My personal mission statement

I believe my responsibilities as a designer go far beyond the layout and color choice of a project. Efficiency, to me, includes the use of environmentally friendly materials whenever possible, a smart and effective work flow to make the best use of time and resources, and creative collaboration. I see it as my duty to practice good ethical standards and exemplify high quality to every aspect of a design project.

My passion

My desire to create stems back to my childhood. However, when I was seventeen I discovered the work of A.M. Cassandre, and Paul Rand and understood that great design is timeless. From that point on I have been inspired to learn more and to always strive higher when it comes to my work in design. Graphic design allows me to combine all of my interests such as photography, print, illustration, typography, and color theory. In good design all of these mediums come together to form a cohesive layout. For example, I love it when the typesetting of a book conveys the emotions of the story told.

My history

I was born and raised in Austria, were I spent my childhood roaming through the mountains of the Tyrolean Alps. It was there that I gained a lifelong appreciation for nature.

After graduating from high school with a diploma in interior dessign and furniture making, I joined the Austrian Army to complete my mandatory military service. Upon finishing boot camp, I was selected to be the first of two motorcycle scouts for my tank battalion as well as the group leader of a radio team.  It was in this period of time that I learned the qualities of a good leader and the advantages of working with a team.

Shortly after, I chose to come to the US to spend time with part of my family that resides here. In California, I went to College where I was introduced to print making and also met my wife who supports and inspires me still.  We moved to Miami, Florida for a business venture but decided to come back to the west coast in order to help in a family crisis. I have been attending the Academy of Art University in San Francisco ever since.  Over all my experience has taught me that great design comes from attention to detail, intimate understanding of the subject matter and constant research and revision.

Experience

Over eight years of experience in design and print

GotPrint — Pre-Press Associate, EU expantion team
LG Print — Junior Designer & Pre-Press operations
Michael's Arts and Crafts — Custom Framer
Sign Graphics — Junior Designer & Vinyl Installer

Education

Academy of Art and Design University San Francisco
Miami International University of Art and Design
HTL Mödling

Skills

Computer — Mac, PC, Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator/InDesign, QuarkXpress, and Windows Suite;
Fine Art — training in Oil, Acrylic and Watercolor painting, print making and photography;
Craft — Printing, Furniture making;
Languages — English, German;

References available upon request

Friends and colleagues

Beer, Florian — software developer / consultant
Brandstetter, Michael — 2D/3D graphics and character design
Brandstetter, Thomas — film and motion graphics
The Brandstetter family — the agency for better communication
Branum, Rickie — historian
Hirschberger, Jörg — sport event planning
Koskel, Ari — print and web design
Lemonaut — 2D/3D Illustrations, Character-Design und animation for film , commercials, and communications
Polgar, Jeremy — traditional character enimation
Zronek, Matthias — programming and webhosting

Teachers who left a mark

Barnett, Cheryl — sculptor
Brzezinski, Jamey — painting and printmaking instructor
Einspruch, Franklin — painting instructor
Harding, Greta — packaging instructor
Ng, Lian — graphic design
Razack, Adnan — rapid visualization/conceptual imagery
Welch, Stephen Austin — photography instructor

Inspirations & regular visits

AIGA — the professional association for design
Communication Arts — one of the best design magazines
Beinghunted — current affairs in design
BLACKCAPstudio — “Solutions are our answer.”
Draplin Design Co. — “Do good work. For good people.”
Headerfooter — great information design
How magazine — good resources, great examples
Ilovetypgraphy — articles about typography
Krftd — “Arbiter of style and ideas.”
myFonts — staying current with new typefaces
Popsop — global brand news
Print magazine — design for curious minds

This is my second go on my portfolio. This time I did not use any Flash programming like on my old site. I tackeled HTML/CSS and PHP programming and would like to take the oppertunity to thank a few people. I am not a programmer and without the support I would not have been able to get this done and get it right.

Special thanks to:

Timothy Benbow from Timothy Training for his great tutirials on CSS based menus;
Nathaniel and his tutorials on tutvid.com for his help on basic html and div.tag layouts;