Jose Semidei has been working in the field of design since he was 17, where he worked full time as an Illustrator for the Department of Education at the Learning Laboratory Center in Yauco, Puerto Rico, and part-time as a screen printer at Printmaster Plus. He moved to Nashville in 1998 where he worked at designing Custom Banners and Flags for the J. Nissi Corporation.
He enrolled in Nossi College of Art in 2006. While attending, Jose was a top student and got his first Graphic Design job at Dex Imaging where he was contracted out to the Meharry Medical College while still attending night classes at Nossi College.
José received several awards and accolades during his tenure at Nossi, including a Silver Addy in Non-Traditional Advertising, two Most Creative Awards, one Perseverance Award, Talent Discovery, and Best in Show 2010. He graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2010.
He was hired as a graphic designer for the Nashville Convention and Visitor’s Corporation straight after graduation and was with them for seven years, collaborating on projects for Music City and the promotion of such both Nationally and Internationally.
As a graphic designer, Jose dedicates himself to constantly learning new initiatives and technologies to provide the best work for national and international clients. In September 2014 he was given the opportunity to return to Nossi as an Instructor and he is excited to be back at his alma mater to teach.
Currently, he does freelance under the entity of SimmaDown Design & Stuff and works full-time as the Graphic Designer at Vertava Health. When this opportunity to work for Vertava Health presented itself Jose said, ‘I felt my heart and soul for design will come full circle as I will be using my experience as a means to help people in a deeper, more meaningful sense, and that goes in line with my love for teaching and the Nine Noble Virtues I do my best to live by. So this opportunity to create inspirational visuals, as well as informative materials to support a company that brings about life-changing experiences in dealing with addiction and mental health was an opportunity I did not want to pass up, and it’s what I feel I should be doing with my abilities.’
“To me, it is one thing to work at my dream job, where I get to drink coffee, wear shorts and t-shirts to work, and listen to my favorite metal bands as I sit and design stuff all day long but when I have the opportunity to inspire others and help them develop their own design skills, it’s a very satisfying feeling, but even more so when I see their eyes light up while showing them tricks of the design trade.”