Student Profile: Jesse Solomon
Perhaps one of the most valuable aspects of the Chatham experience is the community. In such unprecedented times, I (Abigail Kneuss ‘23), have become increasingly grateful for this community and its members. In an effort to showcase just a few of these great people, I’ll be doing a series of student interviews in the coming weeks. These highlights are for students, about students, and by students. This week features Jesse Solomon ‘20.
If you’ve been in the Art and Design Center at Chatham, chances are you’ve ran into Jesse or seen some of his work. As a student worker there, graphic designer, and social activist, he juggles a full schedule. Learn more about him, his work with Mac Miller’s most recent album, and his quest to become a Heely ambassador below!
Jesse Solomon ‘20
Major: Media Arts/Graphic Design with a Photography minor
Hometown: Beaver County, PA
Q: Why did you decide to study art at Chatham?
A: I went to a charter high school for art and at the beginning of my time there they had me try all kinds of art mediums. That’s how I discovered how much I like graphic design. While I was there, I started doing digital photo manipulation which led me to one of my main art forms—collage. I’ve gotten so much better during my time at Chatham and a lot more serious about it.
Q: DO you do graphic design work outside of school?
A: Yeah, I’ve done three internships and am currently doing my fourth with the Arts Department. Previously, I worked with Brkich Design in Beaver County doing small design work for them. Then Chatham set me up working with our head groundskeeper, Kristen Spirl, for the Pittsburgh Shade Tree Commission making their brochures and logos. I went on to work for Point Line Projects here in Pittsburgh and the highlight of that internship was laying out a 100+ page book for the University Art Gallery at Pitt. Outside of that, I freelance for a lot of musicians. The biggest project I have done was with the Mac Miller pop-up instillations.
Q: Mac Miller! How did you get involved with that?
A: It started out as a project for one of my classes where we could work on whatever we wanted for a semester. That was around the time Mac died, so I decided to do a tribute to him. It started out as 26 digital illustrations across 3 albums. I sent the project to Mac’s brother who did a lot of his album design work and he sent back a reply thanking me. A couple months went by and it progressed into 87 digital illustrations. I then got an email asking if I wanted to be a part of a pop-up exhibition for the release of Mac’s new album. Apparently, his brother suggested me. They put up my stickers and posters in exhibitions across LA, New York City, and Pittsburgh. It was a great experience.
Q: What has been your Favorite thing about Chatham?
A: Definitely the people in the arts. Mark Bender is amazing. His approach to teaching and level of knowledge is unmatched. I haven’t had him for a class in awhile but he still keeps in touch with me and comments on my current work. Also, Prajna is by far the best person I’ve ever met. She is the most caring, personable, and intelligent person I know. Getting a job in the Art and Design Center was so important for my time here. It opened the door for me to work with some wonderful artists and build great friendships with fellow student workers.
Q: When you’re not designing, what are you up to?
A: Well, my hobbies have been a little limited since COVID. Previously, I went to vegan places and thrift stores around Pittsburgh. This semester, I’ve been playing a lot of classic games on the Nintendo Switch and watching a lot of Netflix with my girlfriend, Juliette. We try to go on walks every day too. I can also be found heelying around Pittsburgh. My goal is to become a Heely ambassador and get a free pair of Heely’s.
Q: What’s next for you after graduating this semester?
A: I’m currently working on this big project for my capstone entitled, “Red Flags PGH.” I’m looking to start a nonprofit of sorts that is a hub of resources for domestic violence. A lot of resources that are out there right now struggle to reach younger audiences and all of the statistics are separated by gender. Not only is grouping things by gender outdated, but a lot of people don’t realize how much this affects people our age or younger who are just starting to date. They don’t know the red flags to look for in a partner. The goal is to get a website up and running and fly a red flag with the URL on it somewhere locally where people will see it and go to the site. For now, I encourage everyone to follow the Instagram @redflagspgh to keep up as the project progresses or check out my Red Flag Socks on my website, 100% of the profits from these will benefit The National Domestic Violence Hotline.
Check out more of Jesse’s work via his Instagram, @jrs_1998 or his website jessesolomondesign.com.
Know a current or future student that should be featured or would like to be featured yourself? Email us! We’re happy to hear your suggestions.