Katie Nestor

Katie Nestor thrives on movement—both in her career as a motion graphics designer at Current TV and as a self-proclaimed adventure sports junkie.

“For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to live in California,” said Nestor. “Landing a job with Current TV enabled me to fulfill two of my dreams at once—working as an animator and being able to snowboard/hike/rock climb/long board whenever I want. I love the people I work with, the content, the freedom to be as creative as I want to be without any restrictions, the location. What could be better?!”

Current TV, chaired by Al Gore, is a global television network based out of San Francisco. Its schedule is sliced into short segments, known as pods, that detail the lives of interesting people on the rise, intelligence on the latest trends and international news from new perspectives. About one third of the station’s programming is comprised of viewer-created content.  

As a motion graphics designer, Nestor creates open animations for Current's various pod families and franchises as well as station indents, stunts for the US and UK, promos, Infomania graphics, maps and any print material Current needs for festivals and partnerships.

Current TV recently launched its third network in Italy in May of 2008, bringing the international household viewer-ship to 58 million. Nestor, along with eight other designers helped re-do 40 open animations that were originally done by the studio Logan in Los Angeles.

“I immensely enjoyed redesigning the pod family opens for the Italian launch. I couldn't have asked for more creative freedom as it was really a chance for me to experiment, use cultural references and have fun with my design!

“I haven't had the chance to work directly with Al Gore yet, but I have the pleasure of helping him spread the brand through the graphics that I create with my team.

While Nestor was a student, she completed two internships at Campbell Ewald (Warren), the sixth largest agency in the country. She gained valuable experience but decided against pursuing a career with an agency. She continued taking communication design courses but sought new paths for her talent.

“CCS taught me the theories and principles of design and how to multitask,” said Nestor. “I developed a good relationship with my art director teacher and still keep in contact with her today!

“I also formed a really close group of friends while at CCS. We came from different majors so it was really nice to be able to share ideas and help each other grow through the process of being in school.”

Immediately following graduation, Nestor accepted an unpaid motion graphics intern position at Fox 2 News in Detroit. The station was impressed with her work and hired her once she completed the internship.

“Through my experiences at Fox 2 News, I became more familiar using Adobe After Effects, the software that is widely used for broadcast design,” Nestor said. “I worked there for two years before I applied to Current TV.”

In her spare time, Nestor enjoys photography and extreme adventure sports.

“Since moving to California I've been crazed with photography!” she exclaimed. “Each little adventure I take turns into a photo opportunity…I use every free weekend I get to go hiking,
snowboarding, long boarding, rafting, kayaking and sky diving. You name it; I'm up for it.”

Katie Nestor’s work is available at http://www.katienestor.com.