I’m a graphic and web designer and developer. There was term in vogue a few years ago, “hybrid” designer. If you don’t know, that’s someone who can design the site and code it, too. The creative and the programmer all in one. While I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, I’m not strictly an “artist”. It’s not all berets, palettes and oil paints. I like technology too much. I still remember when I hand-coded my first web page and uploaded it to the server, then went to the browser and refreshed the page to see the changes. That site went on to win an award years ago. Then I moved into the DC area for over a decade, getting into interactive multimedia, web development, and branding for a plethora of federal clients.
In 2015 I returned to northwest Ohio to be close to the friends and family I had left in the late 90s, and more importantly, to get married. Life certainly can lead a person on the most unexpected paths, including those previously traveled.
Things have certainly changed. Now we have Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. GIF animations are better suited for memes, Flash is practically dead, and we have things like WordPress and Wix that allow the not-so-tech-savvy to put up a website and carve out their own internet presence. And then, there’s mobile. Now a site has to look good on smartphones as well as tablets and desktop computers. So much for the antiquated idea that computers would help us do our work so quickly that we’d have tons of leisure time. They didn’t count on the work multiplying faster than our efficiency. Futurists with a lack of foresight. How ironic.
The graphic and web design industries are exciting by virtue of their very nature, constantly changing. I like being a part of it, watching it, working in it, and I plan to be here for quite a while to come.
