David Brown

I was born & raised in Northern Ireland, growing up during "The Troubles" which left their mark on our country & its people. I emigrated to the US in 1994, after a year away doing volunteer service which included working with homeless families in Chicago & with street kids in Belem, Brazil. I have experienced school & life on both sides of the Atlantic.

I have been a graphic designer since 2002 but I understand that I don't fit the "official" standards for many job postings without the educational background of a 4 year BA of the usual candidates.

I designed at RPI Graphic Data Solutions 2002-11 & at Phototype 2011-12 doing detailed production art for pre-press. In 2013 I transitioned to creative production work with Cog Graphics Production Solutions where I do upstream creative packaging with the assistance of our trusty Roland printers, LEC-330 & VS-540i & the latest Oris software.

However I am always interested in other freelancing & creative opportunities.

I came to the creative industry later in life. In 1998, in my early 30's after going back to school in 2000. I chose a 2 year program with summer classes & on the job experience built into it & enrolled for graphic design at Northern KY Technical College - now Gateway College. I have been able to draw very well since I was a wee lad, but honestly wasn't into computers at all. I applied myself to the task at hand & two years later I graduated with as top student, with a 4.0GPA, winning various prizes & awards from the school.

Over the years my work has been viewed by many during events such as Tall Stacks & the Cincinnati Celtic Festival as well as tours of the Center for Holocaust & Humanity Education. During the last 2 years at RPI my designs were used to update & improve the look of Domino's locations throughout the US & Canada. While QSR has been a significant part of my work, my passion is real innovation - especially in the in-store environment through creative shelf merchandising & point-of-purchase solutions all leading to increased sales & exceeding customer expectations.

Still very much 39+ sales tax...

Happily married to my Kentucky girl since 1994, even though she does support Arsenal. Attempting to raise our two spirited kids who are very much Scots-Irish/Ulster-Scots at heart. Thankfully both support Manchester United & Northern Ireland - GGMU / GAWA!

I love design & creative thinking, from local creatives, to rockstars of innovation like Nottingham Spirk in Cleveland. Currently working on ideas for board games, pop-up kids book, & cultural t-shirts. Inspired by a wide variety of music from Mumford & Sons to the bagpipes of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards. • 80's/90's classic Christian hard rock: Sacred Warrior, Stryper, Joshua, Guardian, Barren Cross, Bloodgood, REZ. CCM artists like Sara Groves, Jeremy Camp, Casting Crowns, JJ Heller. • Northern Ireland: Rend Collective Experiment, Iona, Kathryn Scott, Bluetree, Joanne Hogg, Nameless. • Classic Movies: Frank Capra, Jimmy Stewart, Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Jean Arthur. • TV: 24, Fawlty Towers, Inspector Morse, Touch of Frost. 3 cheers for Roku & Amazon Prime! • REAL Football: Supporting Manchester United (since 1974). Following the English Premier League & European football in general. • History: Ulster-Scots (Scots-Irish), frontier America, WW2, Middle Eastern, Israel, Kurdistan & Biblical.

Real heroes are rarely found on any sports field:

Eric Liddle, Richard Wurmbrand, Gladys Aylward, Amy Carmichael, Jim Elliot, Phyllis Watson, Helen Ewan, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Faye Schulman, William Wallace, Gordon Wilson, William Wilberforce to name a few. The brave people of Kurdistan: Countless heroes who have endured & thrived against all odds.

Linked In:https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidbrowncincinnati/

Company Website:https://www.cogdriven.com/david-brown