Chronic wasting disease booklet: An interview with Pa Gar Vang
CAHFS News

This spring, CAHFS worked with the Minnesota Center for Prion Research and Outreach to create a booklet on chronic wasting disease (CWD) transmission and progression in deer. The book is now available at mnpro.umn.edu/outreach in English and Hmong languages. 

The CWD booklet is based on an animated video created by University of Minnesota student Pa Gar Vang. We spoke with Pa Gar about her illustrations, design, and inspiration for the project and her previous work with the College of Veterinary Medicine. 


Portrait of Pa Gar Vang
Pa Gar Vang

What are you currently studying? I am currently a junior at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities studying Graphic Design.

What are your interests within design? I love all sorts of design! If I had to choose a particular category, my most favorite at the moment would have to be illustration.

How would you describe your design style? Very loose and busy! I usually have a light grip on my pen and let it guide me to whatever I am creating. Which makes line art one of my favorite forms of art! I also love minimal designs and colorful artwork. 

Where do you get inspiration for your work? Inspiration comes from everywhere! It really depends where I am. But Instagram, Etsy, and Facebook are great platforms with many wonderful creatives. I do draw a lot of my inspiration from there whenever I brainstorm ideas, but sometimes, poems, quotes, and song lyrics can also play a big role!

Have you worked on any similar projects in your time at the U of M? What have been your favorite projects (for work or for school)? Yes! I worked on another project with the College of Veterinary Medicine Swine Group to inform users how decontaminating boxes with UV Light on farms works. You can check it out at z.umn.edu/UVBox. I hope to work on more projects that are informative and resourceful like these in the future! It was fun creating these projects with the eLearning team. 

I think my favorite projects from school were the ones where I got to do some storytelling. I was able to build a tunnel book and create a few books. I narrated stories by using the text and images I chose. If you want to check out some of my work, you can go to pagarvang.com

What do you like to do in your free time? I just recently picked up baking and cooking. I enjoy making cupcakes and cooking Thai dishes! Aside from that, I enjoy being outside, traveling, and making little restaurant discoveries.

What is your dream job? I want to become a User Experience Designer or a Web Designer. I think it’s pretty cool how design can affect a user’s experience with the product. Being able to create a design and code it to life is something I hope to work with in the future.

 

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