In my quest to jump-start my career after university, I traded the comfort of the dry, dusty canyons of Arizona for the insane, palm tree-lined, and wildly unpredictable canyons of Los Angeles. There, I found a whole new creative universe that exposed me to some of the most talented artists, writers, sculptors, painters, creatives, studios, and agencies — all of which helped to inform and drive me to be better than I was the day before.

Graphic design has always been my focus, but suddenly, and without warning, I found myself drawn into the wonderful world of advertising as an art director (mostly at Deutsch/LA, M&C Saatchi, and Secret Weapon Marketing). At these agencies, a switch went off, and I suddenly had the luxury of gaining a deeper understanding of the power of well-crafted copywriting and how it can drive a concept much further than just visually. I also had the opportunity to work on iconic brands including: The Walt Disney Co., Warner Bros, Coca-Cola, General Motors, Tesco, Dr Pepper, Sony Playstation, United Health Care, Mitsubishi Motors, Coors Light, and the list goes on and on.

In 2011, I moved the family north to San Francisco to be closer to family in Napa, and worked with some of the top tech brands (and agencies) in the Bay Area, including Apple, Cisco, HP Enterprise, Google, LinkedIn, and again, the list goes on and on.

These days, I am taking what I have learned from working on global brands and applying my passion for brand-building to up-and-coming challenger entities that need that certain edge to push them a little higher and gain the attention they deserve.

When I am not in the studio designing, I can be found in Marin with my wife, two kids, and an angry cat — or on my road bike, smashing the pedals on an impossible climb in the Marin Headlands with visions of post-ride IPAs dancing in my head.