About Me

Graphic design is often defined as a form of art with a function: whether it's a logo, an ad, or a poster, designs must be aesthetically pleasing, in addition to fulfilling the purpose it was created for. As such, for me, design is the perfect marriage of the two dueling sides of my heritage. My maternal grandfather was an award-winning artist in Korea, and my mother passed on her own passion for the arts to me. From my father, I inherited a desire for order and logic, the instinct to analyze and look for patterns, and an interest in how things work.

My path to design began in high school, when I was an editor for the high school newspaper. In addition to writing and editing articles, I was responsible for laying out a section of the newspaper and editing photos using Quark XPress and Adobe Photoshop. After graduating, I continued to practice design while attending Northwestern University, where I entered a logo and t-shirt design contest and produced the winning entry. By the time I received my BA, I had honed my skills and knowledge of Adobe programs enough to land a job as an assistant ad and layout designer for the Denver branch of the Korea Daily, one of the major Korean newspapers in Korea and the US. Eventually I became the lead designer, overseeing production of both the daily newspaper and the weekly magazine, in addition to designing ads and layouts.

After some time, I left the Korea Daily to learn more about graphic design in general. The work, though interesting, centered only around ad and layout design, and I wanted to learn more, so I took a job as the resident graphic artist in a local print shop. During this time, I learned much about print production and file preparation, in addition to designing logos, business cards, postcards, flyers, posters, and anything else my clients required on a daily basis. At the same time, I enrolled in online classes at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh to learn more about the field and further my design skills.

Since then, I've taken a variety of contract jobs, including developing layout templates and producing manuals for a civil engineering company, designing ads for local publications, and creating technical illustrations and manuals for a security technology company. I also accept freelance work, such as designing the monthly newsletter of the Al Kaly Shriners, or designing the odd logo or t-shirt here and there.

I chose the name of this site because I have always had an affinity for bears and what they represent. In Native American lore, bears represent gentle strength, dreaming, and the ability to heal. In some Asian cultures, bears also represent renewal, as they disappear every winter only to come back with the spring. It is that idea of renewal - of creating something new and special for each project I work on - that keeps me on the path of graphic design.