Hey, how’s it going? I’m Drew. I’m a graphic designer; I specialize in publishing design, as well other forms of print design.
Succinctly: I love stories, and I have always loved stories. As a young kid, each day I would spend hours daydreaming plots and characters to later mold into (albeit poorly written, but) passionately crafted short stories and what I would deem my novels-in-progress. I would often write longform on loose paper, later crafting folders to house each idea. Each folder, of course, accompanied by a hand-drawn ‘book cover.’
However, it did take me an embarrassingly long time to recognize the foreshadowing of my youth. In the end It was my brother who, whilst hearing me complain about not knowing my path in life while perusing a book store and fawning over the cover designs for the umpteenth time, said, “Why don’t you just do that?” And it made a lot of sense, so I did.
Since graduating as top of my class at Humber College with an Advanced Diploma in Graphic Design, I’ve interned in magazine publishing and currently work in educational book publishing. I also work freelance creating book covers for self-published authors. Besides publishing, I’ve found a love for other forms of print design, such as packaging design. I also have experience in web design. I pride myself in creating functional and striking layouts and my skill in working with text-heavy documents with knowledge of how to appropriately treat typography.
Not only do I collaborate directly with storytellers, I also always try to bring a narrative element into my process no matter the project. I ask myself on all occasions, “what is the story that’s being told” and answer (using all the tools in my ‘designer’s arsenal’), “how do I tell it so that people engage with it?”
Outside of design I’m a film buff, video game enthusiast, and still an aspiring novelist. So it’s safe to say creativity and story permeate every aspect of my life. My heart—much like a good story, and not unlike good design—rests at the intersection of art, entertainment, psychology and culture.
