How I work

I see the elements of Graphic Design as a series of puzzles with an infinite variety of solutions. My first steps on a new project come from listening deeply to what my clients say and having an understanding of their style. To do this I use the same skills that I’ve honed in my many years teaching art. When someone is trying to make something new to them, they can’t always find the words to explain this new thing. I’m good at talking with people to find out what they really want and where they are trying to go. Blending the clients goals and the visuals they like, with a fresh spark from my own style, I can make something uniquely right for them!

Experience

For many years I mainly used my graphic design skills to showcase my own artwork (cards, flyers, website, catalog, and books), occasionally doing small jobs for others. In 2019, I started working for the San Francisco Math Circle and the Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival. I worked with SFMC teaching after school math classes and with JRMF hosting math festivals, but I also did some graphic design work for them and developed a few math art projects that came to be used by both organizations.

From the summer of 2020 to the fall of 2023, I worked as a Graphic Designer for JRMF. I started during the COVID lock-down, when this small non-for-profit was trying to offer its mathematical community a place to connect and learn online. During that time I did a large variety of projects from flyers for online events to graphics for the website to illustrations for online apps. As the United States opened up, JRMF was able to focus on in-person festivals again. Since the fall of 2023, I’ve been mainly working with JRMF to help schools and other institutions host Math Festivals.

I’m currently looking for Graphic Design projects to balance the very extraverted Math Festival work.

Education

Although my artistic focus was in Textiles, when I was getting my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the Kansas City Art Institute, I had two good friends studying Graphic Design and we talked for hours about the subject. Their passion for the effect of small details on a big project matched mine. A few years after graduation I got a book on type styles and poured over font details and the moods they evoke. There is a natural connection between textile design and graphic design, as both study the evolution of trends in aesthetics and pattern in popular culture.

The California College of the Arts had just started a Graduate Design program when I was getting my Master of Fine Arts degree at that school. I became close with a neat group of Graphic Designers. They were professionals returning to school to examine the subject at a higher conceptual level, with many playful explorations. During my 15 years of working at CCA, I continued to talk with design students and faculty, while spending time looking at a variety of projects. My graphic design work is a blend of artistic expression, years of textile work in color and composition, and devoted persistence when doing visual problem solving.