about me
I am a student at the Art Institute of Atlanta, pursing a BFA and majoring in Multimedia Web Design. I am expected to graduate in Spring 2005. I am looking forward to completing my senior year at AiA because I have learned so much about different aspect and feel like I am ready to start meshing this stuff together. I started out as a production artist at a newspaper. They had to teach me almost everything about producing a newspaper. I found it to be interesting, like putting a puzzle together. Since then, I have increased my skills in everything from layout to design to concepts.
artist statement
I am a Media Designer who specializes in web and print communications. My career thus far consists of 4 years working in print production and 2 years in web design. My degree is a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a major in Interactive Media Design. My experience has taught me that good design is both functional and beautiful, instead of just one or the other.
Artists that influence me are Michael Graves, Jonathan Ive, Frank Lloyd Wright, Joshua Davis, Vincent Van Gogh, and my friend, Ashlee Smallwood, who believes that with a little thought everything can have purpose in art. Graves' simplistic approach to functional household items brings them into my lifestyle. Jonathan Ive takes design above and beyond with his latest round of Macintosh products. Davis approaches web projects as if they are meant to become works of art. But my greatest influence is the world around me and my dissatisfaction or satisfaction with the objects and images I encounter everyday.
My primary method for starting a project is research and education, and then, on to sketching and comps. I have recently evolved my style from box/compartment layouts to more organic, free-flowing layouts. This evolution was sparked by the realization that I was literally 'boxing' myself in. I needed to break out, so I did. This has help me become aware of 'feel' and how shapes, or lack there of, can really influence a user's experience.
As the web continues to grow as a communication tool, print still remains a constant. I feel that pursuing both media forms will allow me a broader understanding of communications and information management. Each may have a different set of standards but in the end, the goal is to communicate messages. My personal agenda is to ensure that each message I am involved with is communicated beautifully.
