Rising Stars: Meet Kelly Townsley of Capitol Hill

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelly Townsley.

Hi Kelly, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I was introduced to the Adobe Creative Suite in 2004 on my high school yearbook staff and it was love at first click. My yearbook advisor was also my English teacher, and the first person to ever tell me I had a talent for graphic design. He nurtured my creativity and encouraged me to pour energy into it. Twenty-one years later I’m still excited about taking the images in my mind and tap-clicking them into existence. The joy it brings me never ceased, and channeling that gusto for creation has become a central, driving force in my life.

A 2003 family trip to NYC when I was fifteen sparked an affection for Warhol, Lichtenstein and all things pop art that is prominent in my work today. A pop culture enthusiast since I could talk, I am deeply, passionately curious and forever fixated on American pop culture, the zeitgeist and its undeniable effect on our everyday lives. I’m constantly examining generational contrast through art and media. I love creating digital collage art that juxtaposes black and white photography with neon, celestial, otherworldly visuals. Something about meddling nostalgic, grayscale imagery with vivid technicolor scenes from the depths of my imagination soothes me. I think it’s a way that I can make sense of the breadth of my personality—my appreciation and admiration of a sensible past, with my girlhood, starry-eyed zeal for dreamy, colorful and “impossible” things. My all-time favorite movie is Pleasantville, for the way it captures this idea. The visuals from that film are forever imprinted on my heart. I love it the way I loved the Wizard of Oz as a little girl.

While I moonlight as a collage artist and pop culture curator, creator and commentator, by day I’m a Graphic Designer in the aerospace industry. Under the departmental umbrella of Strategic Branding and Communications at ULA (United Launch Alliance), I support our nation’s most dependable ride to space by providing graphics support on a company-wide basis. I design custom mission art for our rocket launches, unique to each customer and payload. Each launch has its own unique coins and clothing, marketing and advertising, ads and signage— everything from stickers to billboards. My team and I support our engineers and the company at large by producing a wide variety of visual products that help communicate ULA’s mission: Save Lives, Explore the Universe and Connect the World.

ULA changed my life, and is far and away the best job of my career. I can’t stress enough how driven, dedicated and wildly talented these people are. I’m in awe of them every single day. In March of 2022 I had the privilege of seeing a launch in person at Cape Canaveral. It was every bit as magical as I imagined a rocket launch could be and an unforgettable career highlight.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It’s been a winding one, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Fresh out of college in 2010, I worked in signage. I moved on to pre-press and print production as I recognized that a technical understanding of the visuals I was creating and how to bring them to fruition would give me a competitive advantage in my industry. But those jobs were difficult, technical and low-paying. I spent five years as an artist for a direct mail publication where I was overworked and under appreciated to a point where my hair was falling out from stress. I’d cry every day driving to that office. I was also incredible at my job and despite working for two of the greediest, most condescending and exploitative business owners I’d ever encountered, I was aware of my talent. I knew it in my bones. Shortly after I started standing up for myself, they fired me, and I’m forever grateful for that forced separation.

Back then I had a boomer-instilled dedication to the concept of “paying my dues” that lead to a period of glorifying suffering. I believed that my work needed to hurt. That I needed to suffer to prove myself. I was wrong and it was valuable. Some things in life, we need to be wrong about for a while, until the tables turn and we’re shown another way.

I went on to have a variety of other creative experiences before landing a job at ULA that showed me that bosses who remember your birthday, pay you well, recognize, utilize and support the expansion of your talent, DO exist, and you don’t need to suffer to earn your place.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I think my communication style is what tends to set me apart from the pack. I adore people. I’m an observer to the core and I study those around me, the way they operate and communicate, their preferences and idiosyncrasies. I think the development of this skill/passion over the years has resulted in me being recognized for a unique ability to communicate effectively with just about anyone. Some people prefer short emails, with only the necessary information included— any fluffy, flowery language is a distraction from the goal. Others prefer softer, more lengthy communication to feel at ease. Recognizing these sorts of individual preferences and incorporating them into my professional life is at the core of my success. I want my collaborators to feel seen, appreciated, supported and empowered.

What do you like and dislike about the city?
Denver stole my heart in late 2010–so much so that I flew home from a vacation here, quit my job, packed up my life and three months later I lived here. I’m a romantic. I’m very viscerally lead, and Denver and I just have a connection. We always have. I knew it in my whole body and I remember the exact spot on Larimer St. where I was standing when it hit me that I belonged here. I love the variety. I love the almost NYC-like contrast of the neighborhoods and how it can feel like you’re in a completely different city in just a few blocks. Each neighborhood of Denver has its own personality, vibe, food, aesthetic. I’ve found that as a creative, a place like this is a constant inspiration.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kellylorraineart/
• LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/kellylorraineart