My Design Pedigree
I began studying design at a very early age. I had the privilege of growing up across the street from a portrait painter. When I was a child I could sit for hours and watch her paint. A great deal of what she painted was from photos and I was fascinated by the way she could transform blobs of color into recognizable reproductions of the photos she was working from.
I don’t remember any of the substance of our conversations, or even if there were any but I know that my time with her started me on the path to thinking creatively, seeing the world differently, and has resulted in me being the designer that I am today.
From an early age I was drawing fantastical worlds, maps, anything that allowed me to see the world represented visually in front of me. I didn’t care for words – I told stories with pictures. My love of language came much later and grew out of my visual story telling.
Eventually I started taking classes and in high school I focused on graphic design and commercial art. I attended the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and graduated with a degree in photography but I never stopped designing and drawing. These days I still do a lot of drawing but more and more of it is done inside a machine – either with Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop.
Graphic Design
I’ve design everything from logos and business cards to trade show displays. I have a passion for creating visually compelling graphics. My works has been used for bands and diverse entertainment groups like the belly-dance performers and teachers Sadiqa who’s logo I designed. I’ve also created graphics for industrial applications used around the globe like those used by Global Heat Transfer’s subsidiaries ASAP Radiator, (business card design), & IWR, (logo, letterhead, and business cards).
I’ve designed t-shirts that are worn by people all around the US.
Web Design
I’m a big believer in user focused design. Good web design should connects the user to information in a usable and painless manor. The user must be able to navigate successfully without frustration and when I design a page I insist on this first and foremost.
I’ve designed websites for a wide variety of groups from individuals and small businesses to mid-sized corporations. I’ve designed everything from e-commerce sites to basic information pages to sites that have a high level of interactivity and business usefulness.
