Advertising is something I always wanted to do. Even as young child. Back then, I didn't know what it was called, but I still wanted to be in advertising. Our family moved often because my father was in the military, I took advantage of being around some of the world's great art. Even though 8 homes in 16 years, (including Germany and Italy), seems like a lot of moving, how many kids can say that they've had the opportunity to see some of the world's greatest art in person? Then again, how many people can say they've played a High School basketball game in Rome? Or taken high school field trips to Venice? Pisa? Or Naples? Or sailed down the Rhine River and visited castles that are thousands of years old?

Eventually, our family landed in Columbia, SC where I graduated from high school. I went on to force a 4-year degree in Communication Design into 6 years (without changing my major) at Florida State University. I was a Resident Assistant for two years, played one year of basketball, and managed to make it safely through the Disco years unscathed. And that's at FSU, a school known nationally as the number one party school.

After working construction for two years, I got my first job at Leslie Advertising as a Studio Artist. Nothing I had learned at school prepared me for that first week. This was in the Neanderthal days of pre-computer, and everything was done by hand. Setting type, mechanicals, lay-outs--everything by hand! In the mid - 80s, Leslie entered the computer age by purchasing one computer for seven Art Directors, two Creative Directors and four Studio Artists. On that one computer, we all learned to work in Pagemaker and the very earliest version of Photoshop. What I learned most from, however, was by watching some of the best Art Directors in the business. These guys, including me, worked on all kinds of accounts. The largest accounts were BI-LO grocery stores, South Carolina Parks, Recreation & Tourism, and multiple golfing and country club communities. Through the years, Leslie had grown to be one of the best hospitality agencies in the Southeast. After 11 years, and reaching the position of Art Director, I left Leslie to move across town to work at Erwin-Penland, Inc.

When I arrived, Erwin-Penland was a smaller agency than Leslie, with about 15 people. Our biggest account was Bell Atlantic Mobile (now Verizon Wireless). While there I worked on a multitude of accounts, and got the chance to do more types of work and lead my own accounts. That meant creating full advertising campaigns, including TV. I eventually earned the title of Senior Art Director. I worked there for about 7 years, while we grew into an agency of about 85 people. Eventually, I reached what I thought was the time that I needed new challenges. I wanted to do more "good work." I wanted to grow my skills and expand my experience. That's what I need today.

While the computer is an excellent tool, and allows me to work faster and explore ideas that I could not have in the old "everything by hand" days, it is not the end all to design. I still start all my jobs with a sketch pad and not a keypad. Being a good designer requires more than the ability to operate a computer and do a bunch of tricks in Photoshop. It requires a good idea. And while it is essential to have computer skills, a good designer still needs to know what makes a good design-and a good idea.

And I think I do.