JOE GEBBIA

risd connection: Graphic Design + Industrial Design major

from: Brookwood High School in Lawrenceville, GA

the road to risd: I’ve been drawing ever since I can remember, and spent each semester of high school in at least one art class, loving every minute. Early on during my freshman year I became interested in applying to art schools, so I began to gather information. My sophomore year I was selected to attend the Governor’s Honors Program. Along with other high school students from around Georgia, I spent six weeks studying art at Valdosta State University. When those few short weeks were finished, I knew I wanted to pursue a career in art and design.

why risd? The professors at the Governor’s Honors Program spoke highly of RISD, among other schools. I picked up on its tough reputation through my own research as well. Junior year I read about RISD’s Pre-College Program, enrolled, and spent the following summer in Providence at the school I’d heard so much about. The summer at RISD totally convinced me to attend an art school. My senior year I applied to five art schools around the country and, with little hesitation, chose RISD. I wanted to be in an urban setting and Providence seemed about the right size.

creative interests: Arriving at RISD, I wanted to be a painter, but suddenly I was given the option to study 18 different art and design fields! When it finally came time to declare a major, I realized that the life of a painter is not for me. I was torn between graphic design and furniture design, two very different majors — and both of them far from my original agenda: painting. I opted for graphic design because I had interned at a studio in Atlanta, and it seemed safer. However, my interest in three-dimensional design never diminished. During my Foundation year, I had a teacher famous for his “Chess Set” project, which requires students to replicate the work of a three-dimensional artist in miniature scale. I selected a furniture designer and although I was told it couldn’t be done, constructed 16 full-size, functional chairs by the final crit. That got me really interested in furniture design, so I worked with a furniture designer last summer. But realizing that my interests are still broader than just furniture, I’ve finally found my calling in the Graphic Designa and Industrial Design departments.

personal discoveries: My friends from home call me lucky because I know what I want to do with my life — art. What they don’t know is how many different paths you can take as an artist. RISD has helped me to determine what I want to do and has pointed out different directions for how to get there. I’ve also learned that opportunities aren’t going to come to you; you have to go out and get them. I knew one of the down sides of art school (as opposed to universities) was not to expect much in terms of athletics. When I got here I found out about the NADS, RISD’s ice hockey team, but being from the south, I never learned to skate. So, I turned to my second passion: basketball. After finding out there wasn’t a team, I learned I could start one. I began recruiting and after a lot of hard work, I organized the Balls, RISD’s first basketball team in 40 years — something I never could’ve imagined when I mailed off my application two years ago.