HELLO,

My name's Drew Marshall and I've been working as a visual designer for 5 years.

Over the past year, I've moved towards interactive with my current job at Code & Theory. Prior to that I worked as a freelance designer for 3 years, focusing on branding, illustration, and information design. Hailing from Minnesota by way of Portland, OR, I've worked with a variety of clients such as Wieden + Kennedy, Plazm, Leopold Ketel & Partners, Nemo, and Nike. I've kept myself busy apart from just commercial work. With the Portland Funbook, I collaborated with dozens of well-known artists and musicians to publish a series of coloring books and vinyl records for charity.

From my time working with a wide variety of clients, I bring a wide variety of visual problem solving skills to interactive design. While at Code & Theory I've worked with both TechCrunch and TMZ along with smaller clients to audit existing problems and inconstancies and develop potential solutions.

I have a Bachelor's Degree in Graphic Design from Portland State University.

References are available on request.

The ol' office in Portland, OR

3 THINGS

I'm not just showing off pretty designs here. Good design is a collaborative process defining what a client's goals are and working together to develop the visual solution that achieves those goals. With that in mind, there are three key design principles I stick by:

Process, Process, Process

Process is key. Any fresh design student can make a cool looking logo, rad looking website, or awesome rock poster. Good design isn't always hip or sexy design. What's appropriate for Nike isn't necessarily appropriate for Columbia Business School. By it's very nature, design must cater exclusively. Out of the box solutions smell like stock photography, and stock photography smells awful.

The design process begins with broad strokes, sketching out a plan alongside the client. The more collaborative the process, the better the results will be. Working in isolation and presenting designs weeks later will only lead to work that usually misses the mark. Sketch and discuss in detail long before sitting down in front of the computer.

Learning and Pickling

I don't want to call myself a master of anything. Once you're a master, there's nothing more to learn. That's why I love working as a designer so much. Doing what I do, I'm always learning. This drive to learn extends beyond my job into every facet of my life. And in weird ways my interests in all things from cycling, to music, to cooking come back to inform my design work. Have I told you about my new pickling recipe?

Balance Between Innovation and Standards

Good design isn't just inspiration and intuition. There are legit numbers behind what works and what doesn't. But design isn't an exact science by any means. The role of a designer is knowing how to interpret the client's needs to develop a winning solution. Good design must strike a balance between tried and true and innovation