Katie DeYoe

Personal Pronouns

She/Her

Describe what you do for work and how your experience with it has been.

I work at Target Headquarters, within the Target Creative team. My particular team is called the Brand Design Lab, and it is our role to create all the logos, branding, and packaging for Target's Owned Brands and Partnerships. I love working here and being able to use my design brain to solve for new brands and systemic packaging needs.

How did you get your job?

Applied!

How long ago did you graduate from MCAD?

10+ years

Where are you originally from and how did you hear about MCAD?

I grew up in the Twin Cities, so I was familiar with MCAD. I started taking Continuing Ed classes in my senior year of high school.

What was your major and how did you choose it?

My major was Illustration, and though MCAD technically doesn't have minors, the amount of graphic design classes I took basically amounted to one. I started my college career at small liberal arts college just outside the Twin Cities area, and I had always known a career in the arts was my goal, yet a Studio Art major didn't feel like quite the right fit. The summer after my college freshman year, I took a MCAD Continuing Ed course in Illustration. That course opened my eyes to a new way to create art that I hadn't fully realized before. It struck such a deep chord in me that it propelled me to transfer to MCAD and focus on Illustration (and then once I got the MCAD, my passion for graphic design formed as well).

Who was your favorite faculty member and why?

So many! Jason Greenberg was the illustration professor that taught the Cont. Ed. course that changed my whole career trajectory; Tom Garrett was instrumental in a huge amount of my creative growth; Lindsay Nohl was always such a bright spot, extending her talent to all of her students; Linda Frichtel, and Kindra Murphy were also hugely influential to me; Zach Keenan, the Director of DesignWorks at the time, mentored my first experience in a professional design studio/client role. They all had such influence, I really can't pick a favorite — together they all helped formulate my incredible and transformational MCAD experience.

Describe your internship(s).

I had a couple internships during my time at MCAD. I worked as a designer for Afternoon Records, creating graphic work for any needs the bands on the label might have. The other internship I had was with Dick & Jane Letterpress. I got to work closely with Brian, the owner, to learn the ins and outs of creating beautiful letterpress work, including how to set up and clean the presses. Also — not an internship — but I did get to spend my senior year working in DesignWorks as a student employee. That was such an awesome and hugely informative professional experience. As a student designer, I got to create work with real clients, including internal partners from MCAD departments, as well as outside clients. It provided me insight on how to work professionally and deliver successful work to a client, a skill that I was able to carry through to my first job.

Best thing you ever found on the free shelf?

I've got to say, the pair of vintage red moon boots were the greatest treasure ever.

Did MCAD prepare you for life after graduation? In what way?

I think MCAD is really strong at teaching students how to think in a deeply conceptual way about their art. Students are able to bring that sense of meaning and analytical thinking to their lives and work post-graduation. I think MCAD also shows students the value of having a close, creative community where all are welcome and everyone and their unique work has the space and support to grow.

Your biggest takeaway from MCAD?

My MCAD experience helped me to be more connected and clarified in my work, which cultivated in me a profoundly different relationship with my art and creativity. And that level of creative growth has had a lasting effect, deepening and expanding exponentially year after year in all my creative experiences, both professional and personal. I'd also say the biggest takeaway from MCAD truly was the lasting connections and friendships — even meeting my husband, Aaron DeYoe, at MCAD!

What inspires you/your work?

I feel like my inspiration comes from a lot of different places... lately, largely, it's been from unlearning the rules I've learned and followed for a lot of my life that have been to the benefit of others more than to myself. I live inside my head often, and learning to let those visceral thoughts and fragments of images stream out of my mind and through my brush in an impressionistic gesture without filter or second thought, for some reason that really resonates for me in my art practice and feels good. So I've just been following that feeling, valuing it as the main impetus for art that feels true to me. It's about allowing the final look of the piece to only reveal itself as the painting progresses — I don't really pre-plan the painting or aim for a specific final outcome — the final painting comes to be through the process, and is a surprise to even me at the end. It's sort of an education in allowing myself to be ok with the imperfect, allowing myself to let things happen and see how it evolves, allowing myself to calmly follow the flow and assume the best, allowing space for happy accidents and lovely moments that can't be anticipated. I'm finding there is joy in the unknown, instead of fear. Basically, painting as a source for healing has been transformational for me.

How do you network yourself and your art?

The creative community in town is close-knit, and there is a lot of supportive networking through friendships. Often, a friend will recommend your name for an interview, or you will recommend theirs. Additionally, I share a lot of my recent work on Instagram, especially my personal paintings.

What was your experience living in the Twin Cities? Any hidden treasures?

As a lifelong Twin Cities native, I have always enjoyed living here. It's a vibrant, community-minded, creative place to live. A couple of fun things that come to mind are the Minnesota Orchestra movie nights, any restaurant by Ann Kim, and a magical summer evening by the lake (any lake, we have many!).

Lastly, do you have a favorite interview question we didn't ask? Share the question and your answer! (you can also use this space to tell us anything about you that wasn't covered in the previous interview questions)

Something that I'd want to share with all fellow creatives, is to resist defining your creativity to one form. I was once told that to have a career, I'd have to choose between illustration or graphic design, even though I had passion for both. I soured at that advice then, and I think my work now shows it's possible to extend your creative mind to any outlet your interest lies in. Skill in one area can only positively contribute to skill in another. I'd also share not to resist the tides of change. When we're young, we think we've fully formed into who we are, what we make, and who we will be for the rest of our life, and then inevitably when change comes to call, we hesitate and push back. Instead, I offer to everyone to open their arms to the river of change and see what it can gift you. For myself, I quietly followed my instincts down a path of separating my graphic design style from my painting style, and it has lead me to my current path of large scale gestural floral paintings, a form I haven't explored previously. It has been generating so much positivity for me, inside and out. So stay connected to yourself, keep your heart open to witness what can flow out from you.