Like mother, like designer: RIT student inherits creative spark

Professor Lorrie Frear, left, taught both JamieLynn Gallgher '25, right, and JanMarie (Deni) Gallagher '93, center, at RIT. Earlier this semester, the trio got together on campus.

JamieLynn Gallagher ’25 (new media design) grew up surrounded by creativity.

She began using Adobe Illustrator in fourth grade as childhood friends and family were often on the receiving end of her custom-designed birthday cards. It was the byproduct of being the daughter of a creative — RIT alumna JanMarie (Deni) Gallagher ’93 (graphic design).

At RIT, JamieLynn went on to take classes with a pair of professors who also taught her mother: Eileen Bushnell (Intro to Printmaking) and Lorrie Frear (Calligraphy and Typography).

“I’m a direct duplicate of my mother,” said JamieLynn, from nearby Spencerport, N.Y. “She raised me to be crazy about kerning. I’m so grateful she is the person she is because I don't think I would be the designer I am if I didn’t have that background.”

With her mother’s ties to RIT, Gallagher was a frequent flier to campus before enrolling, including attending Imagine RIT: Creativity and Innovation Festival most years.

“I knew super early on. Every time I came to campus, I was like, ‘This is home to me,’” she said.

JamieLynn has long been a frequent flyer at Imagine RIT. Here, she attends the festival with her sister Lindsay, left, and father Robert, right.

Following graduation, Gallagher will transition to a full-time contract role as a brand/motion designer for CINSYR Creative Group. She previously freelanced and interned with the Syracuse, N.Y.-based agency.

“Having all the skills I picked up in the new media program and getting to CINSYR to apply all of it has been great,” Gallagher said. “I feel like I have a hand in the entire design process there.”

After all those years visiting Imagine RIT as a middle and high schooler, Gallagher was an exhibitor for the 2025 festival. She showcased a group capstone project with a team of 10 other new media designers and developers in the new media interactive development program. Together, they made “Path Pursuit,” a cooperative, playable interactive experience inspired by physical challenge game shows like Hole in the Wall and Wipeout.

Shannon Lesch '26

An Imagine RIT 2025 visitor with "Path Pursuit," an interactive playable Gallagher made with a team of designers and developers.

Their project was part of an ongoing research collaboration with the Strong National Museum of Play. All semester, students worked closely with The Strong’s executive team to research and develop working prototypes for a system that will help drive the creation of a planned game show-themed exhibit at the museum in the future.

“Path Pursuit” was also presented at the RIT School of Interactive Games and Media’s Experimental Development & Games Expo (EDGE), where it won the Best in Show and Crowd Favorite awards.

After several years of driving the Polisseni Center Zamboni for countless practices and other events, Gallagher was able to clean the ice during an RIT men's hockey game last season.

In any task Gallagher approached at RIT, she did so with confidence, even outside of design. With a mindset of “I can do that,” she became a printmaker who screenprinted her team’s shirts for Imagine RIT as well as a Zamboni driver for RIT’s ice arena, the Gene Polisseni Center.

It was a unique and thrilling experience — “It’s not like driving a car and it’s not like Mario Kart,” she said — that will always stand out.

“I love being able to say I did that,” Gallagher said. “Whenever I’m in need of a fun fact about myself, I’ve got it. I don’t ever need to worry about that.”

For the last two years, Gallagher served on the executive board of the New Media Club as its content creator. She made graphics for the club’s Instagram while making “unbreakable friendship bonds and incredible alumni connections” by being involved.

Gallagher considers the new media design program a “jack of all trades” major that allowed her to thrive and find her interest areas. She credits Associate Professor Hye-Jin Nae, in particular, for being a driving force in managing her design process and solidifying her visual design skills.

“She always pushed me,” Gallagher said. “Every class I took with her was the best experience ever. She made me a better designer in a way nobody else could have. She pushed me in a way that I could realize I was capable of making that progress myself. I would start to understand the principles and building blocks of what I can do later.”