Nevada Rae Cahoy
Certified Graphic Designer
A Bit About Me
My mother said that when her and my father decided on the name, Nevada Rae, she had envisioned me becoming a country singer. Now, I will admit, I tried the musical path by writing my own songs and even tried to learn the guitar. Buuuut, art took precedence as you can see!
I have always had a passion for art. The freedom and expression it can have, brings me so much excitement. It is amazing how 10 people can look at the same piece of art, and each have a different interpretation or feeling they get from it. My curiosity hit in elementary school when I saw my cousin drawing things like roses so effortlessly or having fun with typography. I had her show me some of her ways, then continued on to my own "doodling". As I grew up, having various classmates, teachers, friends and family members comment on things I created...that fueled me even more. As I learned about so many different mediums that can be used for artwork, I really gravitated towards Mixed Media arts. So, throughout High School, aside from regular art class, I chose to learn more by taking online courses like Mixed Media, Graphic Design, and Photography.
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Now, I know I mentioned music earlier on. That passion never really left. So once I realized I could put the art skills I learned, into creative designs for the music industry, I got super excited! How cool would it be to design merch, album covers, and other forms of advertisements?! So once this possibility sunk in, that's when I become determined to become a Graphic Designer and work with various teams to see what we can create together.
After graduation, I decided to work full-time until I could save enough to help pay for a degree. Multiple opportunities came during this time that were hard to pass up - however, none directing down the art path. Life also got more exciting once my high school sweetheart and I got married and grew our family. So I pushed the art passion aside to focus on family and providing. But after years of still feeling like I wasn't doing what I truly wanted to be doing, I decided to take the leap and became a student of The New York Institute of Art + Design! After about a year of school, I graduated as a Certified Graphic Designer! During this time, I took over the marketing at a local pediatric dental office where I was able to put my certification to great use! Then, after a year of building more experience, I decided to officialize Nevada Rae Designs!
I live in the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota - where I have been for 10+ years. When I am not at my computer designing, you may catch me making sloppy joes and mac-n-cheese for my 3 wild munchkins, chasing around my 2 rambunctious pups or trying new brews with my partner in crime! Aside from all of my life's beautiful chaos, I am absolutely stoked to help more solo entrepreneurs, small businesses and others, create designs that will help fuel their passions as much as it does for me! Are you ready?