ARTIST
THE
SF BAY AREA GRAPHIC DESIGNER AND ILLUSTRATOR
DRIVEN TO EXCEED EXPECTATIONS AND DELIVER POWERFUL,
THOUGHT-PROVOKING VISUAL COMMUNICATION.
“SUCCESSFUL GRAPHIC DESIGN COMMUNICATES WITHOUT VERBAL EXPLANATION.” THAT IDEA IS AT THE FOREFRONT OF MY WORK, REGARDLESS OF THE MEDIUM, SUBJECT MATTER OR SCOPE OF A PROJECT. I HAVE SPENT MY LIFE HONING THESE SKILLS IN ONE FORM OR ANOTHER. FROM BASIC ILLUSTRATION AND COMPLEX TYPOGRAPHY TO MIXED MEDIA, VIDEO AND AUDIO PRODUCTION — I AIM TO GIVE CLIENTS A ‘VISUAL VOICE’ BY USING ALL THE TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGY AT MY DISPOSAL; WHILE KEEPING MY SKILLS (NEW AND REFINED) FRESH AND AT MY FINGERTIPS.
THROUGH STUDYING DESIGN AT A VARIETY OF INSTITUTIONS INCLUDING ACADEMY OF ART UNIVERSITY, SAN FRANCISCO AND DE ANZA COLLEGE, CUPERTINO, AS WELL AS GAINING VALUABLE ON-THE-JOB EXPERIENCE FREELANCING AND MOST RECENTLY WORKING AS A FULL-TIME GRAPHIC DESIGNER AT EMBARCADERO MEDIA, PALO ALTO, FOR THE PAST 8 YEARS — I HAVE GROWN TO ACQUIRE A KEEN SENSE OF CLIENTS’ AND CO-WORKERS’ TRAIN OF THOUGHT, AS WELL AS THE ABILITY TO QUICKLY AND PROFESSIONALLY BRING THEIR IDEAS NOT JUST TO FRUITION — BUT BEYOND TO NEW LIFE.
OHIO BORN AND BAY AREA RAISED, DOUGLAS C. YOUNG BEGAN DESIGNING AND ILLUSTRATING OUT OF THE GATE; SO TO SPEAK. THE FIRST PRINTED WORK WAS A GRADIENT-BASED ABSTRACT PIECE DONE IN FRACTAL DESIGN PAINTER (AN EARLY PRECURSER TO ADOBE PHOTOSHOP) AT THE AGE OF 6 WHICH CAN BE FOUND GRACING THE COVER OF HIS FATHER'S SUCCESSFUL BOOK, "OBJECT ORIENTED PROGRAMMING WITH C++ AND OSF/ MOTIF" THE CHOICE OF COVER ARTWORK WAS A LITTLE BIASED, SURE, BUT THE EXPERIENCE AND EXPOSURE GAVE DOUG AN EARLY SENSE OF CREATIVE CONFIDENCE WHICH ENCOURAGED HIM TO CONTINUE TO DESIGN PROJECTS THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF HIS EDUCATION AND ARTISTIC TRAINING. THIS IN TURN BROUGHT OPPORTUNITIES FOR BRANCHING OUT. WHETHER IT WAS VOLUNTEERING AND PARTICIPATING IN LOCAL CITY AND COMMUNITY PROJECTS, OR INDEPENDENTLY CONTRACT ING WORK WITH SMALL BUSINESSES THROUGH THE HELP AND CONNECTIONS OF FAMILY AND FRIENDS - HE WAS RAPIDLY DEVELOPING AND EXPANDING HIS PERSONAL STYLE, BRAND AND REPUTATION.
IN WHAT WOULD BE A PERSONAL MILESTONE ACHIEVEMENT, IN MIDDLE SCHOOL HE ENDED THE 6TH GRADE BY COLLABORATING WITH A PROFESSIONAL DESIGNER IN SAUSALITO, CALIFORNIA TO COMPLETE THE TOOLS FOR SCHOOLS LOGO WHICH RAISED OVER $200,000 FOR THE MOUNTAIN VIEW SCHOOL DISTRICT. A WRITER FROM THE MOUNTAIN VIEW VOICE (OWNED BY HIS FUTURE EMPLOYER, EMBARCADERO MEDIA) PUBLISHED A STORY ABOUT HIM AND HIS LOGO AMIDST THE FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN. FOLLOWING THAT EXPOSURE, OPPORTUNITIES WERE GIVEN AND TAKEN LEFT AND RIGHT THROUGHOUT HIS YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULTHOOD. HE SPENT 4 YEARS AS AN ILLUSTRATOR FOR THE MOUNTAIN VIEW HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT NEWSPAPER, THE OR-ACLE. AFTER ATTENDING ACADEMY OF ART UNIVERSITY IN SAN FRANCISCO AND EXPLORING POLAR OPPOSITE POSSIBILITIES OF CAREERS IN THE WORKFORCE PURSUING SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT AND INSURANCE, HE RETURNED TO SCHOOL AND BEGAN ILLUSTRATING AND CONTRIBUTING TO THE DE ANZA COLLEGE NEWSPAPER, LA VOZ - FOR WHICH HE NOT ONLY WROTE ARTICLES AND PROVIDED GRAPHICS FOR, BUT ALSO REVAMPED IMAGES AND LOGOS USED IN THEIR WEB DESIGN AND SOCIAL MEDIA. DOUG ALSO REDESIGNED THEIR MASTHEAD AND VARIOUS SECTION HEADERS SUCH AS D.A, VOICES - A SEGMENT WHERE STUDENTS SPEAK OUT ON A SPECIFIC TOPIC - DESIGNS WHICH ARE STILL IN USE TODAY.
WHILE ATTENDING DE ANZA AND WORKING ON LA VOZ, HE WAS OFFERED A FULL TIME GRAPHIC DESIGN POSITION WITH EMBARCADERO MEDIA WHERE, FOR FOUR YEARS, HE HAS GROWN AND THRIVED AS A DESIGNER CREATING LAYOUTS AND ADVERTISING AS WELL AS DEVELOPING OTHER MEDIA PRODUCTS SUCH AS THE SIX FIFTY, AN ONLINE MILLENNIAL-TARGETING ENTERTAINMENT E-BLAST AND WEBSITE AND BEHIND THE HEADLINES, A WEEKLY SIX CAMERA - ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION WEBCAST AND PODCAST - WITH EDITORS INTERVIEWING FEATURED GUESTS AND GIVING INSIGHT INTO THE WEEKS TOP STORIES. HE BRANDED BOTH BEHIND THE HEADLINES AND THE LONG RUNNING ATHLETE OF THE WEEK INTERVIEW SERIES BY CREATING LOGOS, SOCIAL MEDIA BRANDING TEMPLATES AND VIDEO INTRODUCTIONS WITH ORIGINALLY COMPOSED, MIXED AND MASTERED MUSIC AND MOTION GRAPHICS.
OVER HIS CAREER HE HAS RECEIVED MULTIPLE AWARDS FOR THIS WORK FOR HIS WORK ACROSS THE PALO ALTO WEEKLY AND THE ALMANAC (2 OF THE FOUR PAPERS UNDER THE EMBARCADERO MEDIA UMBRELLA) FROM THE CNPA CALIFORNIA NEWS PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION) WHERE HE TOOK 1ST PLACE FOR COVER DESIGN AND LAYOUT IN 2018.