Kimberly Udall

Graduate Profile

About me: Kimberly is a restless creative who is always learning new skills. Says Kimberly: “I have quite a few hobbies/interests outside of design: oil painting, learning Korean, shell collecting, tree and flower identification, finding the best ramen in Portland, doodling on my drawing tablet, antique shopping, birding, cooking – I could go on forever! I’m constantly trying new things and like to always be learning something.“

Areas of strength: I think web design is my forte right now; I spent a lot of time after the program working on my portfolio site and learned a lot! But with my background in traditional artistry and digital illustration, brand design, print design, and graphic design are all areas that I feel pretty confident in. 

Benefits of studying online:  I completed the program during the pandemic, so being able to do everything online was super important. Like tons of other people, I lost my full-time job and had to move back in with my parents. They ended up moving around a lot, so trying to complete an in-person program would have been extremely challenging, if not impossible. The flexibility of deciding when to work on a class or project was a life-saver during all that chaos!

Best thing about Sessions College: Sessions helped me build a foundation of design skills that I was able to expand on after completing the program. Having a structured curriculum that I didn't have to develop myself was really nice – especially during last year's dumpster fire of stress and anxiety.

Favorite class? My favorite class was probably the Bootstrap class. It was the most informative and really helped me combine all the skills I was learning. The projects were a lot of fun, too! The site I designed/developed for the fictional winery, Dove Farms, is definitely my favorite portfolio piece I made during the program.

Creative and/or  professional goals after graduation: I completed the program last November, and since then I've been expanding my skills to be marketable for an agency position. I taught myself how to build wireframes and prototypes with Adobe XD, the ins and outs of WordPress and some of its popular plugins, designed a personal brand and portfolio site, and even picked up a few freelance gigs! I moved to Portland in the spring with the hope of finding a position at one of the many incredible design agencies here. And I'm so excited to report that I've recently been offered an internship position at one of them, with the intention of becoming a full-time Brand Designer in January!!

All my hard work is paying off and I couldn't be more proud of how my design journey has taken off. It's really wild to remember that this time two years ago, I was wrapping up my Mathematics degree without the tiniest inkling of what I actually wanted to pursue. And now here I am: half a global pandemic later, in one of my absolute favorite cities, soaking up the gorgeous PNW scenery, and chasing my dream. I am working on my portfolio here: behance.net/kimudall