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We sent this out last night to our mailing list and have already gathered some excellent, insightful feedback. We’d love to hear from you too.

Christina impressed us from the beginning with her enthusiasm and desire to dive right into the nitty-gritties of getting CUDO off the ground. We feel like we’ve found a kindred; another person who has the same obsessive love of design, planning, networking, researching, list-making, and long walks on the beach. She’s full of ideas for future CUDO events and is totally dedicated to making them happen. We’re thrilled to have her on board.

A little bio-love:

Growing up in the town of Washington, IL and showing artistic inclinations throughout childhood, Christina Tapp studied Graphic Design and Photography at Illinois State University, graduating with a dual bachelor degrees in the Fall of 2007. She spent her final semester in the heart of Tuscany, Florence, Italy and crisscrossing Europe, which isn’t too shabby of a way to wrap up college. In February 2008, following graudation, Surface 51—a design firm here in Champaign—offered her a position and an offer she couldn’t refuse. Besides her passion for graphic design and an impassioned love for typography, she is an avid collector of paper ephemera, vintage scarf, old cameras and pretty much anything that catches her eye—after all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Christina loves the process of designing and equally enjoys finding examples of great design in our environment. Among noted designers, Tibor Kalman is particularly inspirational for her. She enjoys dogs licking her face, long walks on the beach and—oh yes, she just finished knitting her very first scarf!

Welcome to the CUDO fam Christina!

Maya: I recently moved to Champaign from Chicago and was hoping to get involved in the local design org so I could meet new people, get inspired, and be a part of the CU designer community. When I got here and realized such a thing didn’t really exist (or at least hadn’t been active, up-and-running for a very long time), I decided to start something. In Chicago I worked for a wonderful little firm and was active in the local AIGA chapter, and really appreciated the inspiration and opportunities that came from being around other designers. I know there’s a lot of talent in this area and if you share any of the excitement that I have about design, I’d very much like to meet you! I’m really looking forward to seeing how this organization will unfold.

Madelin: I’m a student at the University of Illinois, at Urbana-Champaign studying Advertising and Spanish. I’ve lived in Champaign my whole life, and am a self-taught designer. Luckily I have been able to take a few design courses during my time at UIUC, and have loved every second of it. Although, I noticed that there isn’t much being offered for students to practice their skills and network within a community of designers outside of a classroom setting. With help and inspiration from Maya, I’ve come to realize how important this type of interaction is. I’m really hoping to be able to open up this kind of opportunity out there for other students (and community members) like me who are eager for knowledge.

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We’re both very new to the whole ‘starting up an organization’ thing, from putting together a board to applying for our 501(c)(3) nonprofit status. So we’re gonna blog about what we learn as we go along, and update you on how CUDO is progressing. If you’d like to be involved, now’s the time! It’s your opportunity to be in on the start of something potentially wonderful, and have a say in the mission/goals/vision of our fledgling organization.

For more information or to become involved, contact Maya or Madelin at info@thecudo.org.