Spring — 2011

Esai Ramirez

Graphic Design

“Just jump into a Counseling 20 class as fast as you can. I didn’t know what it was all about when I signed up, but, in retrospect, it really focused me.”

“I remember my first graphic design instructor here: Robin Wisser,” says Esai Ramirez fondly. “She initiated this spark in me. I was just taking the beginning course, and I didn’t really know what was going on. But I soon realized that Robin wasn’t just teaching design. She was actively working in the field, and she would say, ‘Hey! Look what I’ve been doing!’ So you got to understand a lot of real-life experiences from her,” Esai continues. “She showed a real passion for teaching, and also had tons of patience.”

It’s the use of visual ‘language’ that intrigues Esai about the possibilities open to him in the field of advertising. “People were drawing images in the caves of France thousands of years ago. And they’re still effective and understood by people today. Stop signs are red all over the world,” he continues, “and they are understood by everyone also. So in a sense, visual imagery is a universal language that I think I can use powerfully in advertising.”

Esai is now in his third year at SMC. “Yeah, I took a year off, and went to work. But sometimes I felt that I wasn’t recognized for my ideas or abilities: I was just taking orders. So I realized that I needed more education to be able to express myself and make decisions.”

Esai is intensely focused on a transfer to Art Center in Pasadena. “And I hope when I’m finished there, I’ll be able to start up my own small firm. I’m not into the big corporate stuff,” he says. “I just wanna collaborate with some good people to make the world a better place.”

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