It’s not too different than today.

Whether it’s spending an entire Saturday trying to improve on my rib recipe, directing video shoots, separating a spot varnish layer or coaching my daughter’s softball team (and still managing to get out and play a little ball myself – knock on wood for no more knee surgeries!), I still want to do it all. I can tell you its the very reason I love doing what I do. Repetition was never a word that sat well with me. Fortunately, I get the chance to meet some amazing people that do some amazing things. As a marketer, I’m given the opportunity to learn as much as I can about their expertise and twist it into something creative, and get them noticed for their hard work. It’s always a great feeling to help others succeed – with a nationwide marketing campaign or the local little league team.

I was first hooked on design when I began working for Wayne Kosterman at Generic Sign Systems and Identity Center in Schaumburg, Illinois. Until then, I was managing a restaurant and playing in a local band. A salesman for Generic, I designed wayfinding systems for hospitals and libraries, and basically any environmental signage project I could scrounge up. On my desk was a Mac, fully equipped with Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. The processor on the machine was probably 75 Mhz, but I was thrilled.

I became good friends with the designer for Identity Center, Darin Hasley. Darin and Wayne were always working on an identity project, and their expertise changed the way I saw art and graphic design. In between sales calls, I’d often start dabbling with my new software, and eventually started using the drawings in sales proposals and box lunch programs that I put on for interior design firms and architects.

One day I was observing Darin and Wayne discussing identity concepts for a new client, Wrightwood Inustries. An idea popped in my head and I did my best to sketch it and nervously presented it to them. Shortly afterwards that concept became reality, and it was also chosen as one of the best identites of the year nationwide in American Corporate Identity by David E. Carter. I was hooked.

Now it’s more than a decade later, and since then I’ve done design work for Proctor & Gamble, Time Inc., and specialized in healthcare via private practice or large hospitals like The Ohio State University Medical Center.

Feel free to comment on anything here or drop me a line with any questions. Like life, it’s always a work in progress, so feedback is always welcome. Thanks for visiting!

Jay Blaskovich