Joseph Broom (BA Art & Design, '25) was selected to design President Kilpatrick's 2024 Christmas Card. Join us in offering Joseph a big congratulations for his hard work, and read more about this process and learn who Joseph is as a student and artist below:
1. How did you get this job creating the CUA Christmas card?
I got the job via my advisor, Professor Jonathan Monaghan. The Annual Fund team was looking to feature student artwork on this year's Christmas card, and Professor Monaghan reached out to ask if I was interested. I love Christmas seasonal imagery and I thought designing the Christmas card for CUA sounded like a great opportunity.
2. Any interesting or fun details you want to share about the design process? Anything you learned?
I initially did a pencil sketch before going over it in black India ink. I scanned the work, digitized it, and then handled coloring in Photoshop. I've previously experimented with coloring my artwork like this, but this was the first time I'd done it for a large-scale project so it was a bit of a learning process. I also discovered that I can work on a singular piece for eight hours straight!
3. What has been your favorite memory while here in the Rome School?
My favorite memory while in the Rome School was a recent trip for my Senior Seminar course. My friends and I drove to Alexandria to visit Reingold Inc. and met Selina Donahue, a CUA Art Department alum who works there. The visit was a great showcase of how my area of study would apply in a professional setting and got me excited about entering the workforce.
4. What do you hope to do after graduating this year? Any dreams for the future?
After graduating, I hope to either enter graduate school for a master's degree in illustration or graphic design, or to enter the workforce as a graphic designer in marketing. My dream career has been to become an independent artist and/or a children's book illustrator, and I think grad school and marketing graphic design would be great launching pads to achieve that dream.
Joseph is from Rye, NH, and is a senior Art & Design major and Marketing Management minor. His pastimes include drawing, writing, running, and exploring DC.