About Me

About Me

A little word bubble that says "hello."
A stylized self portrait of Frank
I started as a generalist, then I dabbled in being a specialist, now I'm happily back to being kind of a generalist.
How did i get here?
The long version of that very confusing soundbite is that my professional life began as a creative jack of all trades.
I graduated with a degree in New Media and a focus in digital illustration. Once I realized that “cartoonist” wasn’t the most viable career option, I parlayed that skillset into being a sort of graphic design generalist.
During my various graphic designer stints, I tried on a bunch of different hats looking for a specialty that I felt comfortable settling down with. As much as I loved illustration or animation or web design, none felt like something I wanted to go all in on. I really liked doing a little of a lot of different things.
Eventually, I found myself on a project designing a touch screen interface. That project was essentially a Product Design bootcamp, and showed me a cool new discipline where I could use all the little skills I picked up throughout my career.
An infographic showing the skills of a cartoonist map over to a ux designer
Product Design, at least my experience with it, was the perfect place for someone who knew a little about a lot of things. I could speak Art Director, Developer, Product Manager, and distill all of that into something a client would understand.
Currently, I’m still doing a lot of little things. I’m Senior UX Manager at Woodruff, an ad agency in Kansas City. I’m also on the board of UXPA-KC where I try to help other eager little generalists like myself find their way in the world of UX.
Oh also, I still keep a foot in the world of illustration too.
so what do you actually do?
A short list of some of the things I do day to day are: wire framing // prototyping // information architecture // user research // web design // interface design // illustration // visual design // strategy
timeline of relevant events
Some select dates of importance in my professional life:
04/1990
Born in Queens, NY
05/2013
Graduated SUNY Purchase with a Bachelor of Arts in New Media, started freelancing, moved to Kansas City
03/2015
Graphic Designer at LJS Graphics
09/2017
Graphic Designer at Sizewise, first experience with the world of UX
01/2020
First official UX Designer at Sizewise
05/2021
Graphic Designer at Sandlot + Co.
12/2021
Senior UX Manager at Woodruff
01/2022
Board Member at UXPA-KC
01/2023
Board Member/Director of Community at UXPA-KC
any questions?
A little word bubble with two question marks in it
say hello