Info

Throughout my career, I have dedicated myself to the practice and craft of design. I believe that every idea deserves the opportunity to grow and evolve, transforming into something meaningful and impactful.

Design is central to both my professional work and personal perspective. It influences how I spend my time, how I interpret the world around me, and how I approach each project, from the initial concept to the final execution.

Reflecting on my journey, I recognize key moments and significant projects that have shaped my ongoing evolution as a designer, continually driving me to refine and expand my creative practice.

The early artist

Grade school, through high school — 1982-1996

Growing up, I discovered a natural talent for drawing and painting. In high school, it was clear where my strengths lay. While my math grades struggled, I was thriving in art class. By graduation, I realized that pursuing a full-time career as a fine artist wasn’t the right path for me, both creatively and financially. However, I started to notice an interest in BMX magazine layouts, graphics, and branding. This eventually led me to study graphic design in college and university.

Higher learning

College and University — 1996-2001

Post-secondary education provided me with a broad foundation; from design principles and theory, to critical thinking, craftsmanship, and the history of art and design. More importantly, it taught me how to learn. This skill of continuous learning and adaptability has been invaluable throughout my career.

I divided my time, and bus money, between Sheridan College and York University.

Going digital

First portfolio website — 2006

Prior to any formal design training, my experience with computers was historically limited to loading DOS, printing noisy dot matrix graphics from Print Shop, creating pixel art in Microsoft Paint, and playing games like Kings’s Quest, World of Warcraft, and Duke Nukem.

In the early era of the internet, I felt it might be a passing trend, but that perception faded as it quickly proved indispensable to business and communication. Reluctantly, I decided to build my own personal website for a couple main reasons:

At the time, I was creating a lot of landscape paintings and wanted an easy way to both share and maybe sell them without hauling them to multiple shows. Similarly, the bulky portfolio case I brought to job interviews was starting to feel outdated.

Adobe GoLive was the only no-code web design tool I had access to at this point, so I built my first websites using drag-and-drop features and image-based buttons. Over time, I continued refining and improving my sites, and eventually, I grew to really enjoy the process of building and designing online.

The simple homepage of my first website, built with Adobe GoLive. At this point I was splitting my time between fine art, and graphic design.

Everything, all at once

First job as a Graphic Designer — 2002

I was hired as a Graphic Designer for a company specializing in the manufacturing and distribution of paint supply products across North America. The role involved managing packaging design for thousands of products, as well as creating sell sheets, MSDS documents, store signage, point-of-purchase displays, brochures, and catalogues. QuarkXpress was the leading, albeit stagnating, software for page layout, but I switched to InDesign around this time once it started gaining serious attention.

In addition to design, I was responsible for product photography, which was becoming increasingly important with the rise of digital imaging. The fast-paced environment exposed me to a wide range of graphic design disciplines, and I quickly became fully immersed in the diverse possibilities the field has to offer.

Learning Flash

Trying my hand at animation — 2006-2008

At the time, Macromedia Flash was revolutionizing web design by enabling rich animations and interactive experiences. I quickly became fascinated by its potential and taught myself to build Flash websites using the limited resources I could find online. Inspired by this new creative outlet, I launched my own design venture, naming it Brushfire (again, the painting thing).

Learning HTML and CSS

A string of improving portfolio sites — 2006-Present

As my career progressed and my portfolio expanded, I decided it was time to add more work to my personal website. To do this, I challenged myself to learn HTML and CSS, following tutorials from sites like TutsPlus until I gained a solid understanding of how the two languages work together.

By the time I completed my first hand-coded site, I was fully hooked. I became passionate about writing clean, efficient code and took pride in validating my HTML and CSS, proudly displaying the “HTML and CSS Valid” badge in my footer. This experience marked the beginning of my deep appreciation for web development, a skill I continue to refine and rely on today. I consistently pushed myself to learn and apply new techniques, resulting in increasingly polished and effective websites.

Designing for the public

Learning about accessibility and designing for everyone — 2013-2016

A pivotal moment in my career came when I was hired by the City of Burlington as Graphic Designer and Web Lead. Prior to this role, my work was primarily seen in retail environments and online, but this position gave me the opportunity to design directly for the public.

I helped lead the redesign and simplification of the city’s often confusing street parking signage and produced numerous posters, newsletters, brochures, and graphics. Additionally, I played a key role in the comprehensive redesign of the city’s website.

Most importantly, this experience deepened my understanding of accessibility, a principle that has since been fundamental to all of my work, whether in print or digital formats.

The City of Burlington’s famous, or infamous, pier.

A project for everyone

Canada’s Parks Posters — 2009-Present

My Canada’s Parks Posters series began as a personal project to celebrate a few of my favorite Canadian parks with vintage-inspired prints that didn’t yet exist. Since then, the collection has grown significantly, expanding to include U.S. parks as well.

I often receive requests for new park posters from supporters near and far, and hearing how much people love their prints is truly rewarding. It’s a constant honour to know that my artwork is proudly displayed in homes and businesses across Canada, and around the world.

My extensive design background has taught me that technology evolves, but the fundamentals of thoughtful, strategic design remain constant. I understand where AI fits into the creative process, and where it doesn’t. This depth of experience allows me to navigate complex projects efficiently, make informed decisions quickly, and deliver solutions that work. I’m always eager to learn new tools and workflows, but I know that design still requires human insight, strategic thinking, and (seasoned) creative judgment.