A little bit about me….
I am Jessi Skonning, a graphic designer, originally from La Grange, Illinois. Currently working as the head Graphic Designer at the University of South Florida. Where I am thrilled to go to work every day in a career that can join two of my passions; sports and design.
Falling in love with sports, specifically volleyball, at an early age I never would have expected it would have had such a major impact on my life. Sports have offered me the opportunity to gain a college education, travel, coach, meet many amazing people, and opened the door to my career.
Just, as I began playing competitive volleyball my mom was going back to college working toward a fine art degree. During this time she introduced me to Photoshop and I started spending hours staring at the computer creating. As I continued to grow as a designer and an athlete I was offered many amazing opportunities to further my talents.
At USF I am creating content at the FBS division I level for all sports as well as internal and external business needs. Working as an integral part of the External Relations department I work closely with communications, marketing, ticketing, and donor funding to find design solutions and develop anything from social content to packaging design for season ticket member boxes. Aside from content creation, I lead creative direction for the athletic department and am helping to establish a strong brand presence and best practices. With a focus on using design thinking to develop solutions to every kind of project that is brought to me I learn more and more about design every day.
Previously, working at Western Illinois as an Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant I learned a bigger picture understanding of sport tasks acting as a Sports Information Director for volleyball, women’s basketball, and softball while working to develop my graphic design portfolio. Prior to my time in Macomb, I gained professional experience close to home with the Chicago Red Stars as a Graphic Design Intern.
Graduating from Northern Michigan University in May of 2019 I completed my Bachelor of Science in Marketing with a focus on marketing, athletics, and design. Aside from traditional learning, many of my skills were developed outside of the classroom including experience as a student-athlete on the Northern Michigan volleyball team, studying international business in Bielefeld, Germany, and jobs held during my time in Marquette. Working as an intern in the athletic communications department for NMU athletics making graphics, managing social media, keeping stats, and creating written content. My final semester at NMU I was given the opportunity to become the primary media contact for our division I hockey team and took on an additional role as a graphic designer for the recreational sports department.