February 2016 – Art Director, designer and creative thinker

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.

“Do you remember that piece you worked on last year? It had a picture of a man or a woman on the cover, a headline and some different colors on it?” A question that I am asked almost every week by a client.

I work on an average of 400 to 500 print project per year and I have found that the most important aspect of my job or skill I can bring to the table is to be organized. Running an agency or an In House design team requires the ability to know what and where every piece of collateral and it’s native files are at. Being able to repurpose a flyer, brochure, trifold, etc…is a time saver at minimum but more importantly, a dollar saver. Being able to turn around a small project like those gives me the time to be creative on higher profile projects, mailers, web campaigns, etc…

My advice to any young designer is that creativity and artistic ability are a great skill but organization and a mind for business is what will give your career legs. Partnering with and working with folks in sales and leadership roles has shown me that no timeline is ever real and most of them consist of needing it yesterday. I wish I could tell you that I have ever been in a position to say “No” but it has never happened and probably never will. Being able to be organized and make a client feel as if you are accomplishing the impossible for them and give them the tools to sell their product or market their materials is what design is all about. Dollars, dollars, dollars is the name of the game.

A good naming structure has always been the key for me and placing that tag somewhere in the design footer to help me locate a native file has been a lifesaver. I have come to organizations that have no file database or name and it shocks me every time. Placing a file folder called “Sales Brochure 2016” is about as easy to remember and find as “Flyer”.

As I reach my 20th year in this industry I reflect back on lessons learned and experiences and I have come to realize that the business of design is more about business than design and that a common sense approach is what has gotten me this far.