My day job

As much as I love this bloggy goodness, it doesn't pay the bills. For that I am lucky enough to have a great job with a wonderful boss — me! I am a graphic designer and, through a combination of choice and luck, I work primarily with universities and non-profit organizations on their printed (usually) materials.

For the past six months I have been working on my dream project — the annual report for Mercy Corps, a humanitarian aid organization working globally to help people in a huge variety of ways. If you're curious, you can view the full annual report that I designed here. It's a large pdf, so it can take a while to fully load if you're not on a fast internet connection. I am so proud of this piece, both because of the people it represents and because I believe it is my best work to date.

Hänsel & Gretel

I make my living as a graphic designer. As a kid, I was an art and design fanatic and that translated easily to graphic design when I got into college. I loved the way that design (good design, that is) served as a bridge between idea and art. A form of visual communication that could strengthen a message, not just decorate it.

I also love books. Both as a way of leaving myself behind and entering a world previously unseen or unimagined, and as a vehicle for art and design. When we were in France we went to La Galerne, a wonderful, enormous bookstore in Le Havre. I bought several books, including Le Scaphandre et le Papillon, with which I have yet to make much progress.

My special find of the day, however, was a beautifully interpreted edition of the children's book Hänsel and Gretel. This version, by Czech painter Kveta Pacovská, is definitely not like anything I've seen before. It is a beautiful, dark, mixed-media piece that (I think) fits perfectly with the creepiness of the Brothers Grimm.