I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember.
Design is what I do for a living, but art, family, faith, sports, Scouting, and a life spent outdoors are all part of the person doing the designing.
I’ve been drawing for about as long as I can remember. I was the kid with the “how to draw” books who was always sketching something. By my sophomore year of high school, that interest had taken me somewhere I never would have expected—I won a national art competition, and my drawing was displayed for about a week at the U.S. Capitol before spending the next month at National Geographic headquarters.
I wasn’t exactly the kid who stayed inside drawing all day.
I grew up loving just about anything that got me outdoors. I played every sport I could, raced BMX bikes for a while, worked on friends’ farms hauling hay and working cattle, and loved fishing and camping. By my senior year, I was named Athlete of the Year.
I was also heavily involved in Boy Scouts and eventually earned the rank of Eagle Scout and Brotherhood membership in the Order of the Arrow.
For years, I was certain I was going to be an architect.
In fact, I had wanted to be one since the fifth grade. I pursued that interest through vo-tech and eventually Oklahoma State University, where I studied architecture for three years.
Somewhere along the way, though, I discovered graphic design—and realized I loved it even more. It still gave me the creativity and problem-solving that had drawn me to architecture, but added something else I really enjoyed: using art and design to communicate an idea. So I changed direction, earned my degree in graphic design, and I’ve been designing just about everything I could get my hands on ever since.
There’s a lot more to my life than design.
My wife and I are celebrating 30 years of marriage this year, and we have four kids ranging from 15 to 26. Being a husband and dad has been one of the most important parts of my life. As our kids grew up, I spent a lot of time involved in their athletics, which eventually led to about a decade serving on the board of NOAH.
My faith in Jesus is also an important part of who I am. Being part of a good church has been a tremendous blessing to me and my family, and it has given me many opportunities to serve over the years, including on several committees and boards.
Art taught me to observe. Sports taught me to compete. Scouting taught me to be prepared and serve others. Working outdoors taught me not to be afraid of hard work. And my faith and family have taught me what matters most.
Looking back, I can see the influence of two people in particular—my mom and my grandpa—as well as pieces of all these experiences in who I am today.
Design happens to be what I do for a living. But all of those things are part of the person doing the designing.