From a design skill set I consider myself to be a generalist. My background starts in visual design, then grew mostly into UX/UI work, to people leadership, back into individual contributor, with elements of research, and strategy along the way. I consider myself to be someone that is always learning, and interested in working with new things (or at least new to me things). I honestly don’t see that part of my work style stopping. I am hoping in betting on in a few years the way I approach writing something like this will tell a completely different story, and you might actually help me do that.

GETTING STARTED

My first really immersed gig with design started with a sign shop (as weird that may sound – or not). This is a place where I got to use the fundamentals of design training that I learned in school and throughout life to actual work. I got to learn about managing client relationships, hitting deadlines, working with in project budgets, and staffing constraints. As well as learning some really cool handy skills that I use in DIY woodworking hobbies that I spend some of my free time doing today.

FREELANCING

Knowing that I was working in a field that was not necessarily a digitally related field where I was started to be drawn career-wise for my design skills. I started picking up some freelancing gigs that had me spending some energy on how to figure out how to design websites, and interactive instructional walk throughs. Remember Flash? That was fun. I learned a lot here about what it could look like to manage your own business in this universe, figuring out how to price things, working with other designers, and the fundamentals about what it takes to create digital work that meets and/or exceeds expectations.

GOING LEGIT

I landed a real gig with a small design consultancy in town that focused on healthcare. I got to be a part of a real design group that was going to pay me on a steady basis, which was pretty cool. I helped to grow how this business approached digital projects from everything must be done by someone else? to how might we be able to do this project completely in house?

Here I learned a lot about what it is like to grow a new line of business inside of a business. As well as what does it mean to gain that type of trust from business partners and clients to take on work like this and deliver in a successful way. But, not only just doing it once – but several times for some years to come and to actually start to grow what that brings to a company.

GOING CORPORATE

My next step was a mix of looking for the next challenge, but also being pushed to think about my career differently because of a new addition to my family. I was in a fortunate position to make the leap to a corporate gig. Here I have learned soooooooooooooo much, and am continuing to every day. Some of the highlights have been about what it looks like to be a contractor that becomes an associate, to work in a completely new area of the business for a design group with internal associates, and have that team grow from three to forty in just a few years.

Here is my resumé if you want a fancy formal takeaway.

Did you like what you saw? Do you have something cool and interesting in mind for how we might team up to make something awesome? That sounds amazing, feel free to reach out to me and say what’s up then.