While earning my BS in Design, I became skilled in design processes like presenting mood boards to pitch ideas, collaborating with other team members, prototyping, color theory, typography, and how to manage multiple projects simultaneously. I am proficient in Solidworks, Rhino, Keyshot, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and MS Office. During my time at school, I co-founded a network of fellow student designers which operated a help chat, weekly meetings, and volunteer opportunities. Watching our entire program flourish because of my group’s impact in the classroom was a major landmark for me. I’ve also had the opportunity to begin freelancing, and have loved crafting branding suites for friends’ and clients’ exciting ventures.

Prior to design school, I spent the first decade of my career as an Account Executive at a boutique travel company called Music Travel Consultants. We specialized in turn-key travel packages for performing arts groups (think marching bands that travel for big parades/events, etc.). Because of the size of our company and our niche market, I had to learn to adapt, be flexible while direct, problem solve like crazy, and constantly change hats. But this forged Swiss Army Knife-like skills into me. My main duties were to pitch, sell, plan, and execute trips of 20-450 people all over the world (34 countries and 48 states, to be exact). I also planned and oversaw successful marketing campaigns which grew the company’s RFP traffic. I managed a team of tour directors and administrators, liaising between the vendors and the travelers for the duration of each trip. As you can imagine, it can get pretty tense on the road when things go wrong. So, my customer service and communication skills are razor sharp too. Likewise, when you’ve got multiple trips on the road at the same time, you’ve got to be an expert plate spinner.

While my portfolio has a professional focus, I consider my two most important work titles to be Husband and Dad. I’ve been with my partner since 2007; together we have two incredible daughters and one very large dog and live in a log cabin in Oakland, CA. Since September of 2021, my youngest daughter has undergone 16 airway reconstruction surgeries, and we’ve spent about nine months total living at the hospital. When we’re not at the hospital, I’m her primary caregiver— a challenging job I’m honored I get to do. Needless to say, these familial duties have slowed my professional progress, but have been so formidable, I’d be remiss if I failed to mention them.

At home, I joke that I know one thing about everything, which is just my way of explaining that I’ve got a vast knowledge base and a wide range of interests. And I’m a master of Dad jokes, so joking comes easy. For fun, I like to watch motorsports or basketball, search for used cars on the internet, bake bread, brew beer, forage for mushrooms, cook Neapolitan style pizza, BBQ, or work on whimsical projects around my house.

Thanks again for spending some time with me and my work!

Ben