Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa Poliseno.
Hi Melissa, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I’ve been a creative thinker for as long as I can remember. Whether it was drawing or music or poetry…if it involved imagination and creativity, I was into it. I was an English major in college and thought I was going to be a writer but fell in love with graphic design along the way. On my 23rd birthday, I took a leap and launched my first design company, which grew faster than I could have dreamed. It quickly blossomed into a full-blown advertising agency, handling everything from branding to TV commercials. In 2017, I sold the company, took a meaningful detour into ministry, and then eventually found myself right back where I belong, in the creative world.
Today, I am the Senior Creative Designer for K12 Coalition, an edtech company that helps teachers and students thrive. On the side, I run Shindiggity, a digital stationery shop that specializes in custom party invitations for kids.
To fuel my passion and ensure my college tuition didn’t go to waste, I continue to write in my spare time. I recently wrote a children’s book called “If Kids Made the Rules” based on conversations I had with my children when they were young. I also love to write songs. One of my favorite projects was a song called “The Ride” that I co-wrote with my daughter, Layne Elizabeth, and it now has over 15 million streams on Spotify.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I would say it’s been a pretty smooth road. Someone once told me when I was younger, “Figure out what you love to do and find a way to make money doing it.” I took that advice early on, and it made my work so enjoyable that it never feels like work.
I’m not going to lie, there were many long hours and financial sacrifices I made to follow the path that I did, but loving what you do makes it so much more worthwhile.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Although my work as a creative is multi-faceted, from writing and illustration to branding and design, I think the thing I’m most proud of is my songwriting. Graphic design is what pays the bills, but songwriting is what fills my soul. It’s the purest form of creativity I know. I do it for no one else but myself. There is no deadline, no client, no expectation, just me in an empty room with just my guitar, my notebook, a melody, and a story that needs to be told.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
With the implementation of sophisticated AI tools, the design industry has changed drastically. And I think it will continue to get more advanced. The idea that technology could one day become a replacement for graphic designers is a little unsettling. But I believe that there will always be a need for the kind of creativity that can’t be programmed. It’s that spark of imagination that comes from tapping into our own human experiences, emotions, and dreams.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ShindiggityDesigns
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/that84cj/
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/track/5mNUgrbuqkse4k79Gph9iv?si=b71546d86a0b4ece
Image Credits
Bella Poliseno
