Meet Aliya Reames | Graphic Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Aliya Reames and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Aliya, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Risk is essential to success. I think there’s a huge emphasis on comfort and contentment in this society, which for me, directly translates to complacency. If you’re not trying new things (even ones that scare you), you are missing out on opportunities to learn, to grow, as well as new experiences that can make you a more well-rounded person.

Before I graduated college, I knew I could get a job in my hometown. It was very comfortable. My family was there, I had a large network of professional connections, and it was a place I knew extremely well. Although I was grateful for the the opportunities I had there, which would have undeniably been beneficial to my growth as a young professional, I realized I needed to take a risk and try something completely new.

I decided I wanted to move to a new state with more career opportunities. You guessed it: Colorado. I had never even been here, I just knew it was a lot like Idaho and that Denver was bigger than Boise. I began looking for jobs here, not knowing if anyone would even consider hiring a fresh-out-of-college kid from Idaho. I figured, hey, why not at least try? If I hate it, I can just move back home.

I visited the one friend I knew in Denver mid-January ’22. I fell in love with the city (and the mountains!), and ended up landing a job later that week. By that next weekend, I was moving into a new apartment 13 hours away from my family, and starting my first full-time job as a designer the following Monday.

If I hadn’t considered taking the risk of moving here, I think part of me would’ve regretted it, and always wondered what else is out there. I wouldn’t have met the people who have so graciously welcomed me into their social groups. I wouldn’t have learned what it looks like to be truly independent, or at least, not as quickly!

As a designer, I’ve also grown so much. The team I work with are brilliant, kind, incredibly talented creatives. I have learned so much from them already. They’re teaching me how to manage a work-life balance, how to use new design programs, and challenging me to try new techniques/styles outside of what I’m used to.

I am grateful to have had this opportunity, and know that I am lucky to be working full-time in an industry I’m passionate about — and in a really cool state! Taking the risk to move to Denver was probably one of the best decisions I’ve made in my career and in this stage of my life.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I trace my passion for design back to high school, when I was a yearbook editor. Ironically, I wasn’t actually the designer; I was the copy editor — but that didn’t stop me from constantly pestering the designer and giving input page layouts.

Before I was a designer, I was a photographer. I started taking photos when I was 14, and by the time I was 17, I had a full photo business capturing senior pictures. I was booked out with multiple shoots every weekend for months, and I loved it.

Eventually it grew into taking photos of families, engagements, and even weddings. Photography and design tie in so well with one another, so I decided to take a graphic design class for fun my sophomore year of college. I spent hours and hours on my assignments without even realizing it, because I was genuinely enjoying the process of developing layouts, brands, logos, etc. I decided I would try to pursue it as a career, in conjunction with the skills I was learning from my advertising major.

I landed a design internship that summer with a tech company, then a part-time design job at the university, then another internship at an advertising agency the following summer. In between classes and working part time, I was starting to do freelance projects for people who found my Instagram through friends of friends. Don’t forget the photos: I was still doing senior and engagement photoshoots in my “free time,” too.

I look back at the last few years and I still don’t understand how I got it all done. I think what made it so easy for me to endure the absolute grind was how much I genuinely enjoyed what I was doing. Ask any of my friends, I was always nerding out about some design project I was working on in class or a new commission project that came through out of nowhere.

Sometimes people ask me what I do for fun that isn’t productive. The problem is all of the things I do for “work” are also things I enjoy working on in my free time. That has, at times, led to extreme burnout. It’s something I’m still working through — learning how to balance work projects and commissions, and things that are just for me and not to to post online or gain from. This is probably something I’ll be working on for a while, but I think at the same time my journey really speaks to the common sentiment that says, “Do something you enjoy and you’ll never work a day in your life.”

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Since I’m so new to Denver, I unfortunately feel that I can’t speak much to this. But I do know how much I loved skiing at Winter Park and exploring Breckenridge, so that would definitely be on the list. I would likely take them to Boulder for a day, starting at Laughing Goat Coffee to walk around the shops and check out the breweries. The views there are pretty stunning, too. Before they left town, I’d make sure to take them to Dandy Lion Coffee, which is a small coffee and plant shop north east of downtown.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are so many people who have supported me in my passions and career. Obviously, I want to thank my family and friends for their constant support and for always encouraging me to do the dang thing.

I’m grateful specifically for my design professor Delphine Keim, who knew exactly how to push me in ways that made me grow as a designer.

Lastly, I want to thank Cassie Bergman and Quinn Husney, who were professional mentors (and good friends to me) as I navigated internships, job applications, interviews, and the difficulties that come with all of the steps in becoming a full-time designer.

Website: https://www.aliyareames.com/

Instagram: designbyaliya

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliya-reames/

Image Credits
Nataly Davies Photography