About Me

I live and work in Oakland, California. Yes, it’s got its troubles, but I really do love this city. It’s an untidy collision of cultures, ethnicities, and eras, an American mutt of the highest order.

My background is in printmaking. I think of images and compositions as their component parts, as well as what it is that binds those components and delivers their cohesive impact. The dynamic tension of seeing the forest and the trees is exciting.

I try to exploit the unique qualities of whatever medium I’m working with.

I emphasize concept. Yes, that sounds pretentious, but it’s the best place to start, and if you do it right all decisions flow logically from there. It’s a much better starting point than the software that will be used to execute the final project.

I treat design for clients as problem-solving. Their problems, not mine.

I like working on projects that can retain a hand-made feel. People respond differently when they see evidence of the maker’s hand. That doesn’t mean it can’t be slick, just that it has to bear witness to the intent and action of its maker.

CSS, HTML, some ActionScript, some javaScript, some PHP. Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, Premiere, After Effects, assorted text editors and other programs. But really – these are just tools. I know everyone wants to know about tools, and they’re certainly important, but I can fake it with pretty much any software, these are just arrows in the quiver.

I don’t think of design and execution as separate. The act of making something is as important as how it’s made. Sometimes I have to enlist the help of others to execute a project properly, but it’s important for me to be able to conceive of the execution when starting the project.

I studied debate in high school, then philosophy for my first year of college.

I find myself doing a lot of work with WordPress. I like it. It’s a powerful tool that gives my clients much more control over the content of their website. For too long setting up a content management system was an additional expense that most of my clients couldn’t afford. WordPress has changed that, and offers a dependable and easy back-end that gives control to my clients while still being flexible enough for me do design with.

I have extensive experience with recording and editing sound, everything from bands to voice-overs. Engineering is one of my favorite things to do.

I’m a generalist not because I need to be, but because I find so many pursuits exciting. The only problem with it is that there aren’t enough hours in a day.

I get my hair cut at Mr. Lee’s. Sometimes he goes back to Seoul for a month, in which case his sister cuts my hair.