“I started working in graphic design in 1953, when it was called commercial art,” said Pat Taylor, a lifelong member of ADCMW. Over his career, he’s exercised his branding talents for agencies like Advertising Art & Copy, publications like LOOK Magazine, and the Creative Group, Inc.
He specialized in logo development and magazine design through his company, Pat Taylor, Inc., since 1969. Plus, he volunteered his free time with ADCMW and beyond by helping to build the Washington, DC, creative community.
“In 1971, I moved to DC and started all over again. I also taught at the Corcoran College of Art and Design for 10 years. Later, I received the Honorary Life Member award from the Art Directors Club of Metro Washington and the Fellow award from the AIGA-DC.”
So we wanted to know what someone with such recognition as Taylor — who retired in 2008 — considers the defining moments in his career.
I started to weave Randi Meredith’s answers to our Fresh Face questions into a narrative, but I felt compelled to leave her responses as-is. There are far too many details describing her that would otherwise be dropped … and then you wouldn’t get the full scope of Randi Meredith. Which would be a shame. – Steph
I’m from Shamokin, PA. I lived there for the first 18 years of my life then moved to Chestnut Hill, PA, for 2 years of school. After that I lived in King of Prussia & Phoenixville, PA for 6 years. Then off to Kutztown, PA for 4 more years of school.
I’m 29.
I’m the middle of three children all very close in age and raised by my mother. We are a very close group.
I only speak English but I can read Spanish in context. I love to travel and do so as often as possible. I’ve been in Cambodia, Thailand, Jamaica and took a sketching tour of Mexico. I’ve also traveled through the entire eastern seaboard and some of the mid-west.
Until very recently, Jamielyn Smith never lived in the same house for more than three years. While growing up as the second of five kids (three boys and two girls) in a family having a father in the Navy, the 23-year-old San Diego native remembers loving to create things.
“I had a subscription to Highlights for Children magazine and would always do the craft projects. I also did all the projects in old rainy day craft books for kids and would get different craft kits and art supplies for my birthday and Christmas.”
But it would be composing photographs that would lead Smith to an ongoing outlet for her passion for creation. At only 11, she started taking pictures with a friend. Then, at 12, she went to visit that friend in Phoenix and took a lot of photos of the city’s landscape. Her parents noticed her talent, and they decided to foster her skills by giving her a Canon SLR camera for Christmas.
When I met Patrick Smith of Market Hardware last November at BarCamp DC, I hardly realized how inspired I’d become by just volunteering my free time to work on a project he envisioned. After all, I already very happily volunteer with FullBleed helping to solicit stories and edit articles for the ADCMW community. And, with other responsibilities on my plate outside my day job, I was a bit skeptical that I had more time to give.
But, as a fan of TED — which stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design — I thought it could be fun to be part of a local version, which Patrick was beginning to plan, called TEDxPotomac. So, when he asked if anyone would be interested in volunteering, I stepped forward, and it’s proved to be such a fulfilling endeavor.
Now, after eight months and hundreds of hours of planning among passionate volunteers and supporters alike, we’re about to see the fruits of our labors distilled in a line-up of truly engaging presenters who embody our theme, “Beyond Politics: Innovation, Inspiration, and Insight.” With so many events in DC geared toward specific industries or issues, it’s refreshing to be an integral part of a more wide-spanning program whose talks range from environmental impact to electronic music, from architecture to the Encyclopedia of Life, and from cupcakes to Craigslist.
“The mantra that I like to keep in the back of my head is ‘Wake Up and Live,’” says Erik Dreyer, the art director at Bethesda-based advertising and PR firm August, Lang, & Husak (ALH). “It was on a Bob Marley t-shirt I had when I was a kid. It helps me keep perspective on what’s important.”
And what’s important to Dreyer these days is planning his wedding with his fiancée Lauren, chairing the education group within a young professionals advertising organization called Ad 2 DC, and directing the creative endeavors of ALH. He says he approaches his contributions to these efforts and more “with the easygoing, free-spirited attitude that I snatched up in Cali.” Continue reading…
Russell Heimlich is a lefty. And an only child. And he knows a thing or two about computers.
“My parents really wanted me to be good at computers, so there has been a computer in our house for as long as I can remember. My first computer was a Commodore 64; my parents wrote DOS commands so I could play games,” he said. “As we upgraded computers I learned more and more about them. My dad worked for the government, and he once took me in so I could use Gopher, a pre-Internet computer network.”
Wisconsin-native Jen Fose admits to being the black sheep of her large, mid-western family. Of her 25 cousins, she’s the only one who “stayed the somewhat uncertain course of a creative professional.”
Now, the 25-year-old is living in DC and working with the Creative Studio team at Ogilvy; not necessarily your black sheep of design leaders in the industry.
“My family members have all selected very practical career pathways and have become either accountants or engineers,” she said, acknowledging that she’s always received widespread support from her family for her creative pursuits. “I’ve proven that you can make a living doing something a bit less conventional.”
Since graduating from McGill University in Montreal, Claire Manibog has been working as a philanthropic advisor — and she loves it.
“Basically, I help people like Bill Gates make smart choices when they donate their wealth to charity. I work with an incredible team of smart, young people and their energy, optimism, and brains keep me motivated every day.”
Though, Claire doesn’t seem to be short on motivation.
Jessica Avison wishes she could tell her younger self to stop worrying. “Don’t be afraid to try new things. Things will come together, as long as you keep trying.”
So far, her life has been following that advice (although with *some* fretting, after all). For examples, she just started a new career in design, she’s about to be married (on Saturday), and she’s getting involved with DC creative groups (even if she doesn’t initially know anyone in them). Continue reading…
Andrew Cohen abandoned a computer science degree program at George Mason University to pursue a graphic design degree, instead. It was a transition that happened naturally — from his playing “Oregon Trail” on an Apple II GS using disks that needed to be flipped halfway through the game to learning photography from his mom and sister to creating websites in Dreamweaver and Photoshop.
Now, the 24-year-old Old Town resident and suburban-Richmond native spends his time designing for the web; that is, when he’s not playing soccer, mountain biking, running, snowboarding, reading, hoarding music, drawing, photographing, catching up with his sister (who’s studying in Buenos Aires), or complementing his rewarding job at Brightline Interactive with freelance design — an endeavor he’s thought about doing full-time.
Steph has been excited about writing since 1988, when her fourth-grade teacher Mr. Grammer (no joke) gave her an A for a story she wrote and cleverly titled, "The Ruby Rampage." Many years later, she still seeks alliterative opportunities.
Steph earned her MS and BS in journalism from Ohio University's E.W. Scripps School of Journalism. She is an independent consultant; find her online at stephaniehay.com/.
