Maril Gallery of the ART/SOCY building. 

When did you think about pursuing design as a career?

Learning about graphic design made me realize how much we all depend on visual communication, from branding identities and logos for businesses, to the way we browse websites, to how we even decide to buy a bottle of wine or cereal because of label and packaging is cool. That’s all design. And I was fascinated. But while in the Art Honors Program, I learned how to take myself seriously as an artist while being expressive, which is extremely important. I realized I wanted to fuse the two together: my funky artwork that was more abstract and my cleaner graphic design that is more easily understood.

Christie decided to put that hard work into action and landed a job as a design assistant at Urban Outfitters.  What is your day-to-day life like at UO?

Everyday is different! Usually the first half hour to an hour is spent checking out my favorite design, art, and fashion blogs to keep up on trends and do research. I’m a design assistant for the Home department at Urban Outfitters, so I only work with the products. I assist the main graphic designer, but I actually get a lot of freedom and create a lot of designs alone from start to finish (of course while receiving feedback and chatting with others). I create designs and graphics for iPhone cases, notebooks and journals, pint glasses, flasks, some novelty and holiday items, and other random things as they get thrown my way. Depending on what’s a higher priority, is what I do that day. Today for example, I finished up artwork for the cover of a spiral notebook for the Holiday 2013 season and a flask design, I took a break from designing to browse the internet for new fonts for us to buy, and will finish up a studded iPhone case I started working on yesterday. We have weekly meetings with the buyers, and others who are higher up, to give feedback — whether or not our designs fit with trends and within the new assortment. Of course, I’ll take my lunch break and talk a walk outside to get out of the office. Urban Outfitters’ Headquarters is like a campus. It’s home to UO, Anthropologie, Free People, BHLDN, and Terrain, so there are a ton of people here in different buildings. It’s at the Navy Yard in Philly so it’s right on the water. There’s a “cafeteria” which has great food! Fortunately, it’s nothing like UMD’s diner food, thank god. And the office is dog-friendly which is awesome. Dogs come to meetings and play with each other… It totally makes me want to own a dog stat.

What are some projects you’re excited about right now?

We’re getting scents made for “novelty candles”, which aren’t going to take on your normal candle scents. Some are going to be Christmas themed and some are going to be cocktail themed, Depending on the specific scent, I’m designing labels and the packaging for these! I’m also coming up with ideas for designs and sayings for wearable pins. I’m excited to make those pretty ridiculous. 

So the next time you’re browsing the home section at UO, keep a lookout for the designs of one of College Park’s own alums! Check out more of Christie’s work at www.christieliberatore.com

Photo credit: www.christieliberatore.com