Cool. Calm. Collected. While the description may reign as cliché to most, this month's N_Ovator Katrina Taylor is anything but the average. Trading in the traditional route of a corporate career served with business suits and business jargon, Taylor decided to try her hand in the design world, eventually becoming a designer for the famed classic sports apparel company Mitchell & Ness.
“Currently I’m a designer at Mitchell & Ness. My day-to-day task is designing graphics for a lot of our blank apparel for the four major sports leagues,” Taylor described. “Everything is rooted in history since we are a nostalgic company so I do research to find out what was done and I flip it my way.” The creativity and work-ethic that led her to this position has followed her through her entire life.
Growing up as the oldest child in the house, Taylor realized early on that sports was somewhere in her future. “I’ve always been into sports,” she explained as she reflected on how it brought her to where she is now. “I played basketball and was in to football. It builds character as well which is why I always wanted to design around it.”
The origin of Taylor’s design career dates back to weekend art classes she attended at a young age and her interest grew from there. “I kind of got in trouble a lot because I wasn’t being challenged a lot in my high school,” she said with a slight laugh. “I checked out a vocational program we had in conjunction with my high school. That was how I was introduced to commercial art.”
After just a few months at the Eastern Center for Arts and Technology, she got her first design opportunity, helping to design a logo for a partnering elementary school. Rolling with her plan to continue her career, she sought out a college that would allow her to hone her skills and develop her own style.
Taylor attended the Hussian School of Art where she took advantage of the fact that she would leave with a completely unique portfolio than anyone else in her position. This allowed potential employers to avoid comparisons to others and judge her based on her creative ability.
Taylor’s career interests once crossed paths as she contemplated designing for both the sports industry and the music industry. However it was ultimately the latter that proved successful for her with eventual internships with the Philadelphia 76ers and the Philadelphia Flyers. This same road is what ultimately drove her to become a Mitchell & Ness designer.
As a female in the sports world, Taylor says that there is not as much criticism as one would imagine. “You would be surprised. Mitchell & Ness is a very small company and a majority of them are women.” She recognizes that there are some who may give a double-take when she mentions her career, but her experience in often being of the minority in college has helped her shake off any doubters.
Taylor credits her parents as her key influencers. She remembered an instance where she contemplated quitting her high school basketball team after finding out she had asthma at a late age. Her mother however reminded her of the importance of finishing what she starts. “She pushed me to stay in it and not quit, and I thank her for that.”
When it comes to help someone go after their goals, Taylor simply says, “What’s the worst that can happen?”
“A lot of jobs say that they want people with a bachelor’s or three or four years of experience,” she said. “I can say that I do not own a bachelor’s degree but every job I’ve gotten, I’ve got over people with a bachelor’s degree.” Taylor advises people who are in her position to put their skill set and personality in the forefront and to ignore the traditional definitions of what it means to be accomplished.
Above all else, Taylor reminds us of the pivotal words of Philippians 4:13 that she uses as her guidance, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
To get more insight on who exactly Katrina Taylor is, check out her episode of N_Ov8TV, debuting on March 20th.
By: Matthew Brown