By Emery Curtis

Volleyball runs in the family for LGHS senior Grayson Ediger. Inspired by his aunt, who played Division 1 at Duke, Ediger picked up the sport and never looked back. Years later, volleyball has become an essential part of his life. In fact, one of Ediger’s all-time favorite memories is a one-handed block at his first club tournament that had his entire team storming the court. “That moment was unreal,” he recalled. “I’ll never forget the energy.” 

Ediger also runs a successful graphic design business and an Instagram account with over 15 thousand followers. What started as a side project of editing music videos quickly turned into a serious creative pursuit. “I wanted to learn a new software, so I picked up Photoshop,” he explained. Already familiar with After Effects, the transition came naturally, and soon enough, his skills took off. Now, his work is deeply inspired by archive fashion and experimental designers like Maison Margiela and Issey Miyake. He reasoned,“I love how they play with texture.” Minimalist legends like Dieter Rams, vintage technology ads, and even interior design shape Ediger’s design philosophy.

While many designers stick strictly to digital work, Ediger takes a hands-on approach, bringing his pieces to life in a tangible way. “I build most of my work in Photoshop, but I use Illustrator for anything vector-based,” he explained. Ediger does not just stop at creating on a screen: he adds his work to shirts and posters. He detailed, “I print my work, cut it up to create unique textures and compositions, and then scan it back in.”

The journey hasn’t always been easy, but Ediger credits his success to staying consistent. “Progress always starts slow, but consistency is everything,” he said. His dedication has led to dream collaborations with brands like Huni and Minted New York, and Ediger has future aspirations of working in high fashion alongside names like Rick Owens and Maison Margiela. His advice to anyone beginning in this field or interested in graphic design? “Just post everything. A lot of people hesitate because they don’t think their work is good enough, but you never know what’s going to blow up.”

Ediger is currently in Honors Graphic Design as well as some other challenging AP classes. He revealed that he can balance his heavy workload with these two passions because of how independent they are from each other: “I think the fact that they don’t overlap makes it easier.” He continued, “Each one gives me a mental break from the other, so I always have the energy to keep going.” Ediger is planning to study marketing, likely at University of British Columbia or Purdue, and while graphic design isn’t yet a full-time career path, he is open to where it takes him. “If I can figure out a way to scale it, it could become one.”