Recently I sat down to talk with Tessa Millhollin about her career as a graphic designer. Great Falls has been her hometown since she was seven.
We hopped on a Zoom call.
She, from her apartment in Brooklyn, NY. Evening.
Me, from my house in the central North Island of New Zealand. Early morning, a day ahead.
Two computer screens, on opposite sides of the world, in opposite hemispheres and flip-flopped seasons, but united by Montana.
See, Tessa and I used to work together in Missoula at an agency. My first day was her first day. We met, we filled out paperwork and got oriented to the new company together. We went on to work together for multiple years, and collaborated on many marketing projects. So, when the idea came up to write a piece on Tessa – someone from Great Falls now living farther afield, I was thrilled.
The thing is, even though I was planning to interview Tessa about her life experiences. We spent the first 10-15 minutes of the interview talking about me. About how my life took me to New Zealand and what it was like living abroad as a temporary expat.
As I sat down to write this piece, it occurred to me that the empathy and curiosity that Tessa has for others is part of what makes her an exceptional graphic designer. She really wants to understand other people, their goals, their motivations and it’s from that place that she begins her design work.
How it started: A self-proclaimed ‘Yearbook Nerd’
Her passion for design was ignited at Great Falls High School.
“I really got into journalism there,” she recounts, noting that she switched schools specifically for the extracurricular journalism programs they offered their students. “I had always thought I was going to be a writer. And so I joined the yearbook and newspaper, and that's where I found out about design and I immediately was obsessed.”
Tessa credits her Great Falls High School journalism teacher Linda Ballew for sparking her interest in design.
"She really is the main reason for me getting into (and LOVING) journalism there," she said. "She really encouraged me and helped me find my calling. I remember thinking, ‘Oh my god, I have to do design forever!’' And I knew I needed to try getting out of Montana and experience a bigger city. And, I'd looked at different design schools, just mainly on the West coast, and ended up nailing down Portland state.”
Not Your Typical College Experience
So, as an 18-year-old she left Great Falls for Portland, Oregon. Located in the center of bustling downtown Portland, Portland State University isn’t your typical college-campus environment. It’s urban, a bit gritty and known for being a commuter college where a lot of nontraditional students continue their education.
“I think for some reason, that's what I wanted,” Tessa said. “It was kind of crazy coming by myself. I didn't know anyone in Portland and was like, "I'm just gonna try this and really get my foot in the design-door.’”
The risk was worth it. Tessa ended up finding community through design, she got to make really important connections with different studios and agencies. And, she was constantly inspired by her professors who were teaching and actively working in the design space.
“I feel like maybe I wouldn’t have gotten that in a different place,” she said. “So that was really special. I remember when my Professor Kate Bingman-Burt showed us how she worked on illustrations for the Chipotle bag. It made me realize where design could take me.”
Road to NYC
Where did design take her? Ultimately, to her dream destination of New York City. But first, she found her way back to Montana. (As a Missoula gal who also went to college in Oregon, I know how Montana has that magnetic pull back. This is where our paths crossed.)
Tessa started working for LumenAd, an advertising-technology agency that serves clients nationwide.
“As my first job after college, I was really happy to gain experience as an in-house designer,” she said. “I loved the ever-changing startup culture and I was really glad to have spent the early-pandemic time there, that time was so terrifying and LumenAd adopted work-from-home super early.”
Working from home changed everything. The virus that forced us to figure out how to work remotely helped Tessa live out her dream.
“Since I was young, I knew I wanted to live in New York City,” she said. “I always had that dream, I think Portland was my little test run, to see if I would indeed like living in a city.”
And, in 2020 her New York door was cracked open. She landed a job with Tia, a women’s health care clinic that was based in NYC. Obviously, not many people were moving to New York in 2020, so Tessa started designing for them from Montana. Work-from-home was the new norm and she worked on their creative team for a solid year from Missoula before the timing was right to make the physical move.
Home Sweet Home
It’s now been three years, and she’s never looked back. She first landed in Greenpoint, a neighborhood in Brooklyn, and she’s still there.
“This just sounds so silly, but it reminded me of the community that you get in Montana,” she said.
When I ask her to explain, she talks about her neighbors. The kind who knows her name and looks out for her and her partner, Aaron. I nod along, fully understanding what she means: the salt-of-the-earth folks that are easy to find in Montana. It’s what makes Brooklyn feel like home for her.
By moving across the country, Tessa gave herself the launch pad for design that she had dreamed about since she was a young girl. Her designs have seen the light of day on Times Squares billboards, in Santa Monica launch-event experiences from wrapped vehicles to matcha menus, and in the packaging of products that make their way into consumer’s homes all over the country. In just a few short years she’s directed product photo shoots and designed clinic murals and so much more.
Along her path from Portland State, to Missoula and onto NYC, she’s built relationships and connections. People kept passing along her name and even though she was working full time, she started to take on small, freelance projects that she would work on at nights or on the weekend. One of those projects you see right here: Tessa created the branding for The Great Falls Edit.
Eventually, her side projects grew to a point where she realized she could do freelance work full time. As of about a month ago, she shared her news on her LinkedIn account:
The praises of her LinkedIn network follow:
“Huge congrats, Tessa!! This is so exciting!! To anyone in my network - you better bookmark this website! You are such a star!! 🌟”, “Wow! Everyone needs to hire you, are you kidding?! 🎉”, “Yes! This is the start of something big. Congratulations!”
Effusive words of praise from a vast network of connections. Relationships that span industry, titles and geography.
Boss lady
The Great Falls high school yearbook editor-in-chief has transformed into a NYC entrepreneur. As a freelance designer she has the freedom to work on a lot of different projects from veterinary health to wellness brands. She is busy, and the referrals keep rolling in.
When I ask her what the best part of being her own boss is, she immediately mentions her flexibility to come home.
“My brother just had a baby,” she said. “So I can go back to Great Falls and spend time with my family. I am finding that it is really really important for me to be able to do and have that flexibility of traveling and not necessarily having to be in the office all week.”
Finding Inspiration
At the end of our interview, I realized that we talked a lot about what Tessa has created for others. I was curious to know how she, herself keeps her “design-cup” full, where she finds inspiration for her work and to keep growing as a designer.
“A little bit everywhere!” she chuckled. “Honestly, I've always been such a lover of going to thrift stores, garage sales, things like that. I love just digging around, whether it's packaging on old jars or looking at old books. Old newspapers have always been my favorite thing. I also love going to concerts and, I feel like there has been a little renaissance of concert posters coming back and I’m finding inspiration there too.”
While she lives in a city with access to cultures from around the world, (her neighborhood is known for its Polish influence) I can’t help but see how growing up in Great Falls has stuck with her. I can imagine her hitting up a Great Falls garage sale with her Grandma on a sunny Saturday (something she mentioned she loved to do in high school) just as much as I can see her flipping through vintage labels in a Brooklyn hot spot.
One thing I know to be true, no matter where she works, how she finds her inspiration, or who she helps by creating impactful designs, she’s a pro at connecting on a human level and skilled at telling stories through design.
Check out more of Tessa’s designs on her website https://www.tessamillhollin.com/.
This is the second article in a series that features people from Great Falls now doing interesting things farther afield. Read the first story here.
