Along the way, I’ve handled a wide range of projects for a wide range of clients — projects as small as a business card to as big as a 70-foot-long undulating tradeshow wall, for everyone from Citibank to the non-profit sector, and everything and everyone in between. I have purposely spent my career, building a diverse portfolio of work because I thrive on the challenge of taking on projects that are vastly different from anything I’ve done previously. I feel that it makes me a stronger designer and better problem solver. One of my design heroes Massimo Vignelli once said, “Specialization leads to stagnation.” That has been a guiding principle for me.

What I’ve done
After precociously skipping the 12th grade and graduating from the prestigious design program at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia with honors at the age of 20, I promptly moved to New York to start my first job six weeks later. Since then, I have been on staff and worked on a freelance basis at a diverse group of offices, studios and organizations. Having worked at some of the top corporate identity firms in the world — such as Enterprise IG (formerly Anspach Grossman Portugal), Interbrand, G2 (the branding arm of Grey Advertising) and Lippincott Mercer — gave me extensive branding experience in designing corporate marks and visual systems. Having worked worked for small, boutique design firms — such as Pettistudio (formerly Valerie Pettis Associates), Broad Street, Seesaw and Baseline Design — I enjoyed fantastic creative freedom as well as hands-on managerial experience. Being on staff at the in-house design office at The New York Public Library and interning at The Philadelphia Museum of Art, I was fortunate to experience what it’s like to work in-house for large, well-known non-profits.

Where I’m from
Raised in an octragonal house that my parents built themselves outside a small town in northeastern Pennsylvania, I was brought up with the Yankee attitude that nothing was impossible. My parents taught me that not to attempt something, equalled failure! Where others may be intimidated or confused, I am enthused and challenged. (An ex-boyfriend once commented that I would have made a good frontierswoman.) I was also raised in a house where hard work was not only valued, it was expected by my strict parents. I spent my entire childhood competing in artistic roller skating. A typical week consisted of 40+ hours of practice in addition to maintaining an A average in school, and traveling all over the country on weekends to compete on the regional and national level. I often did my homework in the car on the way to and from practice or competitions under the map light in the back seat of my mother’s Oldsmobile.