Melissa “Meli” Cervantes is applying her background in fine art and interior design to become a brand identity strategist and visual designer. The graphic design program at San Diego City College is helping launch her newfound career.

“I always drew and painted. I entered my very first showcase in the fifth grade,” explained Cervantes, who was inspired by her father to become an artist. “I fell in love with art when my grandma showed me a painting my dad did of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. It was so good, he wanted to become an architect.”

DesignBefore attending City College, in 2010 Cervantes earned a bachelor’s degree in art with an emphasis in interior architecture from San Diego State University (SDSU). “During my senior year at SDSU, my mom got sick from cancer and passed away,” she said. “This honestly discouraged my desire to carry on with interior design.”

Despite losing her mom, Cervantes kept going. She continued her studies under three internships and was hired as a design assistant for a Solana Beach interior design firm.

“I wanted to study fine art and make it in the arts, but there was always a stigma in the back of my mind about being a starving artist,” she said. “A year and a half later after graduating from SDSU I got cancer. This set me back again.”

Her destination changed, Cervantes survived her battle with cancer and overcame self-doubt.

“No one should be ashamed or afraid of struggling to find a career. We all have imposter syndrome; women tend to feel it more than men. It took me a long time when I was younger to call myself a designer and artist. I would tell myself to let that go.”

She eased her way back into the art world, starting with museum studies at San Diego Mesa College. “I actually did not enjoy it as much as I thought I would, and a friend who works for TRAINA encouraged me to get into graphic design as a creative career,” said Cervantes, who left Mesa and enrolled at City College in 2015.

She started with one graphic design class per semester and then decided to become a full-time student. “My friend would tell me about the portfolio reviews at City College and insisted that this institution has the best portfolio curriculum, and the students there really know what they are doing, so I went back to City two years ago and I put my heart into it.”

DesignCervantes committed to earning a Certificate of Achievement from City College, a four-semester program that equips students to learn brand strategy, interactive design, and typographic systems. The certificate culminates in a professional portfolio used to obtain employment or transfer to a four-year design program.

“The portfolio courses are rigorous, but the professors, Sean Bacon and Bradford Prairie, really teach, inspire, and guide us through it,” she said. “I have four projects done and four more to go. I am proud of the work; I think I can find a job in an agency or as an in-house designer.”

Her final portfolio includes an American diner inspired by Norman Rockwell’s painting “Liberty Girl,” a strategic brand identity for a cryptocurrency conference, and a hotel based in Miami, Florida. “For the hotel, I designed all of the branding and stationery from the logo to the business cards with pastels for a contemporary art-deco look and feel.”

Following graduation, Cervantes will begin applying for branding agencies and enroll in illustration design and user experience courses at City College.