I'm Nicole Kawakami.
Nicole was born in Daytona Beach, Florida, and moved to Japan with her mother when she was three months old. Since Japan’s population has been declining for the past fifty years, there was no young child for her to play with in the neighborhood. Nicole also did not have siblings, so she always played alone when she was not at school. Just like any other child, she liked playing with dolls and blocks, but nothing was more interesting than drawing. Nicole drew anything she could think of on negative spaces and often got scolded when she drew on the family room’s wall. Her fascination with art never faded as she grew up, and she started thinking about going into the field. However, entering an art college in Japan was too expensive and difficult. If she could get into an art college, the only job she could apply was a fine art teacher. She wanted more opportunities and experience in the field, so she decided to move to the U.S. after graduating high school. The first two years were challenging for her because she moved by herself and did not speak any English. Nicole eventually learned English and started taking fine art classes at a community college in Phoenix, Arizona. When Nicole was studying at community college, her mother’s friend asked her to design a New Year’s greeting card for a volunteer fire department in her hometown in Japan. It was the first time for her to design a piece for a business purpose, and other friends started commissioning her after they saw the first work. She designed business cards, logos, and flyers after that, and all commission works were fascinating to her. Nicole always wanted to do a creative job and realized graphic design would be the perfect field to express her passion. She has studied Graphic Design / Advertising at Grand Canyon University and is now excited to jump into the field.