Today we’d like to introduce you to Gray Hauser.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
Any type of creativity requires risk. It requires overcoming fear, self-doubt, and all the internal questions wondering if you’ll be good enough.
And I think if I had to say one thing about my story into design, it would be that it’s been full of risk.
Growing up, I never thought I would find a creative career. I wasn’t the kid who doodled all over his notes or signed up for art classes. I went to college at the University of Georgia in 2013 and declared a major in Criminal Justice with an intention to go to law school (I would have died in law school lol). I quickly decided against that and switched my major over to Communication Studies. I love communication, but it still didn’t feel like the full picture of what I wanted. After my sophomore year, I started asking myself hard questions. Questions having to do with purpose, calling, and what I specifically had to give to the world. Those kind of questions are risky to ask because you’ll never know what you’ll find if anything at all.
After really searching through those questions, I came to a far greater understanding of the value I had in myself, and how so much of my purpose was helping to reveal that same level of value in others. For me, this purpose translates directly into design, specifically branding. Branding is the design of identity. It’s visually communicating and revealing the value of someone else’s essence.
All that to say, I ended up finishing college with a degree in graphic design and loved every second of it. I now primarily work as an identity designer and hustle some freelance photo and video on the side.
Please tell us about your art.
I am a graphic designer who specializes in identity design. So, I design identity systems for people, brands, and organizations which consist of brand marks, type design, illustration, photography, writing, and whatever else the project calls for.
I do it because I find deep purpose in it. The idea of helping people visualize and rightly communicate to the world who they are is priceless to me. For the people I design for, I hope that they feel understood and represented well by my work.
At the end of the day, I think the takeaway/message/ inspiration is all about the intrinsic value of humanity, empathy, and optimism.
What do you think is the biggest challenge facing artists today?
Hmmm, that’s a tough one because I really do think it’s different for every individual.
However, I do think there are some blanket challenges that come with trying to be truly creative in our culture today. We live in an image based, fast-paced society. There’s an influx of content, but a lack of conviction and thinking behind it. This can really cheapen and harm true creative endeavors.
The challenge here lies in actually having conviction for what you do. Why do you create? Who are you to the world? I think these are extremely important questions for creatives to be asking themselves, but far too often I see them get avoided.
The most moving pieces of art, design, film, or photography that I’ve seen have come from people who have searched themselves. It’s come from people who have asked the hard questions and are aware of who they are to the world around them.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
People can see some of my work at grayhauser.com. However, I work full time at Matchstic in Grant Park, so to see what our team is up to check out matchstic.com.
Contact Info:
- Website: grayhauser.com
- Email: gray@grayhauser.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/grayhauser/
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/gray.hauser.3
Image Credit:
Portrait by Savannah Shaw (savannahshawphotography.com)
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