Mark “Dweezy” Dwyer is a twenty-two year-old graphic design major in his 5th and final year at UMD. Unlike many of his 5th year peers, whose victory laps resulted from a lack of urgency, Dwyer’s was due to a change of heart half way thru his sophomore year.

“I love working with my hands and I really just wasn’t happy with my business major and what I was doing, I was bored,” said Dwyer. “I’ve always been a visual person and I’ve always had drawing skills or whatever you want to call it.”

In his free time he enjoys listening to music, attending concerts and festivals, watching sports, and, of course, creating art.

“I love just pencil or pen on paper, it’s just more personal and I love to work that way, or at least start that way,” said Dwyer.

However his change in major has also brought about a drastic change in the way he creates.

“Ever since I got into the graphic design program I’ve really been leaning towards digital work or scanning my drawings into the computer and working on it from there,” Dwyer said.

Although the art industry is often stigmatized as low paying and having few jobs, Dwyer is quite optimistic about his future.

“There’s so much you can do with a graphic design major and there’s so many jobs out there,” said Dwyer. “What really interests me is branding. I love designing logos for companies and giving them a new image.”

“The typography project was from last year, I spelled out the word screwed with screws,” Dwyer said. “There’s 826 of them. It took a lot of time and a lot of work, but it turned out really cool,” Dwyer said.

“We were supposed to design our own label for a beverage so I designed a wine label called O’Dwyer’s,” said Dwyer. “I also designed the packaging that it came in, so I got a wood box online and burned the design into the cover.”

“The spray painting started a couple years ago when I was bored and looking at videos online,” Dwyer said. “I always want to try and create new stuff, and I saw spray painting and thought I could do it, so I went out and bought some cans.”

Lucky for him, a group of close friends volunteered the unfinished basement walls of their rental property as the blank canvas for his new curiosity. And as you can see in the photos above, Dwyer was a natural.

“I’d love to spray paint more often, but paint is expensive, and you need paint,” Dwyer chuckled.

For those thinking about swapping out their major for something they’re more passionate about, Dwyer’s advice is to follow your heart.

“Honestly, it may sound cheesy, but just do what makes you happy,” Dwyer said. “Do what interests you!”

For more of Dwyer’s work, check him out on Instagram @dwyerdesigns1996