BUTTE -- Kyle Torgerson has always been a jack of all trades on the football field. Offense, defense, special teams -- he’ll do whatever he can to help his team.
And when he arrived at Montana Tech, the freshman wide receiver found another way to help the Orediggers: serving as the team graphic designer.
Torgerson has been dabbling in design since high school, and when he committed to Montana Tech, coaches took note of the custom graphic he made for his announcement.
“They wanted me to help them out with some things, helping them make brochures and stuff,” Torgerson said. “And now it's kind of gotten to the point where I'm kind of the one that makes all the graphics for Tech and the football program. So all the committed graphics you see, that's the stuff that I make.”
His interest in design developed in high school when he entered a T-shirt designing contest at Great Falls High.
“I drew my first logo and I made it to top four and I noticed that the top three ones had all been done on the computer,” Torgerson said. “So then I started asking my teachers, like (yearbook coordinator) Susan Amo, how can I do this? So she helped me out with that a lot.”
It started as a hobby but has since grown to a passion and a freelance business. These days Torgerson’s design and production skills can be seen all around central Montana. He’s created posters and programs for several high school sports teams at Great Falls High, Shelby and beyond.
“After I graduated, I got in contact with coach (Mark) Samson at Great Falls High, and so I started making their posters,” Torgerson said. “And then my relatives up in Shelby found out, so I started making theirs and then it's just kind of been an open door from that.”
He also designed the logo for the newly opened Longfellow Elementary in Great Falls.
“I was asked to help out with designing the logo. And they had a handful of graphic designers put in and make logos for that,” Torgerson said. “And the logo I made was actually chosen to be the school logo, so probably one of the coolest things that I've done so far.”
In the past few years, he’s added video production to his repertoire. He’s purchased a drone and has made promotional videos and commercials for Montana Tech, Jefferson County and Montana City School.
Torgerson is studying Interdisciplinary Arts and Science at Montana Tech and had never considered graphic design as a career. But with more and more people taking notice of his work, he’s happy to see where it takes him.
As a busy student-athlete, finding time to work on projects was difficult, so Torgerson made the time.
“I've kind of got away from the things I used to do, like playing video games and stuff,” Torgerson said. “So I don't do that as much anymore. My life is pretty much just school, football, spending time with my brothers and then also making these graphics and making these videos for people, which I enjoy a lot.”
With NAIA football on hold until 2021, Torgerson has had some extra time on his hands. He’s looking to expand his portfolio by working with schools and sports teams on their design needs.
“Basketball programs, football programs, pretty much anything that has to do with making logos, graphics is something that I love to do,” Torgerson said. “And I love to help people out, love to help teams and love to see the kids when they see the posters.”
If interested in having Torgerson design your next program, poster or logo, contact him through his social media accounts or via phone at (406) 564-0513.
