Meet Isabelle Marton | Graphic Designer and Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Isabelle Marton and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Isabelle, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
Since I was young, creativity and art were center points of my life. I was always doodling and filling sketchbooks up with art, and I had big ideas of what I wanted to be when I grew up, with art always at the forefront.

I remember in 5th grade, I started some “dress design businesses” with two separate friends. I probably drew about a hundred different dresses in school and out, continually trying to get better and always imagining my future life as a fashion designer. I was obsessed with sketching the most unique dress and always striving for perfection in my drawings.

As I got older, and more realistic in my future plans, the creativity and art stuck with me, even as I tried to follow a more intellectual path. At the end of high school and the beginning of college, I planned to go into Psychology and Criminal Justice, with the goal of becoming a Criminal Psychologist. While I enjoyed the classes and the topics, my creative side was constantly trying to find an outlet. The margins of my notes in class would be filled with all kinds of sketches to the point where some professors would comment on it, and I never fully felt like I could imagine myself in the career I was working towards.

Only once I took a Graphic Design intro course for an art credit did I truly have that “aha” moment. That class in where I first learned what digital art was and how vast graphic design really is. My professor in that class was constantly pushing me to go further and be more creative, and for the first time in an educational setting, I was passionate about what I was doing and could imagine myself making a career out of it.

I have a strong memory of the moment I knew I wanted to go into graphic design–I was talking to the professor of this intro class, and he asked me what my major was. I told him Psychology, and he said he was shocked that I wasn’t pursuing anything in the arts because of how fast I was picking up the info in the class and pushing my creativity past what the students around me were doing. He thought I should consider graphic design. I was surprised that he had noticed my passion for the class, even at such a basic intro level, and it stayed with me that he felt my work stuck out to him. After that conversation, in the middle of the semester, I switched my major from Psychology to Graphic Design. It was the easiest decision I have ever made when it comes to my future.

After that switch, my education in graphic design was smooth sailing; I always felt it fit my personality and what I wanted to do with my life. The opportunity for creativity and pushing limits in graphic design, along with need for attention to detail and striving for perfection in each design, felt like the perfect combination for me. I was constantly looking forward to the work in my classes and felt my creative needs were met.

After graduating and starting my career in Graphic Design, along with pursuing my own personal art, I have never looked back. I’m so glad I stuck with my inclination towards creativity and made a career out of it.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I currently work as a freelance graphic designer and create my own personal collage and digital art on the side.

When it comes to my professional work, I think the thing that sets me apart is my attention to detail and communication with clients. As a freelance designer, I’ve worked across a whole spectrum of design projects: brand identity systems, logos, package designs, catalogs, illustrations, etc. And in all of these works, communication with the client is most important, as I’m essentially trying to get exactly what’s in their head down in the design. In the beginning of my freelance work, this did not come so easy, and going back and forth with the client felt like it was taking away from the actual design work. However, as I completed more and more projects, the communication came easier and easier, to the point where, now, back-and-forths with clients feel like second-nature and are actually the most crucial steps in my design process. I also feel that my natural attention to detail in design is an extremely crucial quality to my work, and is necessary in creating work that will make the client happy.

When it comes to my own personal art exploration, I create analog and digital collage art that I’ve sold at many different art fairs and online from my Instagram page and website. This side venture has been a very creatively fulfilling part of my life. Even as it ebbs and flows, as I sometimes take a step back and focus more on freelance work, I feel that I am always able to come back to that creative outlet and explore. The art that I create is a unique and funky form of collage art, where I find print or digital media and hand-cut and paste imagery together to create art pieces that either tell a story or just act as personal exploration. I like to create different visual aesthetics and themes in my art, and enjoy searching through my large collection of print media (i.e. art books, magazine, etc.) to come up with perfect imagery for each piece.

One big lesson I’ve learned from putting out my personal art into the world and selling it, is to not place my value as an artist on my works popularity. I’ve found that my collage art can be an acquired taste, and not everyone at a local art fair will click with my work, and that’s alright. I still like my art, and I know of many people that connect with it as well, but art is not meant to be universally loved. This lesson also applies to my work as a freelance graphic designer, as there will be times a client will not like a design you pitch to them. This, at the beginning of my career, would really get to me. I’d start to feel like I’m not a good designer because a client gave harsh feedback. I had to learn to not place my value as a designer on each individual design, but on how I can take feedback, make something new, and trust myself and my skills.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I currently live in Rochester Hills, but on nights out, I love spending time in Detroit.

I’d probably take them to Selden Standard for dinner and drinks one of the nights, and we’d sit out on their cool patio. Their food is always seasonal and delicious, and they have a fantastic cocktail menu to go perfectly with the meal.

We’d probably walk around the DIA one of the days, and check out their current exhibitions. I especially love their Greco-Roman sculptures and the famous Diego Riviera mural.

For things to do around me in Rochester Hills, I’d love to take them walking downtown at night around the holidays to see the Big, Bright Light Show. We might also pop into the Eastman bar for a super unique, hand-crafted cocktail.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to thank the Graphic Design program at Oakland University, and the professors that taught me there. There were several professors that I took graphic design and art classes with that helped me get to where I am today. I learned all my design skills under their teaching, along with so many practical skills for being a professional in the design world. I always felt my creative needs were nurtured and pushed to their limits and constantly was supported in exploring my own personal art style.

Website: https://isabellemarton-design.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/isabellem_design/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/isabelle-marton-2a7633259/