I’m an artist and a designer. I like to use the word artist because it really sets me apart in a time when creatives, who in the past breathed life into business, have become scared of the word art. That’s why they call themselves “Brand Consultants” or “Marketing Strategists,” because they want you to think they are just another class of business person.
I’m not just another business person. I know how to inspire people; how to make them feel something. This, you’ll find, actually improves the success of a project, since most of your audience has been numbed by the cold uniformity presented to them by the Visual Consultants.
These are a few things I’m good at:
HTML: I manually write all the markup for this website (along with all the other websites I’ve built).
CSS: I also manually write all the styles that make the elements on these web pages look the way they do.
Photoshop: Before there were CS’s, there were version numbers assigned to Photoshop, and I still remember the excitement I felt when you could group layers instead of just linking them. Photoshop is one of the main tools used in creating my digital art pieces, along with playing a big role in image editing, illustration for design, and website or interface skins.
InDesign: I learned PageMaker just when it was on the way out, and InDesign shortly after. I’ve used this in layouts for books, magazines and other multipage documents.
Illustrator: Someone needs to add multi-page to this and a few other formatting and text features, rename it, and get rid of Illustrator and InDesign. They just keep growing closer together, like the lovable jerk and the astute babe in the rom-com I never watched (why don’t they get a room already?).
Poster design: This is getting a bit specific for this list, but it’s always a big request. I design posters, along with admats, flyers and other delectable (and hopefully collectible) ephemera.
Ad design: Ads come in all shapes, sizes, types and categories. I make them all: Print, digital, banner, environmental, conceptual, intellectual(?).. running out of adjectives here but you get it.
Skilled:
SEO
Digital Ad Strategy
PHP Implementation
Javascript Implementation
Ad Copywriting
Logo Design
Average
Flash
Linux
Hobbyist
PHP (original coding)
Python (original coding)
Highlight Reel
Notable Clients (past and present): Wildblue, NRTC, Community Foundation of the Ozarks, Missouri Literary Festival, Springfield-Greene County Library System, Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr Pepper, Guaranty Bank, Oxford Healthcare, Cox HealthPlans,
Price Cutter Charity Championship, Twin Oaks Country Club and Missouri Humanities Council, Universal/Motown Records, Mercury Records, Ultra Records, Exensys, Cornerworld.com, Jimmy Osmond, McKesson Corporation.
Instructor (300 and 400 Level), Missouri State University: One of my favorite things about having practiced a skill for years is teaching others and watching them develop. I teach in the Graphic Design major at Missouri State: Typography and Web Design.
Shiny Toy Guns, We Are Pilots: Created artwork for album, tour and singles. The record reached #90 on the Billboard top 100 and #1 on Top Heatseakers. I also created artwork for the singles from the album, 3 of which charted in the top 30 on Billboard’s US Alternative chart.
Shiny Toy Guns, Season of Poison (2008): Created artwork for album, tour and singles. The record reached #47 on the Billboard top 100 and #13 on Billboard’s Top Rock chart.I also created artwork for the singles from the album, 2 of which charted in the top 30 on Billboard’s US Alternative chart.
Shiny Toy Guns/Lincoln Major Tom Promotion (2009): Created artwork for the Shiny Toy Guns’ single used on Lincoln’s 2010 Lincoln MKZ marketing campaign. This song reached #104 on Billboard’s US Top 200.
Robert F. Kennedy Award (1999): Earned for editorial piece Touching Base. I was the videographer.
20 Under 30. 417 Magazine, Springfield, MO: This regional magazine hosts a yearly awards program where 20 young people who are making strides both in business and public service are recognized.
Published Writer, Designobserver.com (2007): Wrote Searching for Stocky Photography, an article published on Michael Beirut & Jessica Helfland’s popular industry blog, designobserver.com.
Motorola RAZR 2 Commercial (2007): Designed a graphic used on the closeup of RAZR cellphone in the widely broadcast commercial.
