I have a habit of noticing what matters. I've learned to trust my instincts. Sometimes I know something is right or that something is off, long before I can explain why. I also try to get outside of myself and think about the person on the other end. How will they see it? How will it make them feel? I like things that are beautiful, but I need there to be a reason behind the beauty. The idea and the way it looks should belong together. I think I'm always looking for the human part of things. I try to clear away what's getting in the way and leave something that feels simple, meaningful, and worth noticing.
I've been creative director at Grant Design Collaborative since 2000, which is a long time to spend thinking about why some things just feel right and others don't. My work has appeared in AIGA 365, Communication Arts, STEP, Contract Magazine, Graphic Design USA, HOW, Interior Design, Metropolis, and Print. I've picked up two IIDA Creative Excellence Awards, two GlobalShop Best of Show awards for exhibit design, and Best of Show in AIGA Atlanta's SEED Awards. I was also part of the work that earned Grant a 2023 GOOD DESIGN Award from the Chicago Athenaeum Museum, and an exhibition I designed for MUZAK was featured in The New Trade Show Design. Before Grant, I served on the AIGA Miami Board of Directors from 1997 to 2000.
Things started a little less conventionally. Not long after high school, my renegade graffiti caught the attention of the Downtown Development Authority in my hometown of Flint, Michigan. Rather than getting me into trouble, though, it got me a job. The city hired me to spray-paint murals on its waterfront amphitheater. I eventually made things official and earned a Bachelor of Science in Graphic Design from Western Michigan University.
When I'm not designing, I'm usually making something or pushing to better my health. I CrossFit regularly, road bike in the foothills of the North Georgia mountains, and continue to make fine art, particularly assemblage work. My art has earned a Best of Show in Chattanooga, Tennessee, along with an Award of Excellence from the American Craft Council.