5 Generations From The School of Advertising Art

The School of Advertising Art (SAA) in Kettering, Ohio is nationally recognized as one of the best colleges for graphic designers planning to craft, enhance and splash their talents onto the advertising industry. At Upward Brand Interactions, we currently house four graduates from the School of Advertising Art who now work as a creative director, an art director, a creative manager and an interactive designer. And recently, we had the privilege of housing a soon-to-be-graduate from SAA named Ashley Mowry.

Each year, SAA appoints graduating seniors an internship in a local advertising agency to help them gain professional experience and test their skills at real-world work assignments. The internship lasts for four weeks, and the school tries to pair students with work they have not been exposed to. Ashley was assigned to Upward and we recently took a moment to catch up with her before she leaves for Tennessee to hear about her experience with us.

Laura: First, congratulations on graduating. That is a great accomplishment in itself! What drew you to graphic design to begin with?

Ashley: I actually found graphic design through my passion for photography. My grandpa was a professional photographer, and he bought me my first nice camera. Photography was always a stress reliever for me, and I fell in love with it right away. It was also a great way to turn something I love to do into an income, which never hurts.

Laura: What are some are your favorite things to shoot?

Ashley: I love shooting anything in nature. I take walks around random new places that I’ve never explored and shoot the things around me. I also really enjoy taking portraits and senior photos.

Laura: How would you describe your photography and design style?

Ashley: I like simplicity. I enjoy the minimalist trend that is currently happening in our industry. However, I prefer simplicity with some edge to it. I like to grab someone’s attention right away, but with a simple balance and approach to it.

Laura: What graphic design projects do you enjoy?

Ashley: I have experience in print, brand development and packaging, and I really enjoy that.

Laura: What projects did you work on during your time at Upward?

Ashley: The type of design that I did not have experience with was interactive and web, so I was given the opportunity to really explore that avenue and get more experience in web and interactive design. I tackled web banners and Google advertisements and due to the changes on Twitter and Facebook, I helped resize and rework some of the social skins for various clients.

Laura: What was your favorite project?

Ashley: I worked on posters, post cards and brochures for FilmDayton, and I loved it! The concepts were clean, but there was an element of humor that they were looking for as well. Trying my hand at that was challenging, but a lot of fun!

Laura: Lastly, aside from the web and interactive design project, what else did you learn during your time at Upward?

Ashley: I had never worked in a professional environment, so it was overwhelming at first to get acclimated to an agency environment, but it taught me so much. It was invaluable to see what that sort of environment could look like as I begin looking for full-time jobs after graduation. Also, working with the various levels of designers was an amazing experience in itself. I learned so much.

We wish Ashley all the best as she ventures out into the real world and moves to Tennessee. To keep up with her and her latest designs, visit ashleymowry.com.