over the years, i was a model for many student projects at the creative circus. here are a few. so, thank you bobby prokenpek, erica liden, benjamin panico, dan depew, jason guzman, jonathan walker and richard scott for making me look good. or interesting.
i have always enjoyed creativity and the imagination, especially as a quiet, shy kid in the south, with bookish college professor parents who encouraged it, and a younger sister who collaborated. lots of what-if-ing.
thankfully, my day jobs often required it, but freelancing let it loose. so, a little freelancing (mostly logos) in addition to my day jobs kept the juices flowing. until the end of december 2019, that day job was as the head of the design department at the creative circus, a two-year portfolio school in atlanta.
there, we made stuff up every day and presented it as if it were for a real client. i enjoyed it and got the most satisfaction guiding the development of designers’ portfolios, making sure they met highly competitive industry standards and practices. often, this meant provoking, prodding, challenging, inspiring, serving as a creative laxative, a role model, a mentor, tough-love advisor or therapist, and a collaborator to a wide range of students, all wide-eyed and enthusiastic. sorta like when i was a kid.
but when students (routinely) won awards from world-wide competitions held by notables such as the one club, d&ad, and the aiga, among others… well, this was something else.
meanwhile, teaching and advising in such a focused, intense environment meant i was also getting better and faster at everything designers – creatives – do. lucky me!
now i freelance full time. self-employed. a hired gun. doing what i’ve been doing, sharing and practicing for years – solving all manner of business problems creatively, strategically, beautifully and collaboratively.
for me? for fun? day or night? no difference, really, from when i was a child: i imagine, i look around, i absorb, and then i make things. i try to be as original as possible: writing, cutting & gluing, drawing, doodling, painting, picture taking, sharing… putting things out there. in other words, just doing what comes naturally.
so, let’s see what happens.
for more of my process, warts and all, check out my blog:
www.heythattickles.com
meanwhile, i’m here for you.
