From here to there
An encounter at my high school career fair put me on this path. I was 16, living in California's agricultural Central Valley and before that day I had never heard of graphic design. I thought after graduating I might study music like my dad. But that day, just ten minutes talking with an enthusiastic design professional and I was completely inspired, my course forever set. Five years later, I had my bachelor's degree in Applied Art and Design, and all these years later I'm still at it. Design for me is a passion, a life's work, a service to others, and an offering to causes I support.
As a visual person, I tend to think of my design philosophy in visual terms. I'll use the analogy of lens and mirror to describe my work. The lens is the focus on the needs and opportunities of the project. The mirror is the ability of good design to reflect the client and to reach others with that reflection.
Graphic design is not fine art, nor decoration – we designers are primarily problem solvers. We need to know our client and their goals, recognize their target audiences, capture the attention of those audiences, and move them to action. That last part, especially, is the real challenge of graphic design, and the measure of its power and success.