Still Designing after all these years!
Surprise! The key to creativity might just be a chocolate dachshund. Grab a furry friend for inspiration and see what you can create!
Designer profile:
EDUCATION
(BBusMan) Uni of Qld
Dip Graphic Design TafeQld
Certified Digital Marketing Prof
Digital Marketing Institute
Designing career started in 2008 – designing marketing material for the sales team at Craggy Range Winery.
My design work included:
- price lists,
- tasting notes,
- table talkers,
- PR flyers,
- promotional flyers,
- invitations
- menus
My skills have become more advanced and professional with the addition of the Adobe Create suites:
- InDesign,
- Photoshop
- Illustrator
- Animate
- Xd
Now I love nothing more than:
- editorial layouts, content creation
- promotional postcards,
- logo designs,
- business cards,
- newsletters,
- website design using Xd and WordPress.
Spare time: I produce the family photo books – a great place to use all my creativity and experiment with new and exciting designs. Also, a good place to figure out where to put 4500 photo’s taken during the year. This year is my 11th 40pg book. Illustrator has equipped me with the pen tool, so that now I can draw angels wings on my good child and devils horns and a tail on the bad evil one. Of course the ChocyDushies are never far away, mostly right by my side. They are my muse, my inspiration, my source of appreciation and great emotion and my reminder that there is great beauty in this world – if only we paid attention and took note.
Devoted 2 Dachshund Rescue (D2DR) foster carer
Rescuing naughty dachshunds is the name of the game. This can only mean one thing, lots more dachshunds in this designers work.
The Story
With most people there comes a story and so the story behind the motivation for this designer is an interesting one.
Milo & Frankie
Rescued from the blue dream 3 days after Christmas. They had both been to various families looking for a new home. They had however been badly neglected and mistreated. They became very bad barkers and Milo attacked other dogs with the intention of killing them. Frankie just barked at anyone willing to come near her, especially men.
Finally they found the Hawken Family but that was just the beginning. A trip to Gympie for some re-training which cost $1000, the purchase of 3 different dog collars and many many hours of getting used to other dogs on “walkies”, spending lots of time with mum while she studied the Adobe Creative Suits, learning not to bark. The ChocyDushies are born. They are ALIVE in Photoshop, Illustrator and a 40pg InDesign Photo Book. If it weren’t for Milo Milkshake & Frankie Fox, Mum wouldn’t be a budding Graphic Designer.
Update: July 2023
Three months to go until this graphic designer has completed a diploma in graphic design. All winter the ChocyDushies and 2 fosters Reggington and Rudi, have sunned themselves on the balcony, curled up in front of the heater when there are no sunny spots and taken it in turns to sit on the graphic designers lap while learning Animation and Xd. Animals are so intuitive to their owners emotions and so the 4 weiners have worked over time to ensure the graphic designer is happy, relaxed and in the creative zone. For their efforts there are treats at 10:30am, pats and most importantly a human always at home. Most recently, the designer has embarked on Parkrun (or Puppies in the Park as Milo calls it) – therapy for Milo Milkshake on a Saturday morning at 7am. Milo’s not good with other dogs and still reacts wildly at long legged woofers. We all have our strengths and weakness, thanks to the perseverance and determination of Milo’s graphic designer, Milo is a dramatacally different dog. As for the graphic designer, a defibulator might be a good idea at the end of a 30min Parkrun at under 27minutes. The moral of this story, to succeed you need spirit, determination and most of all you must find a way to get over the line. Sometimes several stubborn dachshunds dragging you with them.