Howling Success: Jimmy Ramirez

Recent visual marketing materials distributed by Division of Academic and Student Affairs (DASA) departments such as University Housing, Pack Essentials, Student Leadership and Engagement, Arts NC State and Student Ombuds Services all have something in common. 

They were designed by a fourth-year student studying graphic and experience design and Spanish literature. DASA Marketing and Communications graphic design intern Jimmy Ramirez has grown immensely as a designer in his time at NC State, and produces materials such as these throughout the school year. 

“I’ve always seen these materials all over campus,” Ramirez said. “Now I get to be the one to make them. That’s pretty cool.”

I’ve always seen these materials all over campus. Now I get to be the one to make them.

Ramirez, a native of Wendell, North Carolina, came to NC State in 2021, citing its proximity to his home and the diversity of the faculty in the College of Design. 

Over his time in the Wolfpack community, Ramirez has grown as both a designer and person, finding new areas to study and avenues to pursue his craft in the future. 

Growing as a Designer With DASA Marketing and Communications

In high school, Ramirez thought his future career path lay in business construction. However, the more design courses he took and the more visuals he spent time making with his friends, the more he found himself drawn to the creative field. 

“I like the human aspect of it because no matter what I made, all my friends thought it was cool,” Ramirez said. “Their affirmation made me feel confident about sharing with others outside my circle. I’ve always enjoyed bringing people together through design, the aspect of human connection through design.” 

I’ve always enjoyed bringing people together through design.

In his first year at NC State, in 2021, Ramirez applied to work as a student intern for DASA Creative Director Judy Corsi. 

“During the interviews, Jimmy really caught my attention,” Corsi recalled. “It was clear to me that he would excel as a designer and be a valuable addition to the team.”

Ramirez has spent the majority of his NC State journey since that time working with Corsi and the DASA Marketing and Communications team as a graphic design intern. 

Fast forward four years, and Corsi and Ramirez have built a strong, trusting relationship between mentor and student. 

“The best experiences I’ve had with student employees are the ones where we’re able to build a strong working relationship. When we can build trust and get to know one another, these students end up making a big impact on my life. I have often kept in touch with former students and am proud to see the careers they’ve built for themselves.”

Throughout that time, Ramirez has had a chance to learn, grow and gain independence in working with campus partners, providing graphic design services. During one of his design classes recently, Ramirez heard guest speakers from a design firm in Raleigh speak about potential internships, and it struck him that the experience he’s gotten through his student employment already offers higher-level work. 

“It means a lot,” Ramirez said. “I think the big thing for me is that Judy and everyone else in DASA treats me as a full-time employee. That trust from her, given to me early on, was a bonus of the job. That mentorship has been really important. I’m allowed to mess up, and I’m allowed to make bad designs sometimes, and then have someone reel me back in and teach me small things that I would have never known without the experience of having Judy as a mentor.” 

When Ramirez studied abroad in Italy during the 2024 spring semester, Corsi went without an intern to ensure she could bring him back on in the fall because of the value he’s demonstrated.

“We get along really well,” Corsi said. “He understands my creative process and I understand his. He is also passionate about what he does, which is important. I want to do what I can to ensure he has a positive experience working on our team, and feels as though he is becoming a better designer. He takes feedback and listens really well, and he’s comfortable asking questions if he needs clarification.”

Recently, Corsi has found that she no longer needs to serve as the “in between” for Ramirez and campus partners, that he can initiate projects, communicate back and forth with partners, make revisions and deliver the product independently. 

Ramirez is currently working on Air Force ROTC’s 75th anniversary campaign materials and, later this semester will dive into designing a new annual report for DASA’s Juntos program.

“When I can build up a student employee to the point they can work independently because they know the brand, they know the process and they know how to communicate with campus partners on their own, nothing can replace that,” Corsi said. “That is my goal for every student that I work with. That comes down to the student staying (long term). If they want to stay, they will learn those skills. Jimmy has grown into that.”

Studying and Designing for Heritage 

Going into this year, Ramirez decided to add a second major in Spanish literature. While traveling in Italy this summer, he began reading some Cuban revolutionary books and became very interested in the history of 1960s revolutionary movements in Latin America. 

For Ramirez, whose mother is originally from Honduras and who is a third-generation Texan of Mexican heritage on his father’s side, this was a chance to study his heritage. 

“There is so much about this region that pertains to my family’s history that I don’t know,” Ramirez said. “I’m currently taking a course on political issues in Latin America. It’s one of those few classes I’ve taken here where I’m always engaged, and I want to know more than what the professor’s teaching in that one lesson. It’s a way to just know more. It’s just important to me to be able to see and understand my history as a person in a diverse culture.”

Ramirez has found that his passion for design and his Latinx heritage can go hand in hand. 

In his first year, he was inspired by hearing from Alberto Rigau, a Puerto Rican designer. 

“It was the first time I had seen another Hispanic designer,” Ramirez said. “It meant a lot to see me, to see this guy 20 years into his career, and I’m like, that could be me. It’s someone that looks like me, talks like me and understands me.”

There’s a huge market of unserviced people that exist but aren’t being catered to.

When he moves into his future career as a graphic designer, Ramirez hopes to serve the Latinx population and do his part to help rectify inequities he’s seen so far in the field.

“To me, the Hispanic market in the United States is almost untapped and unethically tapped,” Ramirez said. “There’s a huge market of unserviced people that exist but aren’t being catered to. When I go down to Houston to visit family, businesses have their storefront names in English and Spanish. I just think the country needs to be at a point where all of it is like that. I think that’s what I want to do, is provide that service through my design to diversify what we’re doing outside and bring communities that are lesser known or don’t feel welcomed to feel that they’re welcome, that they can go outside and go to any store, and not have to worry about being able to speak English.” 

Transformative Travel

Over the past two years, Ramirez has twice gotten the chance to travel outside of the United States for his studies. In the summer of 2023, he spent five weeks in Spain, where he got to explore the country and study Spanish art history. 

“I got to explore art and culture in a way that I hadn’t before. I saw how we can explore art and design by appreciating different cultures and seeing historical works,” Ramirez said. “I really got to experience life outside of the US for the first time in such an intense way. I went to a country that spoke a completely different language with completely different cultural standards and practices. It was amazing.” 

During the 2024 spring semester, Ramirez studied in Florence, Italy. Going into this experience, he questioned if he wanted to continue pursuing a career in design. 

But his time overseas – which included fashioning his own footwear – reinforced that he was on the right path. 

“I went to Italy and had amazing coffee every day,” Ramirez said. “I learned how to design shoes. I made a pair of shoes, and it clicked with me why I’m doing this. These shoes are designed for me specifically. I made it from my own foot, they fit me perfectly. But in the grand scheme of things, I can design a shoe that’s worn by thousands or millions. That experience of getting my hands dirty again and feeling really connected to my work was really important for me to come back as a designer. I feel like that time in Italy where I spent a lot of time contemplating if I wanted to switch majors right now or stick with it was really important and a good reset for me.” 

Moving Forward

In his free time, Ramirez enjoys reading, attending the Fish Market design gallery in downtown Raleigh, playing video games and attending Carolina Hurricanes and NC State Icepack Hockey games. 

He also enjoys finding and building large, complex Lego sets, particularly those that are Star Wars-themed. 

“I have so many Legos, and I’m running out of space,” Ramirez said. “It’s a reward system. Every time I finish an intense project, I go buy an extravagant Lego set.”

In the meantime, he hopes to spend time working in design experience and research design, and eventually transition from designing to design research. He plans to remain at NC State to pursue a master’s degree in industrial design or Spanish literature and keep working on the DASA Marketing and Communication team, which Corsi said would make him her longest-tenured student employee. 

“I just know that wherever I go, I want the focus of my work to be human-centered and about improving the human experience through design,” Ramirez said.