I wasn’t always a designer; I was once a painter, illustrator, print maker, and even a sculptor at one time. The fine arts have given me the knowledge and skills to combine everything I need to become a graphic designer. Instead of using a paintbrush I use a pen tablet, instead of illustrating I create page layouts, instead of sculpting I create packaging. To me, graphic design is just another medium to be used by an artist.
Design has a wide array of functionality. As a practicing graphic designer, I have the ability to function in as many areas as I choose. The more areas I involve myself in the more expressive I find my work and myself.
Most artists and even many designers have a “style” to their work. Maybe I haven’t reached that part of my life yet but I don’t have a “style”. To make it in this world, I have found that you need to be flexible, very flexible. So that’s what I learned to be, flexible; adapting to any design problem I come across. The relentless problem solving and change my work goes through, directly relates to how I constantly improve upon myself and the work I produce. But, no matter what I have worked on, I have always kept the same intention, and that is to communicate.
The main idea of design is to communicate a basic idea; whether it’s a feeling or a political statement, its always an idea at its root. Thus, what I do, communicate ideas clearly and creatively to the public. How to be a successful graphic designer is another story. Its that creative edge or visual elegance that differentiates a novice artisan from a master artisan and the same goes for graphic design.
In today’s culture we as the public are inundated with an overload of imagery and information. How is one able to get a message through? I take it upon myself to brake through the clutter of society and communicate a clear, comprehensive idea to those who need to hear, see, and most importantly understand what I am trying to convey.
-Michael Strauss
Objective_
Seeking a challenging position that will utilize my
acquired artistic, graphic, and creative skills as a
designer to help the company prosper.
Skills_
Proficient in the follwing computer programs:
• Mac OS 9 & 10.4 - Windows 98, 2000, XP
• Adobe; Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign, Acrobat, Aftereffects
• QuarkXPress
• Macromedia; Dreamweaver, Flash, Fireworks
• Apple; Final Cut Pro, DVD Studio Pro, Keynote
• Sketchup 5, Bryce 3D, Poser
• Microsoft Office
Other valuable skills:
• 35mm & Digital Photography, Product and Model
Photography, Color Correction
• On-site printing experience with 4 color process, silkscreen, flexo and pad printing.
Accomplishments_
• Web and Print Designer for the City of Peace, NYOrganization
• Exhibition at the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art
• Winner of the Congresswoman, Carolyn McCarthy Art Award • Winner of the Artist Society Scholarship
• One man gallery show for Superintendents of Long Island
Employment_
Art Director
Jan ‘05 - Present
Color-a-Cookie - Plainview, New York
Head of the design department of a popular cookie & candy company. Design numerous types of packaging including blister cards, boxes, and trays. Design products for Worldwide Companies such as Nickelodeon, Dreamworks, Universal, etc... Other responsibilites include advertisements, catalogs, presentation materials, web design, and press kits. Prototype creation a large responsibilty; with communication to international contacts in China, England, and Germany.
Graphic Designer - Digital Artist
Aug ‘04 - Jan ‘05
Lanco Corporation - Hauppauge, New York
Customize promotional products for fortune 500 companies.
Work on company catalogs, design packaging, wrappers, and labels for numerous items, and create webblasts(interactive emails sent to thousands of clients advertising new products
and services).
Graphic Designer
Sept ‘02 - June ‘04
Publications at SUNY New Paltz University
Interact with each individual department on campus and agree
on design layouts for numerous projects, including posters,
brochures, booklets, magazines, newspapers, invitations, etc.
Graphic Designer
Sept ‘00 - Present
MS Designs
Head of an independent design company. Responsibilities include: self-promoting of the company, meeting and interacting with clients, designing numerous print and web jobs for individuals, businesses.
Internship
May ‘03 - July ‘03
Cars Magazine - Hicksville, New York
Created advertisements for car dealerships and updated old ads for new editions. Interacted with clients and advertisement division of each dealership. Worked side by side with company photographers for each dealerships car pictures. Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design
Education_
Master of Fine Arts in Design
CW Post University, New York ('08)
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design
State University of New York, New Paltz
Portfolio and references available upon request