If you weren’t working as a creative professional, what would you be doing instead?
I’ve thought about this a lot over the years. I’ve always aspired to teach (though I don’t think I’m a great teacher), but I do like working with little kids. Would it be creepy to be a professional 60yr old “manny”? [Laughs]
What has been the most rewarding aspect of working at Medical Arts?
So many to count to be honest. Besides working with some elite professionals whose knowledge spans the universes, I would also say I like seeing our work in the environment. My past job for 15 years I just made presentations for other people and that was it. Now, even simply printing flyers or posters that are posted around campus, it’s neat to see what we do out there. Environmental graphics is even cooler.
If money were no object, what would you be doing right now?
Without putting a ton of thought into this, I wouldn’t mind doing what I’m doing now actually. But instead of 40 hours a week. Maybe like 2-days a week. [Laughs] I love what I do. The people are great. But can’t have enough family time.
What is your favorite form of art?
I don’t know that I have a favorite form of art. I know it’s cliché to say that art is all around us, but it truly is. As I get older, I find myself appreciating things that look simple but actually take a lot of effort to accomplish. Great design to me takes complicated things and simplifies it. Which is not always the easiest to do.
What do you admire about your coworkers?
Where to even start. Sheesh. First of all, we’re all brilliant. Literally all of us, in our own way. It’s inspiring to work with folks who constantly win awards (GD USA! Journal covers!) or work tirelessly to produce dozens/hundreds of awards or clients with off-kilter requests. And everyone behind the scenes on the admin side that tie it all together so we can keep trucking along. And to top it off, everyone’s willingness to learn, teach and share the wealth.
What do you do in your spare time to relax or blow off steam?
Sleep. Would be the honest answer. Or play with my kids. Trying to stay away from just endlessly scrolling social media. I’m not sure if it’s “relaxing” but I’ve gotten back into sports cards when the pandemic started. So, I’m still doing that, but I wouldn’t call it relaxing because it requires a lot of organizing and sorting… it’s like having a really messy kid, but I guess I’m the kid? [Laughs]
What is your favorite play, book or movie and why?
My favorite book is maybe “The Outsiders”. We read the book in middle school and then saw the movie with its all-star cast and it just did something for me. “Stay gold” (granted that really should be more attributed to Robert Frost than S.E. Hinton) is my mantra.
If you could have a superpower, describe what it would be and why.
Slow or speed up time. Slow down time when I’m enjoying the moment (eating an expensive steak), speed it up if I’m not (waiting at the DMV).
Describe yourself as a child and what led you to become an artist, illustrator, or designer.
I loved comic books growing up (still do I guess). Moreso the art than anything. To be honest, I don’t remember how many of my comics I read through so much as just flipped through to gawk at the art. I quickly realized I just didn’t have what it’d take to be an artist but was intrigued by the idea of art by way of layout and design. And the more I dug into graphic design I realized how EVERYTHING requires someone to put some kind of thought into its design. I couldn’t think of anything that combined something I was interested in, while still having a world of possibility. So here I am.
