Like most people, I started out not knowing what I wanted to do when I grew up. It’s perplexing, this question that adults always ask kids. In my case I was in the middle of doing Public Relations and Government Affairs when I realized I was on the winning side of a losing argument. I needed a change of scenery. I had to do something I would love to do when I woke up in the morning. Someone once said that if you love what you do, you’ll never work another day in your life. It’s true. After some serious reflection, I decided to embrace my desire for creativity.
In High School I was in a real punk rock band. It was the 80’s and punk rock was definitely not mainstream like it is today. I wrote almost all of the songs we played and loved the energy of being on stage. In college I produced and was the on air talent of my own radio show for two different stations. But I never earned any money with either adventure. After graduating college I set much of this early creative training aside, thinking it was frivolous. After several years trying to fill a suit, I decided that I was happiest when I was making the art rather than managing other people who did the work.
We live in an amazing time. The Internet has changed the way we learn new skills. Back in 1998 I was introduced to Flash, HTML and built my first website. I lived in Palo Alto during the Great Internet Bubble of the late 1990’s, the epicenter of all things web and tech. I was surrounded by innovation and became infected with starting conversations saying, “What if we tried…”.
Five years ago, once I decided to change my career and embrace what I buried long ago. I found several quality training websites and took advantage of new ways of learning through videos on Youtube. I’m an academic so I augmented my training with the same textbooks any college student would recognize as a credible source of information. I became fascinated with Flash as my first subject and set out to learn how to build websites using that technology. I quickly realized that Flash could be used for much more than simply making things move around on a website (which most people hate anyway). It was pure interaction. I also realized that learning how to code Actionscript unlocked the secrets of how to code in any language. That process led me to unlock the mysteries of CSS3, HTML5, PHP, XML, Javascript, Python and the list keeps growing.
Graphics are the visual cues that help brand a website. But they are also the basis for how people judge the success of a design so I set out to learn graphic design principles of working from a grid, typography, color theory, photography and the psychology of design. Of course, I had to know the tools of the trade as well: Photoshop, Fireworks and Illustrator. My initial attempts were feeble at best. But with time and constant practice, I’ve reached the point where people began asking my design advice. I am comfortable doing layouts as well as creating stand alone elements. Of course there’s still more to learn, and I would never pretend to call myself a graphic designer, but it’s a fun process and I have had the pleasure to collaborate with some wonderful graphic designers on various projects and get their feedback. I really enjoy seeing how my own body of work continues to grow.
I was content in the world of web design until someone hit the delete button on a website I spent several months building. That work evaporated and was replaced with something else. It happens and comes with the territory. The web is in constant flux. The websites I built in Flash several years ago, and all those long hours of coding, are all out of date with current trends and most have disappeared from the world of webbiness. Mobile changed everything. Sites need to have responsive design these days and the popularity of content management systems like Drupal and WordPress have changed the design process –once you know PHP, it doesn’t matter what content management system someone chooses, you realize you can work with them all. Very few sites today leverage Flash or are built “from the foot”, where each HTML page is painstakingly hand crafted. In many ways this evolution is wonderful. Designers can take advantage of techniques and utilize typography that were previously only available to print designers– but with the web you can add motion and interactivity to a design. I work hard to keep current and anticipate the next curve in the digital road. Along the journey I realized that there’s greater permanence to working with motion.
In 2010 I set out to master animation, motion graphics and composited visual effects. It wasn’t a big creative leap. I’ve been writing, editing and telling stories all my life. Besides, integrating motion and video with a website is common practice. The learning curve was steep but the boundaries are limitless. I’m now comfortable working with several 3D packages( Cinema 4D, Maya, XSI/SoftImage, Lightwave and others) typically used to create high end advertising, games, TV and movies. Along the way I also became interested in 2D animation as well, and studied the techniques of Disney and general animations principles (it’s like a 12 step program for animators) to create believable work. Of course, working with video and audio is part of the game as well. I’ve edited and done sound engineering on well over 50 personal and professional projects to date. Non-linear editing software, After Effects, Nuke, compositing techniques and visual effects are all part of my repertoire now as well.
Crazy as it sounds, I can now offer a round-trip solution to clients without the overhead. I’m a trained writer with a professional marketing background, coding skills, an understanding of design and the ability to make dreams become reality on the screen for anyone to enjoy. I have finally figured out what I want to be when I grow up. When someone asks what I do for a living I tell them I’m a digital content creator.