Defining two decades of designing.
I'm not the new kid on the block.
When the going gets tough, get creative.
Hustler.
How to catch the creative rainbow.
Dreaming of doing what I was meant to do meant going for it. After a three year stint out of college at a printing company, I ventured out on my own as a freelance designer. Back in 1996, advertising agencies in my area felt the hit of the ever-changing market and hustling was an understatement. I needed to work, and not for free. So, I giggle at the title "freelancer" and hope my constituents agree that being the principle of my own company is better suited. Moreover, I hustled, created my first company Creative Edge Design Studio, and became the local go-to creative source for marketing firms, advertising agencies, and print houses.
Creative.
Always knew my world would encompass art.
I was able to pursue my passion after switching my major from Fine Arts to Graphic Design so that my aspirations to paint or illustrate would still apply. Who knew at the beginning of the digital art age that my learning mechanical paste-up for print production would be my pinnacle asset in my future career as a print designer? Lo and behold I took quickly to the “right click” expand/delete/contract and hustled to learn everything digital print design had to offer, including attending several Adobe conferences annually.
Designer.
I graduated with Art Department Honors and a degree in Graphic Design.
I interned at an Art Museum that hired me part-time, giving me my first taste at print design work. I worked for a printing company and received my first published design in ArtWear 1998, then moved on to advertising and member in the New York Graphic Artist Guild Directory of Illustration during my first year in business, and had a featured article for my self-promotion: “Great Use of One Color Design” in Dynamic Graphics Periodical. I landed my first illustration job with Dynamic Graphics shortly after. I learned it took time to build a portfolio and was honored to receive Best of Show for the Addy’s (American Advertising Federation of Kansas City) and awarded at the regional level for first place in signage design. I've since worked on multiple projects with a vast array of clients. I’ve learned along with being creative meant also being resourceful.
Resourceful.
I've paid my dues.
Yes, I paid for many, many workshops, conferences, with leading designers in Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. And yes, FreeHand and Quark for those who missed the blip of their existence. I found being resourceful cost money to become more resourceful for my Clients. I’ve officially created a library of periodicals that chronologically depicts the fast pace that technology and design has traveled. I’ve devoted 22+ years to being a paid graphic designer that not only is a print designer but is keeping pace with the digital highway.
Devoted.
I am in it to win it.
I don’t take on a project without fully disclosing my devotion to get the job done right, promptly and keeping with the vision. I seek out Clients that understand the design process, as unfamiliar as it can sometimes be. Communicating the idea is the end product, the goal– not just a pretty typeface or trending color combinations.
Visionary.
Whether I am designing to build a brand identity, brochure, signage or digital assets I always want to exceed. The vision I have for my Clients is also to exceed. It all goes back to hustling.
Count me in.
Interested in a proposal for a project?
Want to hear more about me? Contact me, and count me in.