Bio
Emily Leach serves as a Visual Arts Specialist at East Carolina University’s College of Business, focusing on visual communication, branding, and creative strategy. She is an Adobe Certified Professional and was an Adobe Education Institute Fellow in 2024.
Prior to her current role, Emily worked as a Graphic Designer for Adams Publishing Group, where she developed print and digital media solutions for a diverse range of publications. Her work has been recognized with numerous North Carolina Press Association Awards, highlighting her excellence in visual storytelling and editorial design. Beyond her professional roles, Emily has a strong background in editorial art direction and publication design. She previously served as Editor-in-Chief of Rebel, East Carolina University’s art and literary journal, where she led a design team, art-directed exhibitions and photoshoots, and managed the production process from concept to final print. Under her leadership, Rebel received two prestigious national awards: the 2018 Pacemaker Award from the Associated Collegiate Press and the 2018 Crown Award from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association.
Design Statement
I have always been inspired by visual things. Lack of visual representation or poor designs always make me sad as I see the missed communication opportunities that good design can produce. This is what gave me a desire to begin a journey of learning the rules that govern good design so I could help others communicate their ideas more perfectly. I have found my calling in being the one who bridges the language gap by strengthening the impact of ideas and concepts through visual representation.
Overall Aesthetics Qualities: On a formal note, my work is largely energized by a young vibe as I tend to use a lot of bright colors and two-dimensional geometric shapes along with a strong typographical esthetic. I am an avid supporter of a strong underlying grid, especially when working with print media and large bodies of type. I believe that everything must have a purpose and that just having an esthetic quality is not enough reason to implement an element into a design.
Tools and Process: As a kid, I started out with my dad’s Flexi Sign software and CorelDRAW, back in the days when Adobe wasn’t the only player in the realm of design software. I have since used everything from Microsoft programs and Adobe CS2, all the way to the current Adobe CreativeCloud. The one question I get asked most about software, and particularly the Adobe Creative Suite, is, “What software program (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign) do you like best?” My answer is always the same, “you wouldn’t ask a chef what utensil they prefer because it all depends on what they are using that utensil for.” This is exactly how I feel about software; each program has some really great feature. I personally float between InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop constantly while doing any project. It just depends on the project, and I believe in using the right tool for the job!