This whole design thing started while trying to get my paintings online.
That was it. It was never supposed to be a career. It was the mid-nineties and I was about to graduate from Florida State University with a B.F.A. in studio art. Painting was my focus and continued to be so for many years. Yes, the Internet was antiquated compared to what it is now but it still was a revolution. It is great to be part of a revolution.
I moved to New York the day of my graduation (my diploma was mailed to me instead) and quickly realized that I needed a skill set to stay alive. It seemed building web sites was a good skill compared to painting, even in New York. It was 1997 so I was able to get involved with the dot com boom. I found myself quickly working for some of the largest advertising agencies on the planet. Digitas and Euro RSCG to name a couple. Those were good times for digital artists and developers. We all did really well and then it ended as quickly as it began. If anything, I can say we all learned through the dot com boom how to live without. It was fun while it lasted. That recession was hard too. I think a lot of folks have already forgotten how hard the recession after the dot com bust was to folks in the industry. Jobs were hard to find for years.
This is the part when my life really began. I moved from Brooklyn, New York back to Jacksonville, Florida the day before 9-11. It was a strange time in American history and for the entire world. I actually had a feeling something was going to happen two weeks before 9-11. I told all my friends to leave the city. I recently found a few of my friends had similar reactions and were doing the same thing. Luckily I got out before that day as I often took the train right under the World Trade Center each morning on the way to work.
I drove through the night and awoke in Jacksonville the morning of 9-11. I was amazed as it unfolded on the television. I could not believe the twin towers were gone. I could view them from my apartment in Brooklyn. So what did I do? Well, I joined the U.S. Army of course. To do my patriotic duty and I did. I worked on some of the most complicated communications equipment on earth and did graphic design for my Battalion in sunny central California. I cleaned some toilets as well. Lots of them actually. I was never stationed overseas. I never went to Iraq or Afghanistan. In retrospect, that was a good thing because soon after my honorable discharge from the Army I met my wife. We have never really left each other’s side since. We have two girls, ages two and five. I would not have met my wife if I didn’t go into the Army. A civilian contractor I worked with set us up. We both find it hard to believe it was a coincidence.
I continued working in the digital media & interactive world as soon as I re-entered the civilian workforce. I began working for St. John and Partners as their Interactive Producer and well … the rest is history and on my Resume. I write poetry about every other day. I make music using GarageBand just as often. I am also the founder of a continually growing collaborative digital art project called Globatron.
As far as job titles go, I have been a web production artist, web technologist, webmaster, interactive producer, interactive designer and art director. Currently, I am a E-Media/Philanthropy Specialist for
The Florida Institute of Technology.
Some of the clients I have worked with are Ford, Universal Studios, American Express, GMC, Volvo, NBA, Clearwire, the U.S. Army and Navy. I have a holistic approach to design. I believe that design is just decoration if it is not well thought out and does not serve a conceptual purpose. I believe in making the user experience unique and offering users a reason to return. Lord knows I want to return. Don’t you?
Thank you for the read. Please feel free to drop me a line.
Sincerely,
