From the first time I dismantled my first IBM 386 I was hooked on computer technology. I was fascinated by the intricacy of processors, memory, digital storage and visual displays. I needed to learn more!

Starting with DOS, a rotary phone line and some local Bulletin Board Systems, I learned how to connect to machines across the globe in a primitive digital society. It seemed that new networks were being created daily and information was being spread across the world at 9,600 baud. Then came my first 14.4 Kbps modem, Duke Nukem 3D gets released and my world opens to a customizable 3D environment, where I can play maps that I created with friends down the street. The internet was coming to regular young consumers and it was only a matter of time before the world was at my finger tips.

With my first copy of Windows 95 and a 28.8 Kbps modem connected to the internet, I had found a canvas that I could make art on. After teaching myself HTML, Javascript and downloading the latest GIF creation tool, I began my journey as a website designer. I was then introduced to programming languages such as QBASIC, PASCAL, PERL and C in high school, giving me the capabilities to not only design, but to script the applications I was designing. Then came Photoshop, Illustrator and finally, a program that would truly test my skills, Flash.

It seems like only yesterday that I was creating internet applications in Flash 4. Although I was not the first to use it, Flash has changed the way I perceive the internet and what can be accomplished with visually appealing, data driven websites and multimedia projects. The need to learn more lead me to Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont where I refined my skills in both programming and design. I picked up a few clients during the summers and began learning to listen to their needs and had a unique ability to turn ideas into results.

With the job market not looking to pay for fresh-out-of-school designers I was offered a job with Turner Construction as an Assistant Construction Manager and learned the processes involved in building multimillion dollar construction projects from the ground up. As I learned more and more about planning, project scopes, scheduling and business management, I found new uses for this knowledge in the realm of digital design. I passed on this knowledge to my website design clients that I worked with after business hours and on weekends.

I began growing my digital portfolio in any free time that I had, and in 2007, I decided it was time to make a career out of my skills. I moved to Toronto and landed my first full-time design job with Curve Music, a small record label in Toronto. I created everything from simple banner advertisements to full scale PHP/mySQL dynamic websites. I then moved to my current position at Yfactor where my skills in both business management and multimedia design are utilized on a daily basis.