“When I was a kid, just like any other kid, I got interested in paper airplanes, but I didn’t give it up, I just started designing my own,” said Kyle Boyer, a visual communication design graduate (BA '14). “I just dreamed of making my own paper airplane book someday.”
“I knew, even from a young age, that I wanted to do art in some way,” said Boyer. “Visual communications felt like a good way to take my artistic interests and apply it to a career that has a little bit more security than something like fine arts.”
In his college search, Boyer was looking for a Christian university. His parents and grandparents had attended AU, allowing for his awareness of the university, but Boyer selected the school on his own.
While on campus, Boyer enjoyed student life and played soccer for the university’s team. You could often find him with his group of friends working in the design department. “They work you hard, so we spent a lot of time together in the art department working late, sometimes all the way through the night,” said Boyer. “ In those trials, some great friendships were born.”
As a design student, Boyer held true to his early passions of creating paper airplanes. He continued to learn about aerodynamics and origami.
During college, Boyer discovered creators with similar interests finding success in YouTube how-to video tutorials. Seeing the potential, he was inspired to put his creations out for the world to see. He was even able to apply his airplane interests directly into his senior showcase.
“My senior project for the visual communications degree at AU was to make a paper airplane book,” said Boyer. “I got to realize the dream of seven-year-old Kyle at Anderson University.”
Following his college graduation, Boyer worked in corporate graphic design through a company called Tusk Communications. During his time there, he decided to pursue his own further passions on the side. “It was during that time that I started my YouTube channel, Foldable Flight, which became a supplemental income,” said Boyer.
By 2020, Boyer was able to leave his job, doing freelance work and his YouTube channel; by 2021, Foldable Flight became full-time. Boyer’s YouTube channel is centered around his long-term passion for paper airplanes. He actively publishes unique, viewer-friendly how-to tutorials for his own plane designs.
Though the creation side of things came easy, Boyer found his challenge in the broader set of skills required for building a business and video content creation. His graphic design skills from the visual communication degree allowed for thumbnail creations and video graphics, but he self-taught further skills in things such as video editing and camera presence.
“Even though I am self-employed and I technically have the freedom to do something else, I work from nine to five every week day,” said Boyer. “Having that structure and that habit allows me to stay on top of things.”
Through holding true to his passion for paper airplanes, Boyer was able to create his own career that allows him to express his interests on a daily basis.
“I think that we actually live in an era where there is a whole host of professional opportunities that didn't exist before, with social media and the like,” said Boyer. “I think now more than ever, the creative avenues are open. If you are willing to pursue them, you have a real chance of succeeding.”
Tori Storm is a junior from Greensburg, Indiana, majoring in visual communication design and public relations event planning. Storm is an associate with Fifth Street Communications®, a student-run public relations agency at Anderson University.
Commentaires