About

Timeline

2005 I enrolled in my first graphic design class, offered by my high school. I would go on to enroll in levels 1-4, pursuing the subject all 4 years.

2009 I began attending Indiana University as a fine arts major in graphic design. I was accepted into the BFA Design program by a panel of senior professors.

2012 I got a job at Angie’s List in Indianapolis, IN as a Graphic Design Intern in their marketing department. It was summer and I was still living in my college town. One-hour commute there. One-hour commute home. I didn’t care. It was a real job at a real company in an actual marketing department. I would’ve drove 2 hours to get there.

2014 I graduated with a BFA in Graphic Design from IU and landed my first job with my shiny new degree… as a fork lift operator at a home improvement store in that same college town. Because design is hard and I still had a lot to learn.

2014 After the forklift gig, I landed an actual design job. Temporary Creative Services Graphic Designer for the Canadian Yellow Pages. 3 month project. Indianapolis, Indiana. So I packed up and moved to Indy, excited that I just bought myself 3 months to figure out my next move.

2014 Yellow Pages hired me in a full-time capacity after a few months and promoted me from designing phone book ads to designing phone book covers.

2015 I took a job at a much bigger company as an in-house Graphic Designer in the manufacturing and food service products industry. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Lotta tornadoes out there. Lotta earthquakes too. But I did get a taste for design projects with big budgets, more resources, and more creative autonomy.

2018 I packed up shop again and moved to Houston, Texas. Very hot in Houston. It’s a wet heat. Amazing people. Terrible drivers. I started working as an in-house Art Director for a different company, also in the food service products industry.

2019 I got promoted to Creative Director at the company in Houston. I got my first real experience with leading a team, mentoring, hiring, and coaching other creative professionals.

2021 Still at the same company, I got promoted again to the Director of Branding, Communications, and Digital Marketing. I was in charge of the entire creative marketing department and oversaw every piece of marketing collateral that went out the door. Websites. Email. Catalogs. Social Media. Data. Vendors. Trade shows. Product Launches.

2022 I quit. I quit hard. I quit with no other job lined up, a paper-thin book of freelance clients, and generally in a poor state of health. I was burnt out. Fried. Overweight. Overworked. Underdressed. I was working 10-16 hour days, and weekends. Staying up until 3 am at my computer. Letting my vacation days die on the vine. But, perhaps the most devastating part for me — I wasn’t proud of the work I was doing. So I gave myself a sabbatical. 

I took 4 months off to ride my bicycle, read books, make art, write, cook, explore. My fiancé and I moved back to Indianapolis. Back to the midwest. My homeland. I had fresh air in my lungs and grass under my feet. Reinvigorated. Centered. 

2022 I signed on with a Marketing Agency as their Art Director & Lead Designer. The company is phenomenal. We’re growing – fast. The creative work that we produce is exciting and big. It looks good. And it feels good.

Back in the day, I was just some punk kid designing posters in Photoshop and begging anyone who would listen for an opportunity to prove myself. Then I hit the corporate scene with a never-die-no-surrender attitude that landed me a lot of success and promotions. Now I’m doing fulfilling work that I’m proud of and working with a team that makes me feel like I’ve finally found my tribe. 

After all of the rejection, hard knocks, and repeatedly being a stranger in a new city… I gotta say, I’m very grateful that I’m not driving that forklift any more.