I’m a graphic designer, web designer, photographer, communicator… basically a well-rounded creative guy. As a natural problem solver, I’ve found my creativity thrives on challenges throughout many different areas. This creates a need to explore many different media and techniques to reach the appropriate solution, hence my heavy creative toolbelt. Does that mean I have designer’s crack? Oh well.
Resume
Please feel free to connect with me through any number of the social media services found at the bottom of this site.
CONTACT INFO
- nick[at]nicktann[dot]com
- 515-868-5785.
A BRIEF DESIGN BACKGROUND
The Baltimore Sun, January ’12 to Present ( baltimoresun.com ) – Joining the interactive design team in The Sun’s newsroom was the best decision I’ve made in a long time. I’ve always been interested in the news but I never realized how thrilling and fulfilling it is to be a part of the process. As the Design and Technology Manager, I use digital and traditional data visualization techniques, along with custom designs and graphics, to enhance to our readers’ experience with the daily news. The fast pace inherent in this business fuels my decision making and organizational skills and has given me the opportunity to help lead our team in times when my creativity can shine.
Nick Tann Design, September ’02 to Present – I continually face the challenges of working as the sole creative person responsible for multiple projects, which require efficient time management and sound business practices. As my business has progressed, I’ve successfully met the increasing demands of designing for a wide range of clients and services. Because of this diversity, I’ve been able to create unique and marketable solutions through a variety of media outlets including Web site design, magazine and editorial layout, identity extension and promotional material production in print, web and signage.
Right Stuf, Inc., January ’05 to July ’11 ( rightstuf.com ) – As the Senior Web Designer for more than six years, I enhanced the Web design team in a number of ways. By creating a new corporate identity and applying strong branding principles, I helped to create better customer understanding and brand cohesion throughout many points of customer interaction. I also helped in the creation of various multimedia campaigns, most notably the production of the Anime Today podcast for the promotion of both production and retail divisions of the company. A few more notable achievements have been redesigning our main Web site in conjunction with on-going content software development, hiring and supervising an additional Web designer and maintaining the vital flow of communication between the production, marketing, and information technology departments.
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design, August ’97 to May ’01 ( design.iastate.edu/graphicdesign ) – My education at Iowa State University provided me with fresh visual perspectives and innovative conceptual and analytical abilities. I learned to apply solid compositional skills in a variety of media and found successful ways of pushing the limits to expand upon the fundamentals of design. During my study abroad experience in Rome, I found new inspiration and appreciation for the power of design. First hand experience in the Italian culture sparked new techniques and design styles for developing international design solutions.
WHAT OTHERS HAVE SAID
“Beyond his considerable talent as a graphic and web designer, he is a true collaborator. He explores and experiments with his ideas (and those of others), discusses their advantages and disadvantages, and then executes and adapts them… all with an eye toward communicating the marketing and advertising messages clearly and creatively. His professionalism and willingness to maintain this kind of two-way dialogue — and explain his rationale for making and adapting specific design choices — has been incredibly valuable to me over the course of both long- and short-term projects.”
– Alison L. Roberts, Strategic Marketing & Communications ( alrpr.com )
“Throughout the years, I have known Nick as a business colleague and classmate. Most recently, I was Nick’s immediate supervisor at Misix, Inc. Nick worked for Misix as a designer from 2007 – 2008. He was responsible for creating designs for print and web. With minimal direction, Nick was able to concept and build a new website for Misix. His leadership and organizational skills have contributed to the success of our company.
"I have relied on Nick throughout my career as a resource. His knowledge and expertise in design production is invaluable. Nick has excellent communication skills and is extremely patient with questions. He is able to clearly explain the solution to a problem.
As a former classmate, Nick and I have worked together on several projects. We created a film capturing the experience of design students studying in Rome. As an independent course and Focus Grant project, this required Nick and I to learn how to edit video on our own. He was a reliable partner and teacher through the project.”
– Heather Dubinskas, Senior Strategist ( hdfolio.com )
