Day after day, week after week and year after year I have always tried to keep a very diverse group of clients. Even with the most interesting client you can start to fall into a pattern of similar design and stagnant looks. I have had the opportunity to work in medical, sports, tool and die, etc… and each of the them I have been able to work on brand design, marketing, social, web, etc… I believe that each client and subject has helped me be a better designer for the client that someone might not find as “sexy” and be more focused on the clients that give me complete creative freedom.

Every designer thinks they are going to graduate from art school and jump into the most creative environment imaginable. My first job was illustrating mechanical fasteners in Adobe Illustrator and laying out manuals in Quark…not the glitz and glamour that you imagine as you have no restrictions in art school. Truth be told, I wouldn’t change a thing about it. I believe every designer should pay his/her dues and I believe that includes spending time mocking up story boards with spray mount, marker rendering your ideas, and sketching out your logo ideas. Design, Design, Design is my focus and staying diverse is my goal. I heard a quote one time – “Dreams without goals are just dreams.”

My advice to any designer is to keep practicing and keep putting yourself in uncomfortable situations. Push yourself to be creative in the most mundane projects and you will be a more well rounded designer.

From my mind to the napkin to the computer to the web or printer.

After nearly 20 years of being a constantly working designer, most recently in the very turbulent health care industry I find myself excited by a fresh start. Where does the next phase of my career take me, what opportunities will I find around the corner, which skill will I get to dust off and use again. These are the things that immediately pop into my head when I open my computer and see what my email inbox has to offer.

I remember the early days in college and the feeling I got as I learned Photoshop and Quark Xpress for the first time (who remembers Quark?) and that rush as my creative brain soaked it all in. I still think about my first interview, showing my portfolio for the first time and the massive headache I got when I started at a web company for the first time (never mind that I had ZERO web experience).

Over my career I have had to roll with the punches, respond to the ups and downs of the economy, evolve as the computer has taken over an artistic driven business and the software that has changed year after year. Now I think back and look at all I have accomplished and realize I am still very young and there is so much more I can do. My portfolio grows every day and it includes material that some might find simple or uncreative but I have learned that even the most simple or uncreative pieces offer complex issues or creative thinking to bring it together.

From time to time I am asked if I would like to take a role or position that wouldn’t include design or would be less hands on. Every time I am asked I know in my head and my heart that it’s never a reality. I love what I do and I love the process of creating something from a blank piece of paper…even if it is a digital piece of paper. My daughter came to work with me just a couple of months ago and got to see me design a brochure from scratch. She asked questions, watched as I set copy and wondered how I took the idea from my head to the computer. She was really impressed/inspired and I found myself thinking about what it is that I do and what I create. Without sounding arrogant, I impressed myself and I am excited by the unknown.

So…I look forward to an unknown future and embrace the creative possibilities that come with every opening of the good old laptop.

Over my nearly 20 years as a designer I have had the opportunity to work in a variety of environments and fields. I have worked in agencies, corporate, health care, eLearning, and have worked the B2B and B2C market. Do I have a preference or see a difference…NO.

No matter the field, no matter the environment I have always brought an “agency” approach to each and have thought no matter the project and no matter the goal my job as a designer, art director or freelance consultant is to provide a cost effective and creative approach to get the most out of my part of the project. I bring that “agency” approach as a way to organize my creative thoughts (which can get hectic and may need fine tuning) and most importantly hold other members of the team (Sales, Underwriting, Subject Matter Experts, Project Managers, etc…) responsible for their roles and budgets.

In the corporate/In-House world it is hard to get a Sales department to think in terms of my hourly cost and how the edits and revisions caused by their content errors, delays, etc…add up. When I work with a well-organized project manger we emphasize the importance of accurate content up front and use that to brainstorm the best ways to deliver a piece of collateral, product package, website, etc…that is going to deliver the “agency” feel from an In-House designer and deliver more customers, more members or most importantly, more revenue.

My skills and my role are just as important as any in the group, organization or agency. The best companies in the world have the best marketing and branding (i.e. Apple, Starbucks, Target). These companies have embraced the need and ability for smart, creative, organized designers with an understanding of business.

When you add up all of the roles, skills, and responsibilities of a designer or Art Director a good one can get an agency deliver a cost effective campaign that an In-House agency can run with or an In-House designer can deliver a creative brochure that would make an agency sit back and take notice.

I think I have shown that in my career and look forward showing any potential client, potential agency that would hire me or company looking to get the deal of the century by bringing me and my “agency” approach in the fold.