Digital Dreamer
Alumni Spotlight: Rob Kammel, ’92 | Owner/President, KMDG
Born in Palm Beach and raised in Stuart, Fla., Rob Kammel, ’92, majored in film at UCF and spun records for WUCF KnightRock. After realizing a film career was not in the cards, he decided to try graphic design, which he’s now been doing for most of his adult life.
In 2003, he formed his own company, KMDG, whose clients include the UCF College of Engineering and Computer Science, for which his company designed a new website and mobile apps.
He says the visual and conceptual elements of design seem natural to him, and his favorite thing bout his job is to problem solve and simplify complex ideas.
We recently caught up with Rob to find out more about him.
10 Questions with Rob
Q. Describe a typical day at work.
A. Coffee, design, meeting, design, dinner, design
Q. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
A. Surfing instructor
Q. What profession would you not like to do?
A. Anything in the medical profession
Q. If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?
A. I would learn to code.
Q. How has your UCF degree helped you in your career?
A. It’s about the constantly expanding network of graduates. If you live and work in the Orlando area, there’s a good chance that the person next to you has some sort of connection to UCF.
Q. What advice would you give to graphic design students?
A. Sometimes your ears are your best design tools. The client always gives you clues to where they want to go. It’s up to us to listen and interpret.
Q. In addition to graphic design, do you have any other artistic abilities?
A. I’m pretty good with a camera.
Q. If you could have front-row seats to any concert, which one would you choose?
A. I would’ve loved to see The Clash or Minutemen. Pearl Jam would be cool in the front.
Q. Who’s your favorite musician/band?
A. The Clash
Q. If someone designed a graphic/illustration about your life, what would it look like?
A. It would be simple and clean with the relevant facts highlighted. Someone would have fun making order out of that chaos.