A Little Bit About Me

I prefer everything I create to appear clean and simple. I’ve always liked the concept of beauty through form and function, as seen in the Bauhaus Movement. I strive to create an uncomplicated design, while still communicating a concise idea. While I prefer to keep everything neat and simplistic, I’m expanding my style to use more ragged lines and shapes, like Saul Bass. I also aspire to reach the level of attention to detail that is used at DKNG Studios.

Attention to detail and consistency are skills that I’ve been cultivating over the years. Everything from the consistency of line weight in an icon set, to the repetition of a shape in a branding project, is important. A few examples of detail importance seen in past projects include, the fish shapes on the Ohayo Bento food truck (specific types of fish used in sushi), and the iconic shapes of the Freedom Tower and Spanish Fort, which were carefully replicated for the Manhattan Olympics and St. Augustine logos.

My creative process begins with some light web based research. I like to get a feel for what has been done before by other artists, and learn from it. Sometimes I’ll find a particular visual style that excites me and try to incorporate it into my design. Once I have this basic vision of the direction that my project will be moving in, I start to sketch. I work out the illustrative components, type, and composition, to see what goes together and what does not. I continue working on paper until I find a design that I am happy with. Once there, I translate everything onto the computer, where I clean up the design and add color. I find that listening to music is a big help in the creative process, particularly something mindless with a driving beat.

The most noticeable jumps in my design skills include my work speed and experience using the pen and pathfinder tools in Adobe Illustrator. My mind processes design in terms of shape and with these tools I can quickly create the shapes I need. Over the past two years, I’ve begun memorizing hotkeys in Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop, speeding up my creative process dramatically. I have also better developed my dexterity with a Wacom pen tablet, which I’ve used for several of my illustrations where I just couldn’t get the right curve using a mouse.