I live in Oakland, California and have worked as a freelance designer for the past 7 years, although my main focus is currently dog training. I grew u ...more I live in Oakland, California and have worked as a freelance designer for the past 7 years, although my main focus is currently dog training. I grew up taking part in art of all media types, with focus on drawing. I received a scholarship from The Academy of Art University in San Francisco, based on a portfolio I submitted, where I studied graphic design. Before freelancing, I worked for a few ad agencies around the bay area. I primarily focus on print design with strengths in corporate logo design/brand development, personal logo, page layout, business cards, announcement flyers for artists, etc. Design is everything. Everywhere you look, everything you touch, taste, hear, etc. Whether created by man or nature, everything was created with reason behind it. The building you work in, designed specifically for the events intended to take place there. The house in which you reside, designed to make your everyday life comfortable and convenient. A leaf from a tree, designed over years of evolution to better it's abilities of collecting rain water and sunlight. The can of soda you bought on your lunch break yesterday, was designed to intrigue your visual senses, coercing you to make the purchase. Only later to blissfully stimulate your taste buds locking in a long and satisfying relationship. Without design, life would simply be dull. In today's world, graphic design is something that every business will utilize at some point. From initial logo creation to visual advertisement in the form of billboard, product label, business card, and the sign on the front of a building, it is a necessity for consumer acknowledgment and success. Now, granted that there are plenty of business owners lacking artistic eye out there that will do their best to create their own form of advertising to save a few bucks, (especially in these times), but in the end it can truly harm the business more than help. This is an investment that you've dumped every penny you've ever saved into, for the life long dream of becoming your own boss. As a consumer, would you rather spend your money with an accomplished company that portrays a professional and intriguing image designed to lure you in for their specific service; or the company with the homemade monument sign and masking tape price tags, often confusing you with the information provided (assuming that you even notice it in the first place)? Now, of course this also depends on who you are and what it is that you're looking for, but I'm the type of person that has no problem turning around and walking out of a business because of a cheap and careless attempt of exhibition. Aesthetically appealing presentation is imperative for continual success. Granted that anyone with the time and money can go to school to be officially granted the title of "Graphic Designer", in the real world one must possess a creative mind in order to properly interpret the needs of a client into a visual masterpiece suitable for displaying to the world's curious eye. Some are born with this, some simply will never have it. That is why it is important to follow your heart, doing what you love. If you find yourself following the money (not that there's much here), you may never know what it is that you truly love to do, where the actual wealth resides. Developing the title for myself has involved a lifetime of experience. With pencil to the paper before feet to the floor, and an over observatory mind, I had been preparing to become a graphic design artist my entire life without even realizing it. When I was offered my first job as an in-house designer for a sign shop, it was then that I began to visualize my true calling. "Why didn't I realize this before?" I remember asking myself. But I have come to discover the possibility of a life long career filled with passion, and not a day too late in this wonderful life I live. That's what is important to know; that you are doing what you are meant to, and loving every moment of it. When creating a project for a client, I must have a true sense of the person and what they're all about. Not just with the company they're trying to promote, but who they are as a person; what they enjoy out of life, and what they expect their image to provide for them. That's why being a graphic designer is not just a job for me, it's a a way for me to develop and maintain relationships that may last through life. Networking is an important key to success. You never know when you might be able to utilize someones skills for your business or personal life, but when you have a reliable and accomplished network of business owners available at hand, life can be sweet. hide