About
Start Here Designs is as much about my personal journey as it is about my career goals. The name came about through some deep soul-searching I did for a self-branding project and symbolizes my devotion to optimism, positive social change and personal growth.
I specialize in design, branding and development for the web, however I also offer design for print. In addition to challenging myself with creative problems and doing good work for my clients, I also hope to promote productive ideas with my work and help people start their own journeys.
Freelancing and looking for exciting projects, ideally of medium length (1-3 months).
Design
I specialize in web design, including layout, graphics, user experience and consideration for the coder down the line. I can adopt any web design system for print, and vice versa.
Branding
I offer brand consulting and design from the bottom up, including solidifying your story, market strategy, voice, naming, logo and advertising design.
Web Development
My skills in HTML and CSS will provide all basic layout and functionality for your site with attention to SEO, semantic markup, W3C standards and accessibility.
Hire Me
If you're interested in working with me, feel free to send me an email with information about your project.
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Portfolio
Web Design & Development
Insight
Product, design, UI, UE, front end dev, branding, copy.
The Insight App allows readers to respond to small units of content on the web, providing an improvement over regular comments. Insight is the evolution of Ameritocracy, a company I cofounded.
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EasyKeeper
Graphic, UI and UE design, front end development, branding.
EasyKeeper is a herd management app. I was hired to rethink the user interface and redesign the site with a new brand direction.
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Wedding Paper Divas
Graphic and UI design, front end development.
Nearlyweds hired me to redesign and code external web pages for their home site as well as cobrands with Wedding Paper Divas and Offbeat Bride. You may have to disable or clear cookies to view all three of these sites.
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Nearlyweds
Graphic and UI design, front end development.
Nearlyweds hired me to redesign and code external web pages for their home site as well as cobrands with Wedding Paper Divas and Offbeat Bride. You may have to disable or clear cookies to view all three of these sites.
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Offbeat Bride
Graphic and UI design, front end development.
Nearlyweds hired me to redesign and code external web pages for their home site as well as cobrands with Wedding Paper Divas and Offbeat Bride. You may have to disable or clear cookies to view all three of these sites.
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Ameritocracy
Product, design, UI, UE, front end dev, branding, copy.
Ameritocracy was the precursor to Insight. My early and continued input helped push the product in the direction of open, user generated content which led to the creation of a project similar to wikipedia in that it allows anyone to aid in the clarification of information online.
Site no longer available.
IllumiNation
Graphic design, Flash Actionscript
This school project was intended to allow viewers to upload and download political posters to help spread awareness of various issues. I completed a short video as well as basic animation, however had no time to pursue the upload/download functionality via actionscript.
This site is no longer available.
Bilbo & Moose
Graphic design and front end development
A small site I put together for my best friend's wedding, before the creation of the much more useful Nearlyweds.com.
This site is no longer available.
Print Design
Sumo Trading Cards
Packaging Design, Branding, Execution
National Paperbox Assn. Student Competition 2006, 2nd place.
Treehugger Bracelets
Advertising Design
Student project.
Curious Tonics
Packaging Design, Branding, Execution
Student project.
Art & Craft
Dan vs Pip
Mixed media on cardboard
Happy Grassroots
Mixed media on cardboard
Nature Boy
Mixed media on cardboard
Scenester
Mixed media on cardboard
Gerard Way
Mixed media on cardboard
Self Portrait
Mixed media on cardboard
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Clients
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DOC
PDF
PrintWork Experience
Start Here Designs | Seattle, WA
Web Design, Branding and Development
I have contracted with a number of businesses and individuals working on projects such as web design from scratch, website redesigns, UI overhauls, logos, icons, collateral material cleanup and t-shirt designs. See my client list for businesses and individuals that I've contracted with.
Ameritocracy, Inc | Seattle, WA
Creative Director
I cofounded Ameritocracy with founder Porter Bayne and have made many valuable contributions to the direction and improvement of the product. My responsibilities have included product development, branding, design, front end development, copy, marketing and advertising design. Trying to get a Seattle start-up off the ground has been an eye-opening experience for me and I'm incredibly proud to be part of a venture that seeks to improve people's lives.
Delve Networks | Seattle, WA
Branding and User Interface Design
My brief experience with Delve Networks allowed me to experiment with UI design for complex web applications in new software such as Adobe Flex.
3Guppies | Seattle, WA
Front End Web Development
Working at 3Guppies was a massive learning experience in web 2.0 philosophy, semantic markup, website rebranding and startup life. I provided the majority of HTML and CSS, but also made meaningful contributions to product development, brand direction, design, and copy.
Sarphatie Education, Inc. | Rochester, NY
Web Designer and Developer
At Sarphatie, I designed and constructed more than 50 uniquely tailored websites and resumes for high school and college seniors This was an exciting opportunity to stretch my creative muscles and allowed me to work with a variety of people and requirements.
Education
Rochester Institute of Technology | Rochester, NY
BFA in Graphic Design | 3.8 GPA
Concentration in Japanese and Sociology
SUNY New Paltz | New Paltz, NY
Graphic Design
Kapi'olani Community College | Honolulu, HI
New Media
Toolbox
I design in Photoshop while considering all aspects of how a site will be built from my mockup. I am proficient in X/HTML and CSS and have experience developing in Rails and PHP/Smarty environments. I always keep an eye on accessibility, semantic markup, browser compatibility and SEO. When I'm not at the computer, I like to get out my paint Sharpies and put cardboard to good use.
Honors
RIT/HUMBER Design Charrette 2006
3rd Place
This was a four-day intensive flash project with a group of three other students. I took the initiative to steer our rushed ideation process and took care of our digital imaging, html and css.
National Paperbox Assn. 2006 Student Competition
2nd Place
I designed and built by hand a high-end collectible sports card package with a 19th-century sumo theme and was awarded 2nd place out of students from 16 schools.
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Ambitions
Socially Conscious Design
Design is by nature a one-way social exchange and has the power to deeply affect people with a given message. The idea behind "socially conscious design" is that because most people can't exactly opt out of this experience, designers and their clients need to take some responsibility for this power and consider the effects of their actions. I know I'm a party crumb for even bringing it up, but I'm of the mind that limitations are a boon to design.
What this means to me is not just taking some responsibility for the message you're sending, but also refusing to settle for time-honored yet too-simple solutions to design problems (putting an attractive woman in a beer commercial might be one example). I think these conceptual crutches hinder our creativity and social progress, and my goal as a designer is to seek out brilliant solutions to design problems that also happen to be healthier for society.
Social Software
Internet technology has been a game-changer. The introduction of user-generated and open source systems on the internet has shown that not only do regular people have something to offer, but we can really deliver. Citizens of the world are no longer passive consumers but passionate creators. People want to be heard and they want to contribute, and this kind of participation is absolutely key to a truly democratic society.
I think we're in the middle of a historical milestone, made even more exciting by the current push in government to be more transparent, participatory, and responsive. New social and civic technologies are showing us the tangible benefits of living in a hyperconnected world and the enormous potential for people to improve society by working together in new ways. I'm humbled to be one of the many builders of this new era.
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Resources
Info & Inspiration
Tools
Books
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