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Professional Experience
01.04–Present Spark Engine—Senior Designer
Spark Engine’s Senior Designer is responsible for creating conceptual solutions to design
problems faced by Spark Engine’s clients. Spark Engine, an UMLEX company, is an advertising and
design agency specializing in print and web communications as well as strategic marketing. The Senior
Designer role functions with an expertise in print and web design, and is also responsible for designing
and creating back-end database-driven solutions allowing clients the power to update and maintain their
own site through a simple web-based application. Supervisory responsibilities come in the form of art
direction and mentoring of the junior designer at Spark Engine. Other responsibilities include conceptual
planning and copy writing for ad campaigns and promotional material.
07.03–01.04 University of Notre Dame—Web Design Director
The Web Design Director is responsible for the Web communications arm of Notre Dame Media
Group. The position’s first priority is to respond to the Web design and maintenance needs
of the Division of Public Affairs and Communications, and, secondly, to the needs of the
University community as a whole. This position also serves as a resource and liaison
with the Office of Information Technologies, working in partnership with OIT’s staff to
identify solutions for clients who need Web work resources, and coordinate
services with vendors external to the University. Also, this position supervises
student interns from the multimedia and Web design programs at Notre Dame who work as part
design team on Web projects.
01.96–07.03 University of Notre Dame—Graphic Designer
This position encompasses all aspects of design and art direction including project management
and budgeting. Projects are handled from conception to completion by the designer including client
contact and communication. Printing production and costs are overseen by the designer in conjunction
with a production manager. Art direction of design interns, freelance artists and photographers is
also a large part of this position. In addition to design responsibilities, this position includes
computer consulting and management concerns as well as photographic expertise. The position also
requires web design knowledge for working in conjunction with web developers on campus as well as
developing independent web design projects.
01.02–05.02 Ivy Tech State College—Instructor
This position was responsible for the instruction of Design I and Design II classes.
This included instruction on the fundamentals of design, advanced design concepts, and marketing techniques.
Position required thorough knowledge of design history, practices, process, and production techniques.
The ability to communicate these concepts effectively and motivate the students to reach beyond the
expected were also key functions in this position.
09.95–12.95 Kalamazoo Valley Community College—Instructor
This position was responsible for the instruction of computer illustration using the Adobe Illustrator
package. Position required complete mastery of the application and the ability to communicate basic
and advanced principles to students. A custom syllabus of course work and projects was created to
motivate the students to have the broadest experience with the software, as well as to obtain several
portfolio pieces by the end of the course.
02.92–12.95 Creative Group—Senior Designer
This position addressed all aspects of design and project management for small business clients.
Client contact and cost-saving production techniques were crucial in this role. All aspects of
production were handled by the designer to save cost to the client and ensure accuracy of final
film and finished product. Other responsibilities included proofreading, copy editing and type-setting
of projects. This position also required extensive computer knowledge for repair and upgrades to all
systems and network. Budgetary issues were also taken into consideration to keep the company at the
leading edge of technology without wasting resources, and to keep the operation costs of the company
to a minimum.
01.94–08.95 Western Michigan University—Graphic Design Intern
This position was a part of the graphic design program at the university. The position enabled students
to work on projects for nonprofit organizations in the Kalamazoo area. Students were expected to handle
several projects at once, both individually and in collaboration with other interns. Client contact was
key in this position to determine the best solution for the project. Design was controlled from conception
to completion by the student under the guidance of the program administrator. Projects ranged from identity
systems to book cover and magazine design.
Technical Experience
Computer related experience has centered around the Macintosh platform with significant experience in managing cross platform issues. While expertise with the operating system, hardware and peripherals are possessed in the Macintosh environment, Windows experience and technical hardware knowledge of Windows-based machines are also present. Expertise in the standard print-design and web-design applications as well as XHTML, HTML, and CSS coding with in-depth experience with XML, PHP, and MySQL. These include Adobe PageMaker, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe GoLive, Adobe Streamline, Macromedia Dreamweaver, Macromedia Flash, and QuarkXPress. Computer consultant experience includes network management and maintenance, budgeting for and purchase of computer equipment, analysis of computer needs and requirements for increased productivity and performing as liaison between department and information technology department.
Photographic experience encompasses studio and location photography. Expertise has been achieved with studio lighting and exposure techniques to expand photographic possibilities. Location photography has cultivated flexibility and nonlinear thinking to account for unusual circumstances arising outside the studio. Expertise with 35mm through large format photography has been invaluable in offering another point of view to enrich and expand print design solutions.
Formal Education
Western Michigan University
Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Graphic Design. 05.96
Kalamazoo Valley Community College
Associates Degree in Technical Communication. 05.92
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