I have worked in the graphic design field for over two decades, starting with a BFA from The Cooper Union School of Art in New York in 1986. My first job out of the gate in NYC was at The Pushpin Group. After a stint at an agency in Bern, Switzerland, I spent a year as Art Director at the nascent cultural intelligence agency that would become Sputnik Inc.
Migrating West in 1989, I landed extended gigs as Design Director at frog design, where I helped integrate brand identity and graphic design into the company’s expanding client services strategy, followed by Astro, where I served as Creative Director for all graphic design-related projects.
In 1998 I set out on my own as a consultant, to broaden my experience with different modes of creative expression and storytelling. In the past nine years I have worked in diverse capacities as a creative director, art director (both in-house and client-side), client liaison, designer, production artist, copywriter, copy editor, fiction writer, illustrator, filmmaker, video editor, production designer, and producer.
I’ve designed for a broad range of clients over the years either directly or through studios and agencies, including: Apple, Airwalk, Ask Dr. Weil, Associated Press, Autodesk, Burlington Denim, Capezio, Creative Labs, Dell, Electronic Arts, eSignal, Gap Inc., HP, IBM, IDEO, Nike, Logitech, Lunar Design, Sputnik Inc. (MindTrends), Suchard Tobler, Sun Microsystems, Stone & Youngberg, Stones Throw Records, Swatch, UCSF, Waters Winery, and Wildwell Films.
Extensive experience in the brand space has given me a solid understanding of current markets and trends, as well as the different visual languages and methods that give a meme or a story its sticky goodness.
These days I’m interested in the possibilities of social networking and open-source evolution. I’m encouraged by emergent business models like Magnatune as well as the potential for design and creative expression in the systems evolving from the mavericks at Pandora, Creative Commons, Wikipedia and, god help me, YouTube, among others. I believe the merging of creativity and commerce in our globally interconnected society is where design and communication is going; this is the pool I want to splash around in.
On a personal note (and one that dovetails with the professional) I am currently training in the language of Nonviolent Communication (NVC), or as I like to call it, “How To Hack Your Brain in Eight Minutes or Less.” I believe this simple practice has tangible parallels in visual communications, marketing, and, oh yeah… world peace. In addition I practice Bhakti Yoga, Zen Mediation and Kyudo, a form of Japanese archery. My wordy interests range from Joseph Campbell to Dr. Seuss, BoingBoing to This American Life.