I started my career working for a record label, gathered expertise at a nationwide printer, presented to clients at Connecticut's largest ad agency, and migrated to New York City and Jersey City to not only streamline the behind-the-scenes work for worldwide consumer and B-to-B companies, but became the grass-roots lead on introducing them to digital publishing... while simultaneously creating one of the most successful Meetup.com groups on Long Island.
One thing I've noticed after over 30 years of being a designer is:
It's not just the work. It's the people. And integrity means everything.
Below is an abbreviated overview of where I've spent some of my time in the last years, as well as a small spattering of the 135 apps, tools and software I've used in the past. What a ride! And I'm not finished.
Contact me for more information, or sign-in to see portfolio work.
Brand Experience:
Work Experience:
DOUGLAS ELLIMAN REAL ESTATE | MARKETING DEPARTMENT
2017 - present
Advertising, collateral, and social media designer and strategist for the Long Island regional corporate office and for demanding top-producing real estate professionals. #1 Requested designer in the Long Island marketing department.
BBDO NEW YORK
eg+ Worldwide
2004 - 2017
BBDO is a worldwide, award-winning advertising agency with clients like M&M’s, AT&T, Bacardi, ExxonMobil, Bank of America, Gillette, Starbucks, Monster.com, Gillette. Outdoor and print design production for global brands and the leader in the grassroots effort to initiate BBDO’s print production department into the world of social media and digital publishing.
Miller Marketing
& Advertising
2002 - 2004
Lead creative at this full-service advertising and marketing agency previously located on Long Island, New York. Design, copywriting, production, and client presentation of all in-house and client marketing materials.
North Castle Partners Advertising
2001 - 2002
The largest full-service advertising agency previously located in Fairfield County, Connecticut. Creative and presentation lead for marketing collateral for clients such as the Connecticut rideshare authority, MetroPool; and Zinsser®.
Education:
B.A. Communications / Journalism
News Editorial Emphasis, English Concentration
Shippensburg University, PA
Concert Committee Member
Yearbook Editor
Student Activities Committee Member
A.A.S. Communications & Media Arts: Journalism Suffolk Community College, NY
Student Activities’ Student of the Year | 1993
Editor-in-Chief, Compass | 1992-1993
Feature Editor, Compass 1991-1992
Who’s Who of Junior College Students | 1993
Who’s Who of Junior College Students | 1992
Orientation Leader | 1993
Orientation Leader | 1992
Captain: Clippers Softball | 1993
Apps & Software Used
[ BOTH CURRENT & LEGACY ]
AI Software
ChatGPT
What started as an enjoyable jaunt into making an image of me in blister packaging as a Creative Director turned into me using ChatGPT like a creative Swiss Army knife: rewriting clunky copy into something something that sings, project managing complex projects to prevent them from turning into chaos, and even troubleshooting when software decides to gaslight me. It’s my go-to for brainstorming fresh campaign angles, and sharpening client presentations. Bonus: it never rolls its eyes when I ask it to rephrase the same sentence ten ways.
Layout Software
InDesign
Ranked in the Top 5% of InDesign
users via LinkedIn, 2021.
Indesign is an amazing layout design tool with limitless capabilities for all your graphic design needs. I've been using InDesign since before it was called InDesign... it was PageMaker.
Figma
Don't get too excited. 🤭 While I have been introduced to Figma, it's one of the newest programs I've started to fold into my repertoire. But I'm extremely excited about the prospects of mastering Figma, and have already fleshed-out a list of things that I'll be creating with it. And the more I discover, the longer the list will be. In the next few years, we'll uncover just how much Figma will – or won't – take over the design world.
ChatGPT
Canva has made incredible improvements over the years, and while many professional designers are forced to use it, I've embraced the quick layout and animation options that satisfy clients' needs. Being educated in various software and apps allows me to not only use those platforms, but to teach it to others.
What I'd like to see happen with Canva:
Canva's organization needs improvement. Most designers who are accustomed to strict file organization like myself are opposed to Canva's "recent files" view being the prominent option. The preference for this needs to be optional. Since 1996 I've almost never used the "Recent Files" option – I just don't trust it. I feel that taking 3 seconds more to find the actual newest file (which I've clearly labeled) is always the safer way to go.
Quark Xpress
Is Quark still around?
Remember when Blockbuster video was the number one video store in the world, and no one else could imagine any other option? When Netflix arrived on the scene, everything changed.
I remember learning Quark thinking, "I guess this will be the software I'll use for the rest of my life." Simply because that's the way the world used to work. Then InDesign came on the scene. Now Figma is encroaching upon the territory of both InDesign and Quark.
The good news is that I absolutely adore technology! I love learning new programs that blow away the old. And I'm thrilled to have worked with companies who embrace change.
PageMaker
In the late '90s, university students were lucky enough to have Macs with PageMaker installed. For some reason (probably financial) QuarkXpress was nowhere to be found on campus, so students mastered PageMaker. Luckily, Aldus became Adobe and InDesign was born. Those of us who were part of the wave of PageMaker students still occasionally pay homage to the program that welcomed us into the world of design.
Photography Software
Photoshop
I've been using Photoshop since before Adobe announced the inclusion of the clone tool. In one of the first versions, I removed part of a singer from in front of a piano and reconstructed the background. It's been so long, I've been working with Photoshop since before applying shadows was a one-step click.
Camera Raw
.
Lightroom
.
Remini
How cute! I have Remini listed.
But for optimal usage, you have to know how to use it. What images work best with Remini, how to prep images before dropping into Remini. What to do with the output file from Remini... Sure, you can drop an image into Remini and see what comes out. But I know how to do it for optimal results. That's what experience gets you.
.
Illustration Software
ChatGPT
I've been using Illustrator since 1992, when professors were still teaching students how to hold the mouse, point and click. I was using Illustrator when folks still cared about trapping and the CMYK color values of black and how they affect your design based on the color paper you're using.