In and out of Motown

I grew up outside Detroit and went to art school in Saint Louis. My degree was a mix of graphic design and advertising. After college I moved back home and landed a copywriting job at a multinational advertising agency. I worked mostly on healthcare, tourism and, of course, automotive accounts. My portfolio was growing fast. But after about a year, the auto industry was on eggshells, the agency was facing cutbacks and my closest colleagues were jumping ship. I wanted a change of pace — maybe a smaller agency, maybe another market. I took a fresh look at Saint Louis.

Stuck in the middle

I found another copywriting position at an ad shop with 7 people. Talk about a change of pace. For the first few months, everything was clicking. But as time went on, there was less and less for a copywriter to do. The agency was veering closer and closer to branding. All along, I’d been brushing up on CSS, XHTML and PHP. I started doing some freelance web work and loved it. I quickly said goodbye to advertising and signed on as a web developer at a 15-person design agency.

Do not pass geaux.

Again things started well, but by late 2007, our web clients were stuck in a holding pattern. Meanwhile, a promising freelance opportunity arose that could tide me over for a few months. That is to say, one day in a Target parking lot, I ran into a guy I graduated with and he needed a web developer. It felt like the right time to move on. When I found out that an apartment was available near my long-term, long-distance girlfriend, I couldn’t resist. Now I’m in sunny Baton Rouge, working for a couple fine gentlemen, and in the midst of an invigorating fresh start.

So, what have we learned?

Alright, but how about a resumé?

I like to think of this entire site as my resumé. If you really need to see one, this should do the trick. Don’t worry, it’s not a PDF.