I’m an interdisciplinary designer with experience in web development, print media, architecture, photography, and more. I communicate ideas effectively with words and images, and strive to create human-friendly experiences in all my work. I’m flexible, self-directed, eager to learn, and skilled at working with people from all backgrounds. My goal is to make the world a better place through good design.
Education
Reed College
Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics
August 2005 — May 2009
I went to Reed because I wanted a liberal arts education, and I majored in linguistics because it gave me the most flexibility to pursue courses in topics like religion, anthropology, mathematics, and language. My thesis, On the Hive Mind: Explorations in Social Semiotics, is equally multidisciplinary, discussing bee dancing and social institutions.
Awarded Commendation for Excellence 2005-06, 2006-07, & 2008-09
College Year in Athens
Semester Abroad
January -– May 2008
During my junior year, I spent a semester abroad studying the art and archeology of Ancient Greece and the art and architecture of the Byzantine Empire. This complemented my freshman Humanities course and gave me first-hand experience with ancient and classical design, guided by enthusiastic experts.
Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti Milano
Product Design Study Abroad
June –- July 2008
To pursue my interest in industrial design, I took this intensive two-week course over the summer. I got to see the shops and museums of Milan, learning about the history and process of design and deconstructing and constructing my own collage-based “product.”
Experience
Web Developer & Designer
Joie de Vie: Expert Skin Care
September 2009 -– February 2010
Designed an updated look for the company website, organized its vast amount of skin care research to make it more accessible to clients, and built a PHP back-end for the owner, a holistic aesthetician, to keep her products and services up-to-date.
Graphic Designer
Spreading Pleasure
October 2009
Created a market survey kit for employees and contractors to research competing products and create consistent presentations using the templates and spreadsheet macros I provided.
Architectural Assistant
Sebastian Collet Design
May 2009 –- November 2009
Aided in architectural design, project research, website upkeep, moving and organizing the office, while learning about sustainable and community-centric architecture.
Graphic Designer
AWAZ Voice for Empowerment
August 2009 -– November 2009
Designed logos, brochures, fliers, product tags, and business cards for a company that sells fair-trade goods from India. I also did copy editing.
Interior Organizer
Susan K. Gillespie, Ph.D.
September 2009
Consulted on space use and management, and sorted and moved boxes.
Club Organizer
Reed Vegan Society
September 2008 -– May 2009
Started the first vegan student organization at Reed, which attracted over thirty members.
Web Designer
Greek Nature
May 2008
Set up a WordPress-based CMS for two environmental activists *cum professors at College Year in Athens, to provide educational information on the Greek environment. I also designed the logo and wrote content for the study guide.*
Editor
Death of the Soul in Romans 7 by Emma Wasserman
May 2007 –- August 2007
Did general editing and double-checked the Ancient Greek translations and primary-source references.
Research Assistant
Sexism in Advertising by Charlene Makley
May 2007 –- August 2007
Scanned and catalogued magazine ads for an educational image collection, and transfered previous material to a new computer database.
Use Case Documenter & Wiki Developer
Fern Digital
June 2006 –- July 2006
Documented point-of-sale software use cases in preparation for a transition to a new platform, and introduced a wiki documentation system that the company’s multi-national employees could coordinate from anywhere in the world.
Web Developer
Greg Davidson Antiques
August 2004
Built a Python CGI back-end for the client to keep his website up-to-date with his latest inventory.
Graphic Designer
US Department of the Navy
July 2004
Designed custom icons to represent different data sources for the Navy’s Carrier-Vessel Tactical Support Center (CV-TSC) software.
Web Designer
Educational Fontware
May 2003
Created a cross-platform website that would function with legacy browsers with co-worker Martin Souza.
Skills
- HTML & CSS
- PHP & CGI
- Python & Django
- Processing & Java
- WordPress
- GIMP (open-source Photoshop)
- 3D Modeling (Blender, SketchUp)
- PowerCAD & AutoCAD
- Functional Programming
- Linux & Mac OS X
