Tanner Wayment BFA: Application Essay

Tanner Wayment

Graphic Design Emphasis

BFA Application Essay

 I am excited about the future.  In today's world, design never ends and opportunities appear limitless.  Just beyond a year ago I did not know this.  I was literally lost.  I was taking business classes at Weber State University, pursuing a bachelor's degree in accounting.  I was seeking stability, safety and security.  Little did I know, I was also setting myself up for a career filled with numbers, uncomfortable stress, boredom, and most likely a fair amount of irritability.  Then something happened that changed my life.  Someone close to me and that knew me all too well invited me to use my brain.  "Do you enjoy business school?" I was asked.  "Is that something you're comfortable doing for the rest of your life?"  The next couple of nights were sleepless, yet I'll forever be grateful.

As early as my memory permits me to remember, I was a designer.  It started with doodles, sometimes on the wall at home.  From there I began entering local art contests such as reflections, D.A.R.E., Treetop, and several others.  I won, a lot.  I realized I had a talent.  As I entered Jr. High people began asking me to do special projects for them.  I designed and painted Wahlquist Jr. High School's giant logo as a ninth grader to be hung in their gym.  In high school I was placed in charge of designing school t-shirts, banners and posters.  During my Jr. and Senior year I was invited to design and direct the painting of our football team's end zones.  To end my high school experience, I graduated as Sterling Scholar in the Department of Visual Art and Design.  This award is given to only one student per year from each school.  And yet after all of these experiences, I thought that was all there was...

Over the past year, my eyes have officially begun to be opened.  Beginning that fateful night in which I was asked to consider my future, I began to be introduced to many of the facets of design.  Illustration, Graphic Design, Logo Design, Branding, User-Experience, User-Interface, Web Design, etc.  I learned of the cross-over that exists between all of them, the tools necessary to master them, and perhaps most importantly, the time it takes to learn and advance yourself.  A day hardly goes by that I don't design, practice, watch a tutorial or simply read about it.  Design consumes me.  It has become an integral part of who I am, and I couldn’t be happier about that.  I may not know exactly yet where design will take me, but wherever I end up, I know I'll be somewhere I want to be.