Growing up in a small farm town in Ontario, Canada, I never once imagined I’d be part of a pretty cool marketing team in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. My name’s Ben, and I’m Vendilli Digital Group’s newest Graphic Designer. Here’s how that happened:
Why Marketing?
To be honest, ending up in marketing was never really the goal for me. From a young age I had a deep passion for video games and their characters and I always wanted to create something of my own that I found just as satisfying. This passion led to me doodling on just about everything I owned trying to come up with my own characters. School books, the tags in my backpack, and even the inside of my desk were the recipients of my untapped creative potential. As I got older I gained opportunities to pursue writing but I always found that to be a bit dry in comparison to something a bit more creative. I wanted to be involved in creating something more tangible than just words on a page.
I ended up pursuing a career in graphic design and that felt right. Throughout college, I learned that design and marketing go hand-in-hand, and so I suppose I kind of just fell into it. The answer to “why marketing?” for me is as simple as “why not marketing?”
What is Marketing to me?
Marketing is all around us whether you realize it or not. In fact, the average person sees thousands of advertisements a day… but how many do you actually remember? Marketing, to me, is an opportunity to create something that really is memorable. Having the opportunity to captivate an audience with something I had a hand in creating is one of the key things that drive me to produce my best work.
I love the challenge of turning a client’s idea into a reality. Maybe yours will be next!
Why VDG?
During the height of the pandemic, I, like many others, were struggling to find a stable job due to how COVID-19 impacted the world. I was lucky enough to land a remote position as a Graphic Designer at Horseshoe & Co. After a great couple of years working there, our company merged with the team at VDG, and I’ve been with them ever since. I couldn’t have asked for a better team to just sort’ve fall into as they’ve been extremely supportive and a great environment for me to develop as a person and designer.
What’s Your Future with VDG?
I’ll be doing what I’ve always done – pursuing creative solutions to help our clients take their brands to the next level. In the short time I’ve been with VDG I’ve already expanded my skills and gotten better as a designer. I’m excited to see what comes next!
