Mad Minute with Kate Murphy
How did you learn about MCIRCC and what most sparked your interest?
I learned about MCIRCC while looking for work at colleges and universities close to home. I’ve been interested in higher-ed since undergrad, when I did my design internship at Ferris State’s Office of International Education. I loved the university environment and wanted to be able to use my skills to help people. When I then learned about the life-changing research MCIRCC’s members were conducting, I was hooked!
Do you have a process when approaching a design? If so, please describe it.
Every project is different, but it always starts the same way—with research. No matter if it’s a brochure or a bar graph, I need a sense of what’s out there, what’s working. What are the trends in typography? How are established journals illustrating complex data? This isn’t just in the beginning of the process, either. Research informs design every step of the way. This industry (or any creative industry, really) requires having an awareness of what’s going on outside your immediate field of view.
What so far is the most exciting project that you’ve tackled and why?
That’s a tricky one, because it’s all been incredibly exciting. I started at MCIRCC last summer and have already been a part of projects I never would have imagined before. If I had to pick, however, the most exciting one so far would probably be the video we are working on. It’s a totally new venture for me in that it’s required I step into more of a project management role. It’s a little intimidating, to be sure, but I am learning a ton and am adding valuable new skills to my toolkit.
What would you most want members who want to work with you on a design request to know before reaching out?
Design is communication. You have something to say, and I’m here to help you tell that story, visually, in the most effective way. That said, a complex figure isn’t always a more effective figure. We can do a ton of cool stuff, but if a certain element or idea obscures your message than the overall design will be much better off without it.
A lot of design involves subtracting, not adding. We take away and take away until we get to the most important parts. Just like revising a manuscript, it may take a few passes, but the end result will speak for itself tenfold.
Please share a little about yourself – where you’re from, work background, interests, etc.
While my role at MCIRCC is focused on the visual side of things, I’m actually a big fan of the written word, too! I received my master’s degree in creative writing in 2016 but have been writing almost constantly since middle school. Currently, I’m expanding upon a short story I originally wrote as my thesis. It’s about two civilizations that live on a giant bridge.