Our Mindfly Webpage Website Design Studio

For most of my life, I've had a passion for making neat things. In school, when it came time to create the next book report or social studies project, I'd brainstorm all the ways I could make mine unique. I wanted to use glue and pens and color and create an awesome report, rather than just another paper report. Of course, this often meant spending more than twice the time on any given project, but in the end, I was proud that I had created something I thought was "cool". This same work ethic is what continues to feed my desire to create web designs for others. My job as a communication designer is to listen to people as they describe their business goals and then to create visual designs that convey those same ideas on the screen. Doing my best to create unique, beautiful, and thought-provoking designs, I work with our clients to make sure the end result still meets their primary business goals & objectives, but that they still end up with something "cool".

I created my first web design in 2000 for an education class while I was pursuing my Science Teaching Masters Degree at Oregon State University in Corvallis, OR. Fortunately for that project, but unfortunately for the next 3 years of my career, I found more overall enjoyment in creating one little website than I found in my years of teaching science to middle school students. It didn't take me long in the public school sector to learn that I wasn't cut out for teaching middle or high school. However, I knew I had the drive and desire for design-related work, so I set off in a new direction - and never looked back!

In 2003, I began my first internship at Mindfly while simultaneously attending design classes in the evenings. Through a lot of trial & error, intense reading on HTML, and real client interaction, I quickly learned the ins and outs of web design. At that time, websites were much different than they are now, and our company has since made big leaps in the way we code websites, and in the ways we design them. By attending several national web conferences and seminars, I'm continuing to build my design repertoire. I've also found a specialized love for usability and focusing on designs that help users find what they are looking for. Design is a "hook" to get users to start looking at a website, but well thought-out content, site organization and overall site navigation are big factors in converting website users into customers for our business clients.

On almost any evening or weekend, I give myself a break from the computer world and venture outdoors, usually for a good workout. You'll find me out on the local mountain biking trails with my dogs & my husband, hucking a disc in an Ultimate Frisbee, Goaltimate, or Disc Golf game, or hiking around in the wilderness. Whether it be a big adventure in the Cascades, a road trip, an ultimate tournament, a local hike, or tooling around the yard, I like to take advantage of all the sunshine I can get (we're currently in the brink of spring, so I think I'm a little sunshine deprived at the moment). A little known fact is that I have a passion for Ballroom & Latin dancing, and although I don't go nearly enough, turn on a West Coast Swing, Cha-Cha or Lindy Hop song, and I'll be ripping up the dance floor as long as my feet can hold out! We've also got a small house with a big garden, so during the awesome Bellingham summers, I'm out plucking weeds, feeding the chickens (in that order), tending to the vegetable garden and transplanting things all over the place. A garden to me is like an artistic puzzle that is never quite finished; it is constantly morphing, and with a bit of sweat and creativity, the entire look & feel of it can change in an afternoon. It didn't take me long to realize that Bellingham is a beautiful place to live and to work, and with all it has to offer, I couldn't imagine living anywhere else!