Well—how did I get here? Meet Monica D’Angelantonio – The Martin Group
It’s time for another installment of our new regular blog feature, “Well—how did I get here?” featuring first-person stories of our team members and their interesting journeys to The Martin Group. Next up: Senior Production Designer Monica D’Angelantonio. Take it away, Monica.
If you had asked me in elementary school where I’d end up, working as a senior production designer would not have been on my bingo card.
School was hard for me. While other kids seemed to be able to cram the night before a test or throw together a presentation at the last minute, I could not. I was the kid anxiously reading ahead because I knew I’d have to read out loud next. I was also the one whose report cards regularly said, “Talks too much.” (Some things never change.)
English and social studies just weren’t my thing. But as soon as electives became available in high school, everything changed. I signed up for every art class I could fit into my schedule, whether drawing, painting, illustration, advertising, 3D design—you name it. Fairport had an incredible art program, and those classes gave me confidence in a way traditional academics never did. My parents still have still-life drawings I sketched in ninth grade hanging on the walls at home.
Today, I know my brain just works differently. Back then, that wasn’t as widely understood. I was diagnosed with ADD at a time when it wasn’t common, and my mom fought hard to get me a 504 Plan so I could have the extra time and support I needed. She advocated for me when I couldn’t advocate for myself. I was prescribed Ritalin, but it didn’t work for me. It turned me into a zombie and stripped away the bubbly, chatty personality that makes me who I am. I needed to find another way to enable me forward.
Around that same time, I became convinced I was destined to be a fashion designer after watching Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead approximately a hundred times. Christina Applegate made it look so glamorous. I even attended a summer program at Pratt Institute between my junior and senior year of high school. It was one of the best experiences of my life, and I’m so grateful my mom encouraged me to go. It also taught me one very important lesson: I was absolutely not meant to be a fashion designer. To this day, I have almost zero fashion sense.
By senior year, I had a full portfolio and résumé but still had no idea what career I wanted. Being an artist or photographer felt unrealistic, and like many parents, my mom wasn’t exactly thrilled with the idea of me becoming a starving artist. Then she stumbled across something called graphic design.
Her explanation was simple: You get to make art—on a computer.
Sounded good enough to me.
I attended Philadelphia University (now Thomas Jefferson University), where I earned my Bachelor of Science in Mass Communications and found the career I didn’t even know I was looking for.
Over the past 21 years, I’ve worn a lot of hats. I started in magazine design during the transition from QuarkXPress to the brand-new Adobe InDesign. After moving back to Rochester, I designed the front sections of phone books—a job that definitely dates me.
Like many designers, I assumed the ultimate goal was becoming an art director. So I kept chasing what I thought the next step should be. That journey led me into trade show design, where I prepared other designers’ artwork for large-format production, working closely with massive printers and vinyl graphics.
And that’s where everything clicked.
I realized I actually loved the technical side of design. I enjoyed cleaning up files, solving production problems, and making sure everything worked exactly as it should. It turns out not every graphic designer dreams of being the creative visionary—and that’s okay. I found my niche in production and mechanical design, and I genuinely loved it.
Eventually, that path led me to The Martin Group, where Wegmans became my primary client. Talk about a dream job.
I’ve now been with the agency for more than 10 years, and the opportunities have continually evolved. I started as a production designer, grew into studio supervisor as our team expanded, and spent years training new designers. When that role dissolved during COVID, I stepped into project management, only to realize something important: my heart was always in production design. Returning to what I do best ultimately led me to my current role as senior production designer.
Along the way, I’ve worn plenty of unofficial titles, too—office operations, IT support for our Rochester office, DEI committee member, Fun Committee organizer, purchaser, landlord liaison, and probably a few others I’ve forgotten.
That’s one of the things I love most about The Martin Group. I’ve always had the flexibility to grow, try new things, and contribute beyond my job description.
Looking back, I realize my career wasn’t a straight line—and honestly, I’m grateful for that. Every detour helped me better understand who I am and what I’m good at. The student who struggled in traditional classrooms found a career built on creativity, organization, problem-solving, and attention to detail.
Today, I’m proud of how far I’ve come. Maybe one day, I’ll supervise a production studio again. But right now, I’m exactly where I want to be: doing work I genuinely enjoy while having the work-life balance that lets me be present for my biggest and best role of being a mom.
So how did I get here? By embracing the fact that I was never meant to fit inside someone else’s box.
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