For me, design is something that has taken a long time to love, and is a love that grew little by little, slowly. I was never sure how committed I was to it for the first 10 years of of my career, back then I was sure the punk band I was playing guitar in was going to pay my bills - eventually somehow. I didn't keep up with my training, I didn't pay attention to what my peers were doing, and I looked at other industries for opportunities all the time.

I did however, slowly get better at it as well.

Somehow, I always had a job doing design - they didn't always pay great, but I was one of the only people I knew who actually had a job doing what they went to school for, and that gave me a sense of pride in what I was doing. One day I finished a piece for a new freelance client of mine who was paying me a nice little chunk of change to do it, and thought smugly to myself that it was good. Really good, (more smugness), like the kind of stuff you see the big dogs do. Then my next thought - what are the big dogs doing? I never follow them. I googled and realized I'd been ignoring design. I'd been designing the whole time, but ignoring the world around me. I realized I was more mediocre than I care to admit. Slowly I dug in more. I fixed my website and physical portfolio and got a real job. I joined the AIGA and started attending workshops and mingling. I got all the newest software and learned it in and out. I started growing my library of literature on design. Then... I had clients returning more often... they were referring me their friends.... I started getting a LOT of requests for estimates...I won awards. Design was winning my heart, and giving back to me for my efforts.

Currently I work full time as an in-house designer on a small team at Education Service Center, Region 20 in San Antonio, TX. Our purpose is to support the visual communication needs of our internal clients, who in turn are supporting the professional development needs of our educational community. I occasionally accept freelance projects in my spare time as well, primarily for the real estate industry, but to stay true to my roots I also help musicians when I can with their album art and concert posters.

I'd like to consider myself pretty approachable, so feel free to get in touch!