By: Madison Schnurpel

Creativity has the power to inspire nations, change the way people see and encourage individuals to discover their own capabilities. Junior Zach Schneider has learned to harness his own creativity into his hobby, which he uses to benefit others as well as himself.

“As a hobby, I’ll find new ways to use Photoshop and Illustrator through experimentation. I’ll look through artwork other people have made and try new things,” Schneider said.

Schneider has been designing using Photoshop and Illustrator since the 6th grade. He has since learned how to use each program to its particular advantage.

“While Illustrator is primarily used for logos and posters and Photoshop is used for editing photos and creating artwork, you can combine the two to create anything your mind can think up,” Schneider said.

Both programs allow Schneider to use his skills and the tools he has developed to create anything he can imagine, as long as

he knows how to create it.

“Most of my experience comes from creating t-shirts, you can create anything under the sun with Illustrator and Photoshop,” Schneider said.

Schneider spends his time on these  programs designing and learning new methods; however he does not only design for his own benefit. He has contributed his skill to some school organizations.

“I have created four t-shirt designs for the Center Grove Orchestra (two for our final concert, two for spirit wear), and a battle standard for our robotics team,” Schneider said.

The spirit wear was sold to the students participating in these activities, but it is not only t-shirts that Schneider has designed for these groups.

“At robotics, I make flyers, posters, brochures, and videos for our team. Occasionally, I also have to make new logos,” Schneider said.

Schneider makes different products for many groups, and thus faces many different challenges as he works on these designs.

“The most challenging part of all is definitely the sketching part of my design process,” Schneider said. “While most think putting the art together may take the longest, deciding what you actually want to do in the first place is difficult.”

Sometimes Schneider runs into roadblocks in his design process. Once he moves past those, he is able to continue to the other steps that help produce a finished product.

“I start with sketches, then move on to finding colors,” Schneider said. “After that, I have to make sure my document is set up right so my design will look as high quality as possible. Then it’s just splitting the artwork into groups and working on it piece by piece, bringing it all together at the end.”

The many steps that are a part of this project can lead to confusion. Schneider has to have a main focus when designing in

order to get a satisfying product.

“I make sure my designs flow. When designing a t-shirt, I make sure the logo looks pleasing to the eye. This means text/object positioning is very important. I also make sure that the colors blend well,” Schneider said.

Even with all of the work that goes into the final product, Schneider enjoys designing for school programs

“I design because it’s a fun way to express myself. When I see people walking around in the t-shirts I designed or seeing our sponsor banners proudly hung above our pit at robotics competitions, it gives me a sense of accomplishment,” Schneider said.

Schneider continues to create new products. As time goes on, he will continue to learn and discover the wide range of possibilities offered by his computer software, and his own creativity.