From student to star designer: Katie Griffin reflects on her growth at Anchor & Alpine

We are pleased to celebrate that our designer, Katie Griffin, swept up several AIGA awards for her student work. The AIGA is the local chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts, the professional organization for working graphic designers. Katie racked up an astonishing five awards, including the coveted Copper Ingot which is awarded to the 10 best pieces of design in Utah.

Amber: Congratulations on your phenomenal win! That’s a lot of awards and an ingot too!

Katie: Thank you so much!! It was such an exciting time, I’m certainly still riding that high! I’m very thankful for my professors at Utah State University who helped me design such amazing pieces, and for your help with applying to the 100 Show. I’m excited to win more awards for Anchor & Alpine!

A: How and when did you know your work was really good? Did you get an internal feeling when you worked on it?

K: Hah this is such a hard question to answer! I think it took me some time to realize. Over time small events emboldened me and made me feel more confident in myself and my work. Events like having a project that I’ve worked hard on be well received by my professors, having my concept be voted on for our graduating class’s design show, getting my dream job soon after graduating, and winning awards of course! I do want to mention how lucky I was to have had an amazing group of peers in my design program. Being surrounded by so many high-caliber designers is a wonderful environment to be in, and their influence definitely built me up! Same goes for Anchor & Alpine, the amazing designers and developers I work with are so inspiring, it’s exciting to see how I have continued to grow as a designer at Anchor & Alpine.

A: What has been the most surprising thing about going from school to working in an agency?

K: I think I’ve been most surprised with how much fun it is to work with our clients! As a student, and someone who isn’t the most socially adept person, navigating professional relationships as a designer and client overwhelmed me. I wasn’t sure how I was going to do it! But since working at Anchor & Alpine it’s been such a joy to work with our clients and get amazing work done!

A: What’s your favorite project you’ve worked on at Anchor & Alpine?

K: Oh boy, there have been so many! If I am to choose one, I would say it is the TuscArts website. It was so fun coming right out of college and being tasked with designing an arts council website! I certainly learned so much and I’m very proud of it.

A: What advice would you give design school graduates while they are looking for a job?

K: For me the biggest thing was to not be afraid to get my work out there! AIGA, specifically the portfolio review, was such an invaluable opportunity for me and my career. I really lucked out to have met with you during my review, and to have you guys snatch me up weeks after graduation! But I think other things that helped me was having a solid portfolio website and applying to any and all jobs that could be a fit! I was lucky to have a few other job offers as well, but Anchor & Alpine was such a dream job so you guys were the clear winner!

Thanks Katie. We had a great time celebrating your wins and visiting the gallery opening.

This article appeared in the Fall/Winter 2022 issue of the Anchor & Alpine Magazine.