I am, at heart, a graphic designer — classically trained at the University of Washington under the Bauhaus design philosophy. After practicing in Portland, Oregon for several years after graduation, the opportunity to work in one of the city’s best advertising agencies was too alluring to ignore, and my career veered from the strict discipline of graphic design into the wilder world of advertising.

I found the exercise of combining pictures, film and words in ways that elicited an emotional response, or motivated someone to act, intoxicating. Much more so than pure design. Looking back on a long career, I’m certain now that part of that was ego driven — the desire to produce work that was more clever than someone else might. Thankfully, the inherent discipline of my design background and the good fortune to work with brilliant writers and planners, provided an overall structure that was and is infused in everything I do. Whatever it is, whomever it’s for, whatever form it takes and no matter who the intended audience, the work must operate within a tightly defined strategic framework. No exceptions.

I ended up working at Foote Cone & Belding/San Francisco during its heyday, when Mike Koelker was the global creative director, which was a blessing of incalculable proportions. Mike’s mantra was “Make it different, make it beautiful.” Words I’ve come to live by…or at least try to. Many more jobs followed over the years that afforded the opportunity to work on global and boutique brands alike. What I realized over those years, is how important good design is to every piece of communication, and that the presentation of them is equally as important as the words and ideas themselves.