I'm from Alabama and I'm currently located in Atlanta, Georgia. I've lived in a number of places, big and small, including Minnesota and Ontario and I've gained new perspectives at each. Luckily, I'm able to work with people from around the world so I'm always meeting someone neat with a different viewpoint.
I've been designing professionally since 1999 but before that, it started as a hobby when I was a kid.
I received a BA in Communications from The University of Alabama. I'd been working in design before I started school so I had a strong understanding of it. By focusing on Communications, Marketing and Advertising, I was able to broaden my knowledge-base.
I can do a lot more than make cool looking stuff for my clients. I know how design works, why design works and how to make money with it for the people I work with.
I'm not interested in just making good looking design. I want to create things that work. I want people and projects to succeed.
Sometimes, design is thought of as art... it's all just nice looking pictures. Visually, graphic design can look great but not do its job. Art gets people to think. Graphic design gets people to act. Graphic design is more than art. It has a job to do.
It's all about communication. Graphic design isn't the message, it leads the viewer to and through the message.
"Design should never say, 'Look at me.' It should always say, 'Look at this.'" — David Craib
Flashy graphics have their place but that doesn't mean they are the better design solution. The same goes for minimal graphics. Latching to one type of style and running with it for every project will lead to failure. Each project has its own nuances and requires its own solution.
"Less is not necessarily more. Just enough is more." — Milton Glaser
The only way to know the best solution is through research and real-world knowledge. Making a good looking design is easy but creating successful graphic design is and will always be much more than creating nice looking pictures. I make the design work in every project I take on.