About

I want to write more. I want to talk more. I want to get away from the computer more. Technological shifts in distribution, though, are forcing designers to learn more about programming (and programmers to learn more about design). As we're learning, it has seemingly become acceptable to produce mediocre work and call it in progress. I want to explore this. I want to help get us past this. By writing more. By talking more.

Background

I graduated Emerson College in 2003 with a BFA in writing, literature and publishing. There, I co-founded a magazine called Gauge and it’s now 18 issues old. It was included in SPD 38 and because of that I pursued editorial design. I was lucky to work with magazine guru Patrick Mitchell right after school and that led to jobs at O, the Oprah Magazine and Nylon. I've also designed publications for Nick, Jr., American Express and Holland America.

In 2007 I left New York for the Puget Sound to restore a 5-acre family farm, established in 1916. I was on a tractor a lot, I cut down hundreds of trees and built strange fences, and I became obsessed with barn and tree swallows.

Eventually, I worked my way back into freelance and in the winter of 2009 I was hired as Creative Director of City Arts magazine in Seattle. After a year there, I left to pursue things on my own. And that's where I am now. Update: I have been the Design Director of Seattle Met magazine since March 2011. •

Colophon

With a close eye I've been following the work of Jason Santa Maria, Craig Mod, Information Architects, Dustin Curtis, and Khoi Vinh. Inspired by their unique and thoughtful approaches to web design, I created my own template to bring characteristics of print design online. This site is that in practice — a 10-column grid that allows for flexible article layouts and employs web fonts.

• The primary typeface on these pages is Facit Web by JAF.
• The fonts are all served by Typekit.
• The text is (mostly) written in Writer on iPad.
• Photos are taken with a Panasonic GF1 or iPhone4.
• The site runs on Textpattern but I code in Coda.
• And it's hosted at Mediatemple.