REBECCA WIENER

Pratt Institute, Graduate Communications Design,
New York NY

A native of swampy Houston, TX, Rebecca Wiener first saw snow when she ventured north to study history and fine art at Brown University. After graduation, she moved to New York City, where she worked on the editorial side of independent magazines, serving as the managing editor of artist Peter Halley's arts publication, Index, and as editorial director of humor and culture magazine Heeb. After a quarter-life crisis and a bit of soul-searching, Wiener decided to go back to school to pursue graphic design at Pratt Institute, where she was a participant in Pratt's collaboration with Barnes & Noble to design back-to-school items. Since changing course, she has also done freelance work for a number of nonprofit organizations. She lives in Brooklyn with a roommate, a cat, and a really big printer.

What makes you want to study design? Coming from fine art and editorial backgrounds, I think of design as the perfect marriage between aesthetics and communication. No other medium satisfies both my left and right brain, my creative and analytical impulses. Design is a powerful tool for shaping ideas and connecting people, and it just feels right to me.