Throughout most of my career I have worked in the field of Graphic Design on the print-media side.
I’m an innovative, energetic professional with over 20 years' experience as a Print Production Artist, specializing in design, layout and proofreading of catalog pages. I’m accomplished in creating design solutions with a visual impact from conception to completion; I am adept in producing new ideas / concepts and managing multiple projects in a fast-paced environment. Career highlights include designing multiple catalog covers and pages at an auto-parts company, rebranding documents for an educational-products company, and converting a medical supply catalog from Quark Xpress to InDesign, color-correcting and adding clipping paths to all images placed within. Recent projects involved converting, reformatting and laying out two major data-infrastructure-products catalogs, updating pages of a workplace safety products catalog, and most recently I entered the world of laying out large-scale graphics at a company that supplies banners, signs, etc. for conventions and trade shows.
I’m skilled in InDesign with a sharp eye for detail, and excel at adhering to brand standards / templates of all clients I have worked for. My PhotoShop skills include color-correcting, applying clipping-paths and applying drop-shadows; my Illustrator skills have been enhanced through designing catalog covers and, more recently, designing large-scale graphics. Over the years I've also developed stellar proofreading skills.
In the mid-90s I received an Associates Degree in Graphic Arts from Robert Morris College (now University), and in mid-2017, I enhanced my skill-set by enrolling in a UI Design training program; I received my certification in this field in May 2018. Throughout the course, I found that my Production Artist soft-skills — laying out pages that are well-proportioned, symmetrical and aligned, plus the sharp eye for detail I developed — were instrumental in helping me to adapt to the designing of app screens, which similarly rely on proportion, symmetry and alignment, and in a much smaller space! Also, my InDesign skills helped me quickly learn the basics of Sketch; there are many similarities between the two programs.
So now I am fortunate enough to have experience in small-, medium- and large-scale graphics. There are both similarities and differences between each field, and I have successfully adapted my skills to each. I am seeking a new opportunity in any of these fields, hopefully which will allow me to grow my real-world skill-set even further through mentoring and educational opportunities.