Career Summary
I consider myself lucky in the fact that I never really had to figure out what I wanted to do for a living. Since I was a child, art and creativity has always played a large role in my life. Attending art camps and packing as many art classes into my public education as I could lead to Syracuse University. It was here where I earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a major in Illustration. It was also here where I first began working on Macs and learning some basics of computer graphics and graphic design. Back when there were no digital cameras (35mm slides were the order of business) and one color copy cost a whopping $5.
The year following graduation, I took a few temporary graphic design jobs as I gradually worked my way down the east coast. Finally settling in Orlando, I began work at my first "real" full time job at a print shop. This proved a most educational experience, learning all the ins-and-outs of the print industry in real time. Quark, Photoshop and Illustrator were the main players in a time when you still had to troubleshoot your Mac OS, Jazz and Syquest drives allowed you to store huge 20 MB files and print drivers were a pain. Being the only graphics guy for every job that flowed through the shop, I quickly learned many lessons. Most importantly, multi-tasking, organization, attention to detail, thorough pre-press knowledge, a large amount of IT troubleshooting and copywriting. Valuable lessons for sure.
After two years at the shop, I needed to expand my horizons and took a job as a graphic designer at a travel agency. This was fun but short lived as the tragic events of 9/11 quickly ended this opportunity. Although brief (just under two years), my continuing education was helped along greatly by the Senior Graphic Designer there.
Shortly after the 9/11 break, I took a "filler" job at the Central Florida Blood Bank "until I found somewhere I really wanted to work." Well, ten years later, I still remain entrenched in the constant battle to keep blood available for those who need it. A good cause no doubt, and one that can't be ignored.
So during those 10 years what have I done? Well, I've gone from a one man graphic design band on a rickety old PC to creative director of a team of five players and a contracted third party vendor, producing a large volume of work across multiple media. I've been able to successfully and cost effectively produce positive results despite unusually high executive turnover and a corporate merger which doubled the organizations footprint. Today, our team produces two million printed pieces per year, maintains a multi-media website that sees nearly half a million visitors per year and established the most "liked" blood bank Facebook page in the country.
It's been quite the ride and I'm looking forward to what is yet to come.
