Mary Clukey

Hometown: Portland, Maine.
Major: Communication Design

Art and storytelling are an integral part of my life, so although I knew very little about graphic design when I decided to pursue it as a degree, it seemed like a healthy compromise between my becoming a starving artist or a sellout. While researching Communication Design at UNT, I read up on the stories of back-to-back all-nighters and heavy workloads. I thought, how hard can it be? Four years, numerous late night study sessions followed by sleepy morning critiques, an endless flow of coffee, the ever-evolving study playlist, and one BFA later: the answer is pretty hard, but definitely worth it. More so, what first seemed like a compromise actually pushed me to find latent passions of strategic problem solving and storytelling in myself that a coverall term of graphic design couldn’t begin to describe. When I’m not writing pithy headlines, directing photoshoots, developing ironic personas & creative briefs, you’ll find me hanging with my Com-Des Fam, drawing people, photographing lighthouses, consuming fiction and non-fiction narrative through all media forms, and spending time out in nature.

What is something always on your desk?

I like to light a calming, seasonally scent–appropriate candle while I’m working (don’t underestimate the power of aromatherapy).

  • Student work sample
  • Student work sample
  • Student work sample