Earlier

After making my way through an advertising centric graphic design degree at Oklahoma Christian University, the realm of interactive design was an unexpected, but welcome opportunity.

Now to be fair I enjoy branding, which is typically found under the umbrella of advertising. But it seems that opportunities to produce work ethically while standing under that umbrella are few.

This conclusion formed in spite of the helpful advice of Michael O'keefe, the head of the graphic design department at the time. I still remember his caution to be wary of using sex, babies or puppies to sway people. Essentially, refrain from abusing innate reaction in favor of employing argument.

That advice changed the way I went about my work for the better, and it changed my perspective on the industry for the worse.

This perspective shaped my search for internships during my last year in Oklahoma. Over the course of nine months I was fortunate to intern at Hester Designs (mostly print), (web, unfortunately now disbanded), and MIS (web).