Senior Success: Digital Designer Erick Mejia Shows His Ecuadorian Culture Through His Work
Erick Mejia’s fascinating story is adding another chapter as the Ecuadorian-native is now the first in his family to graduate college. Never forgetting his roots, the digital designer looks for ways to include his love of his home culture and country in his work.
“I moved here in 2011, knowing a little bit of English, almost nothing at all. I was missing home every single day, missing Ecuador, and nature,” said Mejia. “Over here, there's not much nature, we have the city, so coming to the city was a big change for me.”
His love for nature could be seen in all its splendor in his project “Galapagos Islands Awareness Campaign,” which got him an honorable mention in this year’s Design Showcase.
Mejia wanted to do something for his country and for nature and shed light on actions that are damaging the environment, specifically the flora and fauna in his native Ecuador.
Using mixed media – 2D and 3D – he created a poster and an AR interaction element that leaves a more lasting impact on people through storytelling and engaging graphics.
Mejia visited Ecuador right after the pandemic and visited the Galapagos again after almost ten years removed. He noticed it had changed a lot with tourism at an all-time high.
In order for his awareness campaign to have a bigger impact, he added English and Spanish text to his poster, so citizens of Ecuador and tourists could read it. Being recognized for something that it’s very personal to him generated a lot of pride in Mejia.
“[I feel] a lot of pride and happiness that people can find the beauty in what I like doing, which is talking about my nationality, my country and the problems that are happening there,” he said. “I want to connect people with these problems through my art.”
“Erick is great, his calm and thoughtful demeanor made him a joy to work with. With his dedication to his studies he set the tone in every class and studio,” said Martina Decker, the interim director for NJIT’s School of Art + Design and associate professor. “When he was done with his homework he kept on working on his own design projects to improve his skills. Most days he was the first to arrive in studio, and the last to leave late at night.
“He also demonstrated leadership on social issues. For his final project he chose to create an awareness campaign that highlights the issues of ecosystem degradation in the Galapagos.”
Mejia’s passion for digital design started in Verona High School, where he was able to take his first computer science, photoshop and digital design courses. “I fell in love with marketing and awareness campaigns,” he noted. “I felt I could see myself doing this for a long time, like showing people the world through my view. That's what made me want to do it pretty much. It’s like art, but meaningful.”
His journey from Quito, Ecuador to NJIT hasn’t been easy. He combined his studies with a part-time job at NJPAC, which made it difficult to participate in extracurricular activities. His parents made the move to the United States first, while his grandparents in Ecuador helped raise him in those early years growing up.
The love that I got made it worth it right there and then. They shared my happiness.
“Last week was my final presentation, and I was driving home and it just hit me,” he said. “That's it, I'm done. I got home and I told my parents that that was it. I finished.
“The love that I got made it worth it right there and then. They shared my happiness. I feel like it's even more than me. They really feel proud of me, and that made me feel good.”
After his time in the Hillier College of Architecture and Design, Mejia plans to get a job in marketing or advertising. Mejia advises other first-generation Latino students to find ways to celebrate their cultures in their projects and jobs.
“I feel like we have an advantage in a way that we have our culture, we can always talk about that. We can find passion in that, which could make our work easier,” he highlighted. “There's a lot of ways that we can show our culture to people through animation, 2D, AR, like I did. I feel like we all have a story to tell and coming here and learning all these different programs gives me different ways to show this story to people.”
Mejia always set his eyes on studying in NJIT, and now that his time here is about to end, it feels surreal, he says. He plans to celebrate his country and culture as he walks the stage during graduation day. This summer he will celebrate this achievement with the rest of his family back in Ecuador.
“I want to put the Ecuador flag on my cap,” he said. “I want to show my parents that I came from there, and I made it.
“I finished after so many years, and I haven't forgotten where I'm from.”
