A few years back, I had the chance to work with Silver Buffalo in New York City, a leading licensed product design company and home décor. Silver Buffalo is known for creating officially licensed products for the world’s biggest brands Disney, Marvel, DC Comics, WWE, Paramount, Star Wars, Hasbro, Pokémon, and more, sold nationwide in major retailers like Target, Walmart, and Amazon. My role included creating original digital illustrations and graphic designs in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, while also collaborating with licensors to review style guides, explore brand character trends, and ensure designs met licensing approval requirements. This process taught me how to design within strict brand standards while still delivering creative, marketable products. Many of my approved designs made it onto mugs, water bottles, posters, towels, and other licensed merchandise found on store shelves. Walking into Target or Walmart and seeing my work in real life was a surreal moment that gave me hands-on experience with the licensing and retail design industry, sharpening my skills in licensed product graphics, consumer product design, and brand storytelling through merchandise.