B I O G R A P H Y
WAS BORN in a displaced persons camp in Ulm, Germany in 1949, and celebrated my first birthday on the boat enroute to Canada.
My family settled in Toronto where I grew up. After high school I studied Communication Design at the Ontario College of Art, graduating in 1972.
My first job after college was at Typesettra, a phototype house owned and operated by the late Les Usherwood. I served a grueling eight-month apprenticeship there, operating a typositor machine (ancient photo-mechanical typesetting technology) and learning the basics of typography and mechanical assembly.
In 1973, I went to work at Chatelaine, Canada's largest women's magazine, where I helped redesign the magazine for its changeover from letterpress (another ancient technology) to offset lithography printing. This marked the beginning of a 12-year stint in the magazine business, during which time I was responsible for the design and art direction of a succession of Canadian consumer and special interest magazines including The City, T.O., Executive and Saturday Night.
During my tenure as art director, Saturday Night was named "Magazine of the Year" by the National Magazine Awards Foundation, in part for the "consistent excellence of its design, photography and illustration".
In 1982, hoping to expand my professional horizons beyond the world of magazine publishing, I co-founded Reactor Art & Design Limited with artists' rep Bill Grigsby, setting up shop in the former premises of my father's Camden Street garment factory.
From 1982 to 1995 I was Reactor's Creative Director, working with clients like Roots Canada, Bata Retail, SoftKey Software and Canada Post among others, as well as launching Reactor Artwear, a line of artist-designed apparel that was distributed worldwide. In 1995, tired of the management duties inherent in running a large studio, I left Reactor to work on my own.
In 1986, I was introduced to the Apple Macintosh and became an early convert to digital design and imaging technology. In 1997, I was invited by Apple Computer to join the AppleMasters, an international group of 'recognized visionaries chosen from various fields' which includes such luminaries as Michael Crichton, Terry Gilliam, Damien Hirst, Richard Dreyfuss and Muhammad Ali.
From 1997 to 1998 I worked with Sympatico, Canada's largest Internet service provider, as Senior Design Consultant, directing the design and implementation of a site-wide interface and branding makeover. In 2000 I did the same for Tucows, a global leader in wholesale Internet services and software libraries.
In 2001 I designed the brand and user-interface for adbeast, a provider of online services to the advertising & tv production industries. Through my continuing association with adbeast, I have designed websites for a number of agencies and production companies including Avion Films, William F White and C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures.
From 2003 until its acquisition by Autodesk in 2006, I was consulting Creative Director for Alias Systems, one of the world's leading 3D software developers. As Creative Director I oversaw all of Alias' branding, marketing and visual communications.
In June 2007, I accepted a position as Acting Art Director of Toronto Life magazine. During my 13-month stint, the magazine won Canadian Newsstand Awrds for Best Cover and Best Issue, and was named "Magazine of the Year" at the National Magazine awards, the highest honour that the Canadian publishing industry can bestow.
My work has been recognized by numerous awards in Canada and abroad, including the Toronto Art Directors Club's Les Usherwood Award, named after my old mentor, and presented for lifetime achievement in the field of communication arts.
Design publications that have featured my work include Applied Arts, Communication Arts, Print, Adobe Magazine, HOW, I.D., IdN, MdN, Computer Artist, Design Graphics and Novum Gebrauchgrafik.
I have served on the CAPIC Digital Technology Committee, the Electronic Link Advisory Board, the Design Advisory Board of George Brown College, the Advisory Panel of h@bitat at the Canadian Film Centre, and the Boards of the Art Directors Club of Toronto and the Worldwide Publishing Consortium.
I currently operate out of my home studio in Kettleby, Ontario and a downtown Toronto office, dividing my time between design and illustration projects and strategic consultation for a variety of clients.
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