About Me
Background and experience
I'm a creative, articulate innovator with a passion for the visual arts, specializing in graphic design and web development. Through a combination of corporate experience, freelancing ventures, and education I have developed a mastery over composition, typography, usability, and standards—which I can channel to create multimedia that is effective and compelling.
I'm a graduate of George Mason University's College of Visual and Performing Arts. I majored in Art and Visual Technology, with a concentration in Graphic Information Design; I minored in multimedia.
I live in Alexandria, Virginia, just outside of Washington DC. When I'm not designing things, I'm drawing, playing guitar in my band, or snowboarding. Contact me sometime.
Resume
Summary of Qualifications
(Download .pdf version here)
Skills
I am proficient using Macromedia Studio (Dreamweaver, Flash, Fireworks, Freehand), Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Acrobat), QuarkXPress, XHTML, XML, CSS, JavaScript, ActionScript, and AJAX. I am also familiar with PHP, ASP, MySQL, ColdFusion, and other web languages.
Work Experience
Communications Design Specialist (June 2008 - Present)
Georgetown University—Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship, Washington DC
Duties: Website design and development, publication design, user interface design, coordinating print production, proofing, communications outreach, writing press releases, and event planning
Major Accomplishments:
Maintained CNDLS’ public Web site — cndls.georgetown.edu/
I maintained the content and design of this site, kept it up-to-date with news and information, and refreshed it with graphics and multimedia. I also built or maintained sites beneath the CNDLS umbrella, such as the Teaching, Learning, and Innovation Summer Institute website; Georgetown’s Assessment Portal; and the Digital Commons.
Designed the Digital Stories Web site — gdc.georgetown.edu/projects/digitalstories/
I lead the design and development of this site, which was built around professor Michael Coventry’s Digital Stories project. Along with a team of developers, I transferred Coventry’s scholarly findings and video clip library into a customized database application, and created templates to control the site’s layout and dynamic behavior.
Facilitated the CNDLS Liaison Program
With participation from CNDLS’ communication team, I initiated this program to reach out to all of the University’s academic departments. Each department was assigned to name a liaison through whom CNDLS could disseminate news and information across the campus. I maintained correspondence with these liaisons, designed a Web page of resources for them, and organized group lunch meetings to orient them with the program.
Communications Specialist (June 2006 - June 2008)
General Dynamics IT— Arlington, VA
Clients: Department of Defense Business Transformation Agency (BTA), Task Force to Improve Business and Stability Operations—Iraq (TFBSO), Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Business Transformation
Duties: Brand and identity design, publications design, coordinating print production, proofing, quality control and assurance, exhibit design, stakeholder outreach, tradeshow and conference planning, proposal writing, budget analysis and tracking, and program management
Major Accomplishments:
Created the BTA’s public website—www.defenselink.mil/bta
I built this site, which was a total redesign of a former layout, from the ground-up in XHTML, CSS, and JavaScript. The goal was to
create an easy-to-maintain site which was attractive and modern, but also adhered to web standards, preserved usability, and
looked appropriately conservative for a government agency.
Created and maintained the TFBSO’s public
website—www.defenselink.mil/tfbso
My client for this project, the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Business
Transformation, needed a website primarily for reporters and journalists who
wanted information on his Task Force’s efforts in Iraq. I built the pages
with XHTML, CSS, AJAX, and Flash for video streaming.
Redesigned the BTA’s tradeshow exhibit
I created a fresh look for the Agency’s four-panel pop-up display, which
is used at high-profile industry events to reach external stakeholders. In
addition to taking the photographs and designing the layout, I also prepared
the panels for printing and oversaw their production.
Strategic Communications Specialist (July 2005 - June 2006)
Anteon—Arlington, VA
Clients:Department of Defense Business Transformation Agency, Business Management Modernization Program (BMMP)
Duties: Writing and editing, brand and identity design, publications design, coordinating print production, proofing, quality control and assurance, management of photo libraries, tradeshow and conference planning, information graphics design, e-Newsletter management, document formatting, and presentation design
Major Accomplishments:
Created and deployed the BTA’s visual
identity with the BTA Guide to Branding and Styles
Creating the BTA brand involved designing several visual elements—the
logo signature, the tagline graphic, document templates, etc.—and
defining rules and guidelines for their use. The guide also included
the BTA’s writing standards, document formatting procedures,
and typographic standards.
Managed the layout of the Enterprise Transition
Plan, the BMMP’s
annual report to Congress
To successfully deliver this 200-page publication, I created page
layouts, designed information graphics, and applied formatting
to the contributions of dozens of writers. I also prepared the
files for printing and oversaw the production of the final bound
book, which was delivered to Congress and distributed throughout
the Defense Department.
Won Anteon’s Team Achievement Award for outstanding contribution in 2005
I was recognized by company and client-side leadership for being “instrumental
in raising the visibility of the DoD’s unprecedented effort to transform business operations.”
Graphic Artist (July 2003 - March 2005)
BLT Shirt Printers—Alexandria, VA
Duties: Graphic design for printed t-shirts and sportswear, logo design, account management, web development, advanced color separation, pre-press setup, mixing spot colors, computer and technical maintenance, business development
Freelance Designer
(Ongoing)
Clients: Dutko Worldwide, Sytech Corporation, George Mason University, Oxford Communications, Blue and Gray Title, Law Firm of Holly H. Hazard, Ebenezer United Methodist Church, Mind's Eye Music Studios, Joshua Miller (author), East on Orange (musicians)
Services: I have designed brand identities, logos, book covers, websites, multimedia presentations, postcards, business cards, posters, promotional materials, newsletters, and illustrations. Other services provided: photography, software tutorials, photo manipulation, and writing/editing.
Education
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA—Graduated May 20, 2005
Degree: Bachelor of Arts—Major in Art and Visual Technology / Minor in Multimedia
Honors:Dean's List every semester, graduated Magna Cum Laude
