I grew up in Philadelphia as the son of a fireman who went to art school before he entered the department. I never went to a formal art school, but I did develop a perfectionist eye (and almost compulsion) from working on things with my dad. On every Lego and Hot Wheels set we built, the stickers had to be placed perfectly equidistant between the edges. And no one's iPod screen protector was placed as centered as mine.
I didn't know it then, but my dad's perfectionism rubbed off on me. To make money in high school, friends and I cut lawns. What is interesting looking back is that we'd often get the neighbors of our initial client on a block to hire us, too. They complimented us on how much better their neighbor's lawn looked than their own and hired us to bring that same level of attention to detail to their lawn. This is where I learned that my perfectionism could have its benefits.
In college, I majored in Marketing to understand business and Psychology to understand the mind of the consumer. My first internship was doing general marketing tasks. I started learning Adobe Suite for fun and to make sales collateral for the company. The CEO liked it so much that he showed off my work to his friends at the golf club. Then, my design helped us win tens of millions in contracts. This is where I learned that graphic design could help me do amazing things in business, so I kept at it.
During the beginning of COVID, I got laid off, so I started freelancing to make money. Clients came one after another, and I eventually got hired at a design agency where I got my reps in. A lot of reps. I learned how to use design software on YouTube, but working at the agency is where I really transitioned from a marketer who could help with design on the side to an experienced designer who can help grow a business. The post-COVID years are where I really learned design.
Coupled with my interest in business, those early childhood learnings described above helped me become not just a solid designer, but a designer who can help companies grow. This has allowed me to make designs featured in thousands of big box stores, make sales collateral that has brought in over $500m in contacts, and design for over 25 of the F500. Today, I continue to learn about business and cognitive psychology and focus my work on designs that make meaningful impacts on the companies I work for and the people I work with.
