Mike Luciani
Faculty of Animation, Arts & Design
Degree: BAA - Illustration - Technical & Scientific
Year of graduation: 2008
Most of us wouldn’t give a second thought to a Loblaws transport truck rolling down the highway but Mike Luciani does. “I think, ‘hey, that’s my design on the side of that truck and it’s travelling across the country.’”
The Sheridan illustration graduate is a Package Designer for Loblaw Companies Limited. His designs appear on products that are part of the grocery giant’s most iconic brands including President’s Choice and Blue Menu. Working with his six-person team on package design, Mike can easily forget about the wide reach of his designs. Creating appealing and informative packaging within the confines of a box or tub is a challenge to be sure. But it is one he enjoys and partly accounts for his having stayed with the same company since graduation. “I also have the chance to work on a socially responsible brand and help people make better decisions at the grocery store.”
Mike grew accustomed to pushing the boundaries at Sheridan, both as a student and following graduation as a designer for Travis, Sheridan Student Union’s award-winning magazine.
Although Travis is no more, Mike’s ties to Sheridan - both professional and personal - have remained strong. He does ongoing freelance work with the college’s Athletic Department, most notably on ROAR, the magazine of the Sheridan Bruins. The Student Life Network (the number one provider of private student social networks in the country) co-founded by fellow Illustration grad Stephen Sills (2007), has also benefitted from Mike’s design expertise. “It was amazing to see one of my best friends at Sheridan start a company and ask me to design his logo,” Mike recalls.
“Don’t underestimate the strength and value of the connections you make at Sheridan,” advises Mike, who points to friends Ryan Bolton (Journalism-Print, 2009, now Creative Lead with Free the Children) and Pete Ryan (BAA-Illustration, 2008, a freelance illustrator now teaching at Sheridan) as huge influences on him, both before and after graduation. “There is a circle of creativity you become part of that never ends.”
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Learn more about Sheridan’s Bachelor of Applied Arts-Illustration