Designing a dream: UNI graduate’s journey to the Chicago White Sox
Designing a dream: UNI graduate’s journey to the Chicago White Sox
A love for sports and art converge for UNI alum Jake Manternach in his role as a senior graphic designer for the Chicago White Sox, a position he has held for about a year. For Manternach, getting to mix his two great loves in a career is a long-time dream come true. Manternach also has a history working for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, including in 2021 when the team won the Super Bowl.
“I like the excitement of working in sports, where there's never a day that you're doing the exact same thing,” he said. “I've always been a big sports fan, and I get to work on some really cool projects. When I was younger, I was drawing sports stuff all the time. So now to be able to do that and get paid for it is very awesome.”
Manternach spent his childhood drawing players, uniforms and sports logos. Now in his role with the White Sox, he works on logos, social media graphics, signage, publication design for programs and yearbooks and covers for media guides.
“It really kind of just boils down to if you see a White Sox logo, there's a good chance me or my team put it there,” he said.
Although Manternach was clearly interested in art from an early age growing up in Cascade, Iowa, it wasn’t until high school that he truly considered art as a career after taking a couple of graphic design courses. After starting his college career at Hawkeye Community College, he fell in love with the area and decided UNI would be a good fit for getting his bachelor’s degree.
“Most people I know who went to UNI spoke so highly of it, and that really showed through my experience there,” he said. “It's a big state school, but you're still getting a top-quality education, and at the size that you can have those one-on-ones with professors, know your classmates really well and collaborate. Going through the art building and getting that feedback and talking with other artists was invaluable.”
“Most people I know who went to UNI spoke so highly of it, and that really showed through my experience there,” said Manternach.
Manternach made meaningful connections with numerous professors in the Department of Art including Roy Behrens and Phil Fass in graphic design as well as Tim Dooley and Aaron Wilson in printmaking. To this day, he remains in contact with them.
The graphic design professors did an exceptional job of showing Manternach what working in the field truly looked like. From helping with portfolio prep to helping him forge connections with real design agencies, Manternach felt equipped to establish himself as a graphic designer after college.
“That stuff is way more valuable than just another project that they would assign,” said Manternach. “That being said, I think a lot of the projects that we had were very similar to what a real agency would assign. I don't know of a single university that could fully prepare somebody for the real world, but I mean, UNI did a slam dunk job.”
Something else Manternach enjoyed about the UNI experience was the fact that local businesses in the Cedar Valley often reach out to UNI professors to connect with students who can help with logo design and print projects.
“All in all, it was a nice way to get roots, the real world experience and working with a real client that's not a teacher who’s assigned a project just for a grade,” he said.
"A lot of the projects that we had were very similar to what a real agency would assign. I don't know of a single university that could fully prepare somebody for the real world, but I mean, UNI did a slam dunk job.”
Manternach also believes UNI did a great job helping him to hone time management skills. With an internship and job as well as an active student life, he had to quickly learn how to balance his different responsibilities. He uses this skill today when juggling multiple projects with multiple deadlines.
After graduating from UNI in 2017, Manternach went on to work for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Chicago Fire Football Club before landing his job at the Chicago White Sox.
Even as he has progressed in his career, he has held closely to his UNI roots. During the spring semester, he served as the juror for the UNI Gallery of Art’s competitive exhibition showcasing the work of art students. He selected 60 works of art from 233 student entries and also chose merit awards and honorable mentions.
“I always make it known to people at UNI that I'm always happy to help because I wouldn't be here without the help that I was given,” said Manternach. “I do think so highly of UNI that I’m always very happy to stay connected.”
