16 Years of Design Experience

6yr Freelance, 7yr Contract, 3yr Fulltime

Activities & Interests: Trail running, road cycling, disc golf, cooking, painting, sculpture, writing, djing, and dancing.

I started my career as a freelance illustrator and graphic designer in 1993.  In 1996, after three years of building up my client experience and portfolio, I began contracting through ArtSource as a production artist and designer for Microsoft's Carpoint.  My first role as a design leader was with the online education startup Advance Online in 1997.  I returned to Microsoft in 1998 to work with the Transpoint team where I was both the webmaster for their marketing site and updated their product demos which helped put the product in direct competition with CheckFree who later merged with Transpoint.  In 1999 I returned to fulltime work as the lead web designer for Sierra Home, a network of channels that provided additional content packages and forums for the Sierra's line of home productivity software including products for Genealogy, Gardening, Home Improvement, Fashion, Health & Fitness, and Cooking.

Between 2001 and 2004 I was a part-time independent contractor for Primus Knowledge Solutions (Today: ATG) where I worked on both of their flagship knowledge management products as well as their customer facing experience.  At Primus, I had my first chance to work on all aspects of the visual presentation of their products, from the initial design concepts, to final graphic production, even marketing and presentation.  It was at Primus where I first developed my ability to work with multiple teams on a variety of projects at once.  Once Primus was purchased by ATG my work was essentially done and I returned to work as an independent contractor for Attenex, Terex/Genie, GC Direct Marketing and many others.

In 2006, I took a hiatus from design and opened up my own art gallery in Bremerton, Washington.  The Wesley Art Gallery was open for nearly two years.  I learned a lot through my interaction with the public while representing my own fine art along with the work of 12 other regional artists, but design began to call me back from across the Puget Sound.

In January of 2008 I returned to Microsoft via Aquent to work with the MSN team as a user experience designer for the future of MSN's personalization experience.  While on the MSN team, I continued to develop as a designer and project manager, helping to define future product ideas.  At MSN, I worked both independently and with multiple teams depending on the project.  I finished my last contract at Microsoft in January of this year and am currently looking for a full time staff or contract position as a user experience designer in the immediate Seattle/Redmond area.