Hello. It's nice to meet you. I'm Jessica, a designer, developer and instructor based in Portland, Oregon. I have a passion for branding, web design, typography, art history, lettering and calligraphy. I'm easily excited, enjoy solving problems and am honest to a fault. Let's chat and get coffee sometime.

FAQ

How did you become a designer?

Looking back it's no surprise I ended up as a designer. My childhood was full of arts and technology. During the day I would dance, sing, act and draw and at night I would spend countless hours on the computer playing games and making greeting cards. The moment I toured the Art Institute of Portland I knew it was a perfect career path for me.

Are you a developer?

For a long time I've hesitated saying I am a developer because my education is in design. However, in reality I've been writing code for personal projects and client projects since 2007. While I know enough PHP to find my way around a Wordpress theme, my strength is in front-end development.

Not-so-secret computer nerd? Please explain.

For the past two years 'secret computer nerd' was in my twitter description. It was a secret because if you saw me on the street you'd never guess that I've built my own custom PC, enjoyed the occasional (ehm, serious) MMORPG and hacked a program or two. Recently, I've decided that I'm proud of being a nerd. I firmly believe it is what makes me a unique designer/developer.

How did you build your website?

My website is built with a light-weight file-based CMS called Kirby. Starting with a wireframe sketch and basic photoshop mockup, I designed mostly in a browser and wrote 100% of the HTML, CSS and PHP by myself. The site is completely responsive and has at least 5 different breakpoints. For the tech nerds I used Sublime Text as my text editor and for the type nerds I'm using Whitney by Hoefler&Co.

Why do designs in your portfolio have lorem ipsum?

I use lorem ipsum as placeholder text before receiving final copy from a client. The projects in my portfolio are actual designs that the client approves before development begins.

Do you have any interests outside of design?

If I wasn't a designer I would love to teach ballroom dancing. Starting with ballet when I was five and moving to ballroom in high school, I can confidently say I know my way around the dance floor. On lazier days my guilty pleasure is binge watching Netflix. Some of my current favorites are: House of Cards, Alias, Criminal Minds and Harry Potter.

Can you tell me more about yourself?

I'm not a cat person. I know, it's an internet crime but I'm highly allergic.