How it started
Ever since I was little, I have enjoyed art. It all started when I was little because I grew up on a steady diet of Saturday morning cartoons, Gargoyles, Zelda, Batman, and later anime like Dragonball Z. Art was my favorite subject throughout school, and I took every chance to practice it.
When I was young, my parents bought a new red Subaru station wagon, and I decided this brand-new car needed some improvement. The new vehicle was adorned with racing stripes by way of a rock. Although my parents weren’t the happiest, I was encouraged to explore my creativity, at least in controlled circumstances.
Graphic design introduction
I was introduced to graphic design during high school and took every design class I could. We used Corel Painter 7 animation and zip-disks.
Started at Hollywood Video
Hollywood Video promotion
Promoted to the assistant general manager at the flagship store in Oregon.
Lived in Brazil
My College Education
Started college, in marketing
I was accepted to the graphic design program but pursued a BA in business administration with an emphasis on marketing.
Assistant general manager
While in college, I helped lead Pizza Pie Café.
Visual communication intro
Halfway through college, I tried a visual communication class.
Visual comm TA and lab assistant position
Marketing manager position
Freelance work
I started doing marketing design work and content creation.
Graduated my undergrad
Graduated with a BS in Business Administration, an emphasis in marketing, and a cluster in visual communication.
MBA Education
Remotely, I completed an MBA with an emphasis in marketing from Sam Houston State University.
College Education Take Aways
The degree has been incredibly valuable throughout my career and has been a perfect balance to the creative.
- Fundamental Marketing Principles
Understanding of the 4Ps and other core marketing concepts. - Data Analysis
Skills in analyzing data to identify trends and make informed decisions. - Consumer Behavior
Understanding the psychological factors influencing consumers' buying decisions. - Basic Financial Acumen
Grasping financial statements, budgeting, and other essential financial concepts. - Project Management
Skills in planning, executing, and closing projects effectively.
I took all the visual communication classes I could find but I also learned through practical experience. Taking on any and every design job that would present itself.
- Visual Creativity
Strong sense of aesthetics and color theory. - Technical Proficiency
Adept in Adobe Creative Suite, Procreate, and other design tools. - Typography
Expertise in text layout and typeface selection. - Communication Skills
Excellent at articulating design choices and understanding client needs. - Problem-Solving
Skilled in optimizing user experience and simplifying complex designs. - Attention to Detail
Exceptional focus on fine elements, ensuring high-quality final products.
My time in the MBA program expanded on my previous educational and work experience. Although I had experience in all of the following, it was beneficial to expand my thinking and understanding.
- Strategic Thinking
Advanced skills in formulating, implementing, and evaluating cross-functional decisions that enable an organization to achieve its objectives. - Advanced Market Research
Skills in using sophisticated tools and frameworks for market analysis. - Leadership & People Management
Advanced skills in leading teams, conflict resolution, and organizational behavior. - Business Ethics & Corporate Governance
Understanding ethical practices, corporate social responsibility, and governance in a business context. - Integrated Marketing Communications
Understanding how to align different promotional tools and platforms to create a cohesive and effective marketing strategy.
My Work Career
My marketing degrees and design capabilities have made me a unique and capable integrated marketer. I have led teams of creatives, worked for multiple billion-dollar companies, and have seen impactful success. I have traveled internationally to art direct campaigns and run successful businesses. Let’s break it down a little more.
Firs full-time design job
During my senior year of college, I worked as a web designer for Openbook, a hotel booking software company.
First post college job
I started at PRMarketing.com Agency as a graphic designer working on content marketing, PR, and other digital marketing projects.
Promoted to creative director
Liberia Africa
I traveled to West Africa to help Sahbu, a non-profit that helped kids get off the streets and into schools through a grassroots social media campaign.
New creative director role
I joined Virtel Marketing.
Cabela's senior interactive art director
I moved to Nebraska to go to work for Cabela's. While there I was in charge of the digital marketing for soft goods, fishing category, and all of Canada.
Types of Projects
Notable Clients & Partnerships
I've Got Projects
My Teaching Career
My years in the industry, especially in leadership positions, always provided me opportunities for mentorship and teaching. I’ve relished these opportunities to help others. So, when the chance came to take on a professor position, I couldn’t resist. I joined Brigham Young University-Idaho to teach visual communication and social media content marketing courses. It’s been an enriching journey.
Joined Brigham Young University Idaho
I began teaching within the visual communications emphasis.
Started the Social Media Emphasis
We developed the new emphasis on organic content marketing and digital campaigns.
Social Media Emphasis Lead
Every BYUI emphasis has a faculty lead who looks after courses, students, and other faculty members. After creating the emphasis, I was asked to lead the emphasis.
Skills I Teach
The two different emphasis I teach focus on different sets of soft and hard skills. Having taught them for close to a decade, I have been able to research to expand my own knowledge and help others to gain their own abilities. This is what I focused on.
Visual Communication
COMM 130: Visual Communication
This intro course teaches the basics of graphic design and introduces students to the Adobe Creative Suite, focusing principally on Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign.
- Visual communication
- Audience
- Design principles
- Critical analysis
- Color theory
- Typography
- Layout design
- Basic photography principles
- Creative advertising
- Presentation design
- Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, & Indesign
- Project planning
- Exploration and ideation
- Critiquing and refining
COMM 300: Digital Imaging
This course teaches the skills and knowledge needed to create professional quality photography through hands-on experience. It surveys different forms of photography and how to manipulate images in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop.
- Photography principles
- Professional camera competence
- Image manipulation
- Audience-centered visual communication
- Product photography
- Portraiture and headshots
- Event photography
- Editorial photography
- Advertising campaign photography
- Photojournalism
- Adobe Photoshop & Lightroom
COMM 462: Advanced Visual Communication
Graduating students plan and execute three significant projects, one of which is a large group project. Every project is different and requires considerable adaptability and impromptu teaching.
- Advanced visual principles
- Proficiency with industry-standard tools
- Design principles
- Complex problem-solving in creative
- Color theory
- Project management techniques
- Portfolio development and presentation
- Basic photography principles
- Creative advertising
- Legal and ethical media practices
- Collaboration techniques
- Creative leadership
- Exploration and ideation
Social Media
COMM 315: Designing for Social Media
This course teaches students to strategically create and execute a visual content strategy for a social media presence. Students go through identifying and selecting an audience, building the brand/organization’s social media presence, and creating and executing a visual content strategy within different mediums.
- Evaluate social media efforts
- Competence in Industry-standard tools
- Organic content creation
- Strategic use of platforms
- Branding and style guides
- Visual content creation
- Native video creation
- Sponsored post campaigns
- Audience-centered content strategy
- Videography
- Photography
- Graphic design principles
COMM 397D: Social Media Practicum
This course offers a hands-on learning experience where students create and manage social media content for an assigned brand. Students focus on developing long-form content through research, creative and critical thinking, and collaborative group work, gaining real-world experience in social media management.
- Create campaigns
- Manage social media for a brand
- Develop long-form content
- Conduct research and analysis for content
- Apply creative and critical thinking in content creation
- Write blog content
- Plan and produce a live production
- Collaborate in group-based projects
- Audience-centered content strategy
- Professionalism and Initiative in a client-based setting
COMM 420: Social Media Campaigns
This capstone course for the Digital Media emphasis challenges students to plan, execute, and measure integrated social media strategies. Students manage campaigns for brands, refining their skills in digital media management, strategy development, and performance evaluation, while building professional-caliber case studies for future employment.
- Design social media strategies
- Execute social media strategies
- Measure and adjust campaign performance
- Apply current social media platforms and tools
- Develop professional-quality case studies
- Manage campaigns for multiple brands
- Collaboration and group-based projects
- Audience-centered content strategy
Advisor for Soapbox Agency
The university has a creative agency that provides students with a practical agency experience. It is run as a legit agency, and the agency takes on paying clients. As an advisor, I managed all graphic design, copy, marketing, and social media client projects.
Interim GM for Soapbox Agency
Due to a personal change, I became a temporary general manager for Soapbox Agency.
iCOMM President
Due to another personal change, I was asked to step in as iCOMM’s president. This company has three primary products or businesses: Soapbox Agency, Scroll, and the Production Studio.
iCOMM President Role
iCOMM is a subset of the BYUI Department of Communication. As iCOMM’s president, I lead the three different businesses, overseeing operations, executions, and growth. Although my primary goal was to teach and mentor students, this experience kept me on one foot within the industry. Here is a little about each organization.
Soapbox Agency
The client projects typically included strategic planning, conceptualization, development and execution, quality control, client and stakeholder communications, and team leadership and development.
Services and Capabilities
We love crafting beautiful, smart, and inspired work that is focused on a business’s goals and its customers. We do this across multiple touch points to help organizations achieve their goals.
Research & Strategy
- Discovery & Research
- User Experience
- Brand Strategy & Architecture
- Positioning
- Content Strategy
- Marketing Campaigns
- Social Media Strategy
Branding & Design
- Brand Development & Rebranding
- Logo & ID Systems
- Brand Style Guides
- Messaging
- Marketing Collateral
- Print & Packaging
- Wayfinding & Signage
- Environmental Design
- Iconography
Marketing & Public Relations
- Market Research
- Content Creation
- Campaigns
- Pay-Per-Click Advertising
- Email Marketing
- Content Marketing
- Social Media Marketing and Management
- Media Relations
- Corporate Communication
- Community Relations
Content Production
- Script Development
- Copywriting
- Storyboarding
- Illustration
- Animation
- Motion Graphics
- Explainer Videos
- Live-action Production
- Post Production & VFX
Partial Client List
This list is just a few of the clients the agency has worked with while I’ve been apart of the agency.
Scroll
The publication is the premier place for students, alumni, employees, and community members to access the news and updates about the university and surrounding areas. By focusing on these priorities, Scroll aims to continue its 100-year legacy as a vital part of the BYU-Idaho community while adapting to the changing landscape of digital journalism. This structured approach helps ensure that the content informs, entertains, inspires, and supports. The needed skills to oversee the paper are:
Production Studio
Over the years, Soapbox and Scroll have invested millions into state-of-the-art photography and videography equipment, transforming it into a full rental service. Our production office now offers a wide range of equipment and a production studio for high-quality content creation. The production office is managed by a coordinator who reports to the student media general manager. As iCOMM president, I provide oversight and expertise through the following skills:
Required Skills to Lead
- Equipment Management
- Studio Management
- Rental Operations
- Technical Support and Training
- Collaboration and Coordination
- Budgeting and Resource Allocation
- Health and Safety Protocols