Natalie Bryan: From Graphic Design College Star to Wide-Format Rising Star

If you were to ask Natalie Bryan what her first love was, she’ll tell you that ever since her childhood, she’s loved art – and that love of art is what landed her in print.

Bryan explains that in her third year of college at Lewis University, she decided to switch from majoring in biology to graphic design.

Natalie Bryan, digital print coordinator at United Engravers

“Ever since I could pick up a pencil, I was sketching and drawing, and painting. The only reason I didn't pursue that for college is because I was a traditional artist, and how many people can make money drawing and painting,” Bryan says. “But I realized in that third year that college is my opportunity to learn and to try different things and see what's out there. So, I took the leap and changed majors and wound up loving it.”

Since taking the leap into graphic design, Bryan is now the digital print coordinator at United Engravers in Schaumburg, Illinois. Bryan explains she landed the role through “passive networking.”

Bryan describes herself as someone who likes to keep her head down and do her work the best she can, and in school, her hard work paid off. She was awarded a senior recognition award for her success and contribution to graphic design – it was this she believes helped get her an interview with United Engravers.

“So [winning the award] kind of blew me away. I always think of myself as someone who isn’t recognized for those reasons. I tend to keep my head down, and I just worked really hard. But because of that, I think my professor was trying to keep an eye out for me,” Bryan says.

So, as Bryan approached graduation, her professor recommended her to United Engravers, who at the time, was looking to hire recent graduates.

From there, the company reached out, and Bryan says her interview went “swimmingly.”

And since joining United Engravers in 2022, it seems Bryan’s time at the company is still going swimmingly. Her rising stars nominator, Walter Smith, general manager for United Engravers, says that Bryan has flourished and has quickly distinguished herself as an exceptional talent in the wide-format segment.

“Since coming on as a production artist, she has embraced increasing responsibilities within our digital print operation, demonstrating remarkable adaptability, initiative, and skill. Natalie plays a key role in setting up artwork, managing production schedules, streamlining departmental organization, and stepping into hands-on production whenever needed and always with a focus on quality and efficiency,” Smith says.

Bryan’s rising stardom with United Engravers is especially impressive given the fact that before she graduated, she didn’t even know wide-format printing was a career path she could take.

“I didn’t even know this existed,” she laughs. “It was a lot coming into that and starting from zero. But I was lucky enough to for them to take a chance on me and to learn from that. I was glad they got to show them that I love learning, and that I'm glad to learn new things. And I learned quickly,” Bryan says.

With her increased responsibilities, Bryan admits that initially she was nervous about having to manage people and projects, but overall, her transition to her new role has been smooth with the support of her team.

“I’m a pretty passive, pretty calm, quiet person. So, when you're in a role like this, where you need to be even slightly decisive, sometimes that was a challenge. And I will say it was the support of everybody that I work with that really helped me do that, and everyone has always been so encouraging,” Bryan says.  “I'm so lucky to be in a position like that, where they've always pushed me to trust my instincts and help where I can.”

And since taking on more responsibilities, Bryan says that it has also helped her come out of her shell, and the support from her team has helped her gain a sense of confidence that she sees taking her far into her future with the company.

“I feel like it has helped me a lot with my introvertedness. You know, for all the times where I do have to step up and I do have to leave something, or I have something to say during a meeting, I've gained a lot of confidence in that, which I'm very grateful for, and I think that's going to help me a lot going forward in this role,” Bryan says.