For as long as I can remember, I have been interested in visual design, and I
am fascinated by the possibilities for organizing and presenting data.
Together, these have led to my interest in information architecture,
visualization and information graphics. I have gotten involved in several
related disciplines, including print publication, web and database design,
illustration, cartooning, 3D modeling and branding. I believe this also helps
to explain my lifelong fascination with clocks (which I collect and repair, and
build from my own designs) and typography.

I am pursuing an MFA in emergent media not only to hone my practical skills,
but also to build my conceptual understanding of the industry, its progression
as a discipline, its frontiers, and its applications. I particularly love to
study how traditional notions of typography and design are being reinterpreted
on emergent media platforms. The possibilities offered by these platforms mean
new responsibility for the designer, as considerations of other disciplines,
such as animation and UI design, must be taken into account.

While my ultimate goal at this point is to work in industry, building
applications on emergent media platforms, I am also interested in contributing
to the discipline through research and teaching, and the opportunities to do so
in ATEC have attracted me.

I earned my undergraduate degree from UTD's ATEC program. At its culmination, I
produced a thesis project called Like a Donut, a video-based attraction website
which explored the feasibility of a UI that encourages topical navigation and
obscures chronological ordering. The site is powered by a MySQL database, PHP
and JavaScript scripting, and a Flash-based front end, and features video
content produced in collaboration with another ATEC student, Phillip Johnson.
Like a Donut was evaluated for thesis purposes once it met the original
milestones in May 2008; however, its development (both platform and content) is
continuing. Like a Donut is online at http://likeadonut.com.

I supplemented my ATEC degree with extracurricular work for exposure to various
forms of conventional and new media. For UTD's student newspaper The Mercury, I
helped with branding, redesigned the website, contributed illustrations,
cartoons, stories and layouts, and served as Managing Editor for the 2005-2006
school year. During that time, The Mercury earned the Associated Collegiate
Press' highest honor, the Pacemaker, and I was awarded third place nationally
for my comic strip, Black and White. My contributions also placed in various
competitions at Texas Intercollegiate Press Association conventions.

I made similar contributions to the student opinion publication A Modest
Proposal, where I served as an editor, and the student radio station. As
systems administrator for Radio UTD, I worked to expand the website into a
database-driven, interactive destination for information, discussion and
commentary on the music Radio UTD plays.

In 2004 I was named a finalist for UTD's McDermott Scholars Program; as a
result, I received an Academic Excellence scholarship and membership in
Collegium V for the duration of my undergraduate career. I have also been named
a National Merit Commended Scholar and an Advanced Placement Scholar with Honor
for my academic performance in high school.

I am a member of the Interaction Design Association (ixda.org), the Society for
News Design (snd.org), and the National Association of Watch and Clock
Collectors (nawcc.org). I aim to become a more active member of each of these,
as well as other related professional associations, over the coming years.