Attilio Ciccozzi enjoys graphic design

Attilio Ciccozzi ‘24, an advanced Graphic Design student, shows his skill in the art through many projects.

“It [Graphic Design] combines my love of art and computers. What’s there not to like?” Ciccozzi said.

Ciccozzi is currently in his second year of Graphic Design. Throughout his two years of the class, he’s done many projects on the program Adobe Illustrator. In the Graphic Design I class, Ciccozzi learned the basic principles of graphic design and did several different projects, including travel posters and lego portraits. This year, he’s been heavily focused on creating a poster for North Cross’s production of the musical Frozen Jr.

“My favorite project throughout all of graphic design so far would probably be creating advertisements, product packaging, etc. for fictional candy businesses that we came up with,” said Ciccozzi.

While the projects may be entertaining to take part in, there are some difficulties when it comes to mastering the art of graphic design.

“In my opinion,” Ciccozzi said, “the most difficult part of the class is using the software, specifically Adobe Illustrator. It’s very different to drawing with traditional writing utensils and can sometimes be frustrating to use. If you do manage to figure out its nuances, designing in Adobe Illustrator can be very rewarding.”

The idea of creating art via computers has caused an enormous shift in the world. Instead of having to use paint or pencils, restarting your work if you ever mess up, artists today are able to make a portrait and fix it until they see it to be perfect. This new technology has created a whole new variety of careers for those interested in expressing themselves through art.

“Graphic design makes modifying and experimenting with whatever you're working on a lot easier,” said Ciccozzi. “Unlike paintings, sketches, etc., you can change things in your project and change them back if you do not like them with the click of a button.”

Sarah Sledd, the Graphic Design teacher at North Cross, spoke about her experiences with the young artist.

“Attilio has been in my class for two years,” said Sledd. “He took Graphic Design I last year, and this year he is in Graphic Design II. He also did a summer Graphic Design camp with me a few years ago.”

Ciccozzi is well-acquainted with Sledd’s teachings of Graphic Design, and Sledd thinks very highly of him and his efforts.

“Attilio always works hard and gives his best efforts, and he consistently produces high quality design pieces,” said Sledd. “He is reliable and consistent and ready to take on any design challenge. He is also not afraid to try out different design techniques or to scrap things that aren’t working and start fresh. He has a great eye for design and is able to use the tools and techniques to produce the vision in his head for what he wants his piece to look like.”

When commenting on one of her favorite projects from Ciccozzi—a travel poster he created last year of the Bahai Lotus Temple in New Delhi, India—Sledd states: “Everything about it is impressive - the balance of the composition, the color scheme, the craftsmanship; it’s a model piece and one I now use as an example.” 
Another work of Ciccozzi that Sledd says is one of her favorites is when he created and promoted a candy called “Atomic Bomb” candies. “Again,” Sledd said, “his ability to conceptualize and visualize an abstract idea shined here, and he created an excellent branding package complete with a logo, letterhead, business card, packaging and store mock-ups.”

Ciccozzi recognizes the difficulty that comes with trying to figure out how to work the programs used in Graphic Design, but encourages students not to give up. 

“Be patient,” Ciccozzi said. “Like with most skills, the more you practice, the better you’ll get. Embrace constructive criticism to improve your graphic design ability.”








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