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I'm an artist, born and raised in the Connecticut River Valley. I'm a flexible designer who
works in many capacities from concepts, fine tuning, working with printers or vendors,
researching, site maintenance and more.
I've been creating on (and off) the computer for over 25 years now and have diverse experience.
My schooling is in commercial art & illustration but my experience and background have been
formed by years in the "get it done" retail marketing/advertising workforce.
How I work
I work in a pretty casual fashion, designing out of my home office with my cat on the chair
next to me. I feel the best way to approach a new project is to meet with a client to discuss
their design needs and then, depending on the size of the project, most follow up work can
be done over the phone and through emails. This frees up everyone involved to be our most
productive. "Thank you" to whoever created the pdf!
A Conversation with Dianne Annelli
When did you first become interested in art?
Both my grandmothers were wonderful artists. When I was small they would give colored pencils and paper to my sister, brother and me to keep us busy. "Coloring books weren't very imaginative." While my sister and brother were more into playing tic tac toe, I really took to drawing whatever popped into my head. One of my first finger paintings was framed and proudly displayed until I was in high school! Needless to say, I did my grandmothers proud. They had passed on the art gene!
Why did you decide to pursue a career in the art field?
Well, I knew I wanted to do something creative with my life, it was my passion. Art seemed to follow me in most everything I did. Even in my first jobs, decorating ice cream cakes or fixing broken luggage for a leather goods store, I was working with my hands. I liked creating and making things nice. I think it just made sense for me to go in that direction.
Did you go to school to study art?
Yes, I went to Paier School of Art in Hamden to study Commercial Design and Illustration. But first I had to get my dream of learning how to airbrush from Ft. Lauderdale Art Institute out of my system. I was going to make a fortune airbrushing album covers, cars and motorcycles. It was the cool thing to do in the 70's. But when I discovered going to the beach across the street was more fun than my airbrush class, I figured New England and Paier were the smarter moves.
How did you get your start in Graphic Design?
Well, after all my expensive schooling, I started working for a copy shop. Nice step up, huh? We did a lot of work for Wesleyan University and the area ad agencies. At the time, artists and agencies still did "paste-up" layouts and our shop was one of the first to get a "color copier" (cost more than my first car) and soon we were offering "color printing". We were a big deal back then. THE place to go! Professional artists were coming from all over the Middlesex, Shoreline, Hartford and New Haven counties to have us copy their artwork or print their files at $30 a page! That's where I got the graphic design bug. When I decided to move on, agencies remembered me and were quick to hire me to freelance for them because of my experience in that shop.
How did you become an Art Director?
I worked my way up through freelancing. My first corporate position was for Ames Department Stores designing all their signage and I eventually created and supervised a department to handle our growing workload. Five years later, I made a move to Bob's Clothing Stores where I became an art director involved in creating the weekly flyers. We had a great team back then, fun, funny, creative people.
What made you decide to leave art directing and go on your own?
Think it was an early mid-life crisis. I'm just kidding, a little. Actually, I think I was convinced the corporate world wasn't for me and I could go back in time to those "wild and crazy air brush days" and make a living with my art. For several years I dabbled in just about every artsy-craftsy thing I could think of. I started a faux finishing business, sold hand painted floor cloths at the Ct River Artisans in Chester (where I eventually became a board member) and designed handbags for a few shoreline gift shops. But no matter what I did, I kept feeling the pull back into graphic design. I love creating on my computer, it's what I'm best at. So, starting a design business of my own just seemed to be the logical thing to do. And I'm glad I did.
No regrets?
That's right, no regrets. I feel I've gone full circle. Working at my home based office suits me. I have the freedom to choose my schedule, projects and clients. Many of which are now good friends, like the gang at Eco-Bags. And that freedom allows me the time for my first love, illustrating. Taking my inspiration from my surroundings. And when I can, trying to give back to the things that surround me. And hopefully, even long after their passing, I'm still making both my grandmothers proud.
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