Southern Califonian native Nichole Suzette Decoteau has had a long run in the design fields. Nearly half of the homes she grew up in were built by her father. Several of the interiors, designed by mom, were featured in magazines and articles. In 2004, she got her Bachelor's in Architecture from the NewSchool of Architecture + Design. During her studies, she spent a semester abroad studying Furniture Design in Denmark, Copenhagen. In this course, she designed and built by hand a chair. At the end of the program, the chair was featured in an exhibit at the The Danish Design School.
After College Nichole worked in the commercial architecture field for five years. Working for one of the top 10 firms in the country, Perkins+will. Nichole recieved her LEED accreditation while working there.
In 2009 Nichole decided she needed to expand her tool belt, although she was plenty experienced in the 3D design, she felt she needed to broaden her 2D skills as a designer. She completed her studies in Graphic/Web design in 2011 and has never looked back. Now she has segwayed in the new relatively new field of Environmental Graphic Design combing her architecture and graphcic design skills into signage and wayfinding.
Skills Bar Chart
- Illustrator
- SketchUp
- InDesisn
- Photoshop
- Revit
Education
- MiraCosta - San Diego, CA (2009 - 2011)
C.A. Graphic Design - Highest Honors
- Newschool of Architecture - San Diego, CA (2000 - 2004)
B.A. Architecture
- Denmark Design Skol - Copenhagen, DE (2004)
Study abroad: Furniture Design
Employment History
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GNU Group : Environmental Graphic Designer
November 2016 / Present
Environmental graphics, signage,
wayfinding and branding. 3-D
rendering, programming on large and
small scale projects.
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Donan Environmental Services : Graphics Developer
February 2013-October 2016
Maintained graphic standards, created
site drawings, logos, brochure’s, print
management and 3-D renderings.
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Nichole Suzette Design : Freelance Designer
March 2011 / Present
As a freelance designer I do custom logos, branding, business cards, brochures, web design, web management, staging and interior design. I also have a store on Etsy where I sell unique and re-purposed items!
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Existence Church : Managing Intern
March 2012 / September 2012
Worked as Managing Intern in the design department to produce logos, sermon graphics, fliers, promotional/marketing materials as well as updating the website. As managing intern, I coordinated and delegated projects for entire department.
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Eagle Creek : Products Graphic Developer
June 2010 / September 2010
Designed and developed product line technical drawings and specs. Illustration and logo work. Determined and utilized layout techniques common to web-based, reproduction and printing applications.
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Pekins + Will : Designer II
November 2007 / July 2009
Preparation and administration of construction documents, spatial planning, FF&E, interior elevations, schematic design and design development for K-12 facilities and Hospitals. Revit manager.
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Langdon Wilson Architects : Designer I
April 2005 / November 2009
Project manager. Preparation and administration of construction documents, schematic design, spatial planning, design development and FF&E for K-12 facilities and Hospitals.
My Design Awards
