Taylor Pemberton

Graphic designer Taylor Pemberton got his start piecing together gigs found on Craigslist while in high school.

"I would try to figure out how I could scrape together 50 bucks, 100 bucks, 150 bucks at a time so I could sit in my bedroom, play video games, do design, make a little bit of money, especially relative for that age, and then also do something that I really liked instead of having to go work a retail job," he said.

Taylor's self-taught design skills and a passion for golf led him to the Savannah College of Art and Design, where he could pursue both activities. He quit the golf team after freshman year to free up his schedule for a budding number of graphic design opportunities, including photographing events and designing logos and flyers. Free from a demanding athletics schedule, he spent as much time as he could working on projects outside of the classroom: freelance opportunities, internships, and short-term jobs.

“It was always just this constant interest in accumulating as much experience [as possible], not even necessarily trying to figure out what I wanted to do, but more figuring out what I didn’t want to do, or what I didn’t enjoy, and then carrying those learnings and knowledge and experience onto the next experience and trying to really build and design this world that I enjoyed living in and pursuing," he said.

Listen to the interview to learn how Taylor landed a full-time job at a start-up before graduating, what it was like moving to New York City, and why he decided to start Pemberton, his own design studio.