When I was a kid, I always enjoyed making things rather than watching TV or playing games. Teaching myself Photoshop and HTML at age 15 inspired a great passion for web design. This passion persisted until I began to study graphic design in CEGEP, where I came to find my true design love: Print. Designing for print always brings me back to those moments as a kid where I held something in my hands that was once just an idea.
My career as a graphic designer began after a short detour through the decidedly uncreative world of finance and business administration. Before I graduated from Concordia University, I was hired as the lead graphic designer for the Concordia Student Union – a job which prepared me for the proverbial real-world more than any course in university ever could. There I met what is now my normal: extremely tight deadlines, prospective projects that would never see the light of day, and the not-always-kind criticism of clients who are not your peers or professors. Despite the challenges being unexpectedly thrown into this job I felt ill-prepared for, I loved – and still love – the positive things about doing what I do: The hustle and bustle of tight deadlines, the shared creativity between colleagues, and the pride that comes with seeing a project through to the end.
Having the opportunity to work for many companies throughout my career, I have built up a wide range of design skills and experience. My first job outside the university walls, working at Karmin Industries, was entirely different from my job at CSU. I went from creating posters, signs and postcards to creating packaging for toys and stationery. Since that time, I have been lucky enough to design layouts for training programs at Taimma Communications; coordinate studio activities and design product catalogues and web graphics for Warren Garrett Interior Design; create even more, even better packaging for a second round at Karmin; and, finally, settle into agency life as the senior graphic designer creating branding, marketing materials, websites and advertising campaigns first at Agence KBoom and now at Tchin Tactic.
Creating isn’t just a job though, and I often have passion projects in the works. I love crafting, especially paper crafts and card-making. That’s why, when I’m not working on my own personal projects, I take on small projects for other people. If you’ve got an event or wedding you need invites, signage, or a website for, promotional items, or any of my other design services, don’t hesitate to contact me!
It may sound like I work a lot, and I do, but work definitely isn’t my whole life. When I’m not working I can usually be found lounging in my garden, out for a walk with my husband, or cuddling with my cat, my iPad and a tea on the couch.
RESUME