After graduating from The Ohio State University in March 2005, I knew that I needed to choose a career path. Instead of jumping into the workforce, I moved home to Cleveland and began a summer of travel. From Montreal, Quebec to Phoenix, Arizona, I saw North America in so many different ways. In one month I traveled to New York City, St.Louis, Mesa Verde (Colorado), the Grand Canyon, New Mexico, and the coast of North Carolina. At the end of my summer of exploration, I ended up moving to Pittsburgh for a 1 year urban mission trip. I spent time working with children ages 9 months-5 years, and learned that I actually do like kids more than I thought. I started working in retail for Ann Taylor Loft and moved from Sales Associate to Manager in Training and then to Assistant Manager within 15 months. I learned a lot about myself during that time and discovered that I could be myself and still hold onto my faith. I am a warm, fun-loving person, but I can be very blunt and I don’t apologize for who I am.

I made the move from Pittsburgh back to Cleveland last summer and quickly realized that my new found love for the Steelers would not be welcome here in Browns territory. I found myself searching again for job opportunities that would allow for a real schedule (no more weekends and holidays for me!) New York? DC? Seattle? I wasn’t sure where I wanted to end up, but I soon learned that Cleveland was going to be my home once again. It has been strange to realize that Cleveland is not the town that I knew growing up- there is much more here than the schools, libraries, and parks that I went to during my childhood. I have spent several months finding my favorite places in Ohio City, Tremont, Coventry, and Lakewood. On any given weekend, you will find me talking with friends and fellow Go Mediaites at the Bier Markt, perusing the produce stand of the West Side Market, at Momentum Christian Church(in a movie theatre), having brunch at Grumpy’s, and soaking in the rays at Edgewater Beach.

After moving home, I did land a job here in the Cleve (not an easy task as our fair city suffers through this rough economic period), but it was not for me. I spent 5 months as a staffing manager for a hospitality staffing firm, gaining more client relation experience and employee management skills. Unfortunately, my artistic inclinations were suppressed in that kind of office job, so I began the search again until I heard about Go Media. The merging of my background in photography and art history and several years of management experience led to a great match here. I spend my days responding to inquiries, writing estimates, sending invoices, starting projects, searching out great new projects and assisting the designers with client communication. Oh and if you ever find reason to call our office, I’m the friendly voice on the other end of the line.

Nowadays I’m rolling onto Franklin Boulevard around the same time Jeff and his bride-to-be are wandering up the sidewalk, bagged lunches in hand. Not far behind is Comella, windows down and tunes cranked — if I look close, I can usually catch a sparkling Sicilian smile as he cruises over to his parking spot. Without fail, I know that Heather, Katie, Romsey and the “Adams” are already inside, booting up their machines and replying to emails.

Bill doesn’t dwell on soaring gas prices like the rest of us — his commute is just a few stairs. As I walk up to the kitchen, I know he’s already started the coffee. The aroma of an Eight O’Clock French Roast wafts through the air, and guaranteed it’s made about 12 scoops stronger than anything you’ll get at Starbucks. Sometimes Tim and I wrestle over the last drop in the pot, but one of us eventually caves in and brews another batch.

As I trip downstairs and bumble over to my desk, I get a slicing look from Tekno, the lion-sized cat. He dutifully guards Bill’s seat, glaring at anyone who makes an attempt to steal the headphones from his desk (I try this every day). Calling his bluff, I pat his tangled mane as he pretends not to like it. By this time, Oliver has made his way through the front door, out of breath, his trusty yellow road bike in hand.

I boot up my Apple and begin the day with some emails and RSS feeds, trying frantically to catch up on the latest and greatest. Since I’m the only estrogen-fueled body downstairs, Monday morning conversations all sound to me like girl troubles and action flicks, but the fellas would surely deny it. It’s a boy’s world no doubt, but I can bring it with the best of them. Bill jokes that I’m the only one in the room with a girlfriend, but take note all you rockin’ eligible ladies — these guys are quality, and none-too-bad with a mouse!

Occasionally, super-project-manger Heather pops her head downstairs like a bird from a cuckoo clock to let Bill know he has a phone call. Lately, the chats have been about building estimates, solar panels, and security systems. His latest pet project is something we all take pride in — the new Go Media building. Not far down Lorain in Ohio City stands our design kingdom, in all it’s dusty glory, eagerly awaiting warm bodies, humming machines and a good washing. We’re all dreaming of the day when we have to yell down the length of a vast space to take Chipotle orders.

Although we’re a laid-back bunch, our casual attitudes are just a cover: once we’ve settled in for the day, we’re intensely on the move, crankin’ out T-shirt graphics, website templates, package designs, video tutorials, and the like. Behind the scenes, Romsey pounds out mad-code, Kim pumps out payroll, Heather whips us into shape, and Adam W. makes sure we’re kickin’ ass in the marketplace.

Around 2 o’clock, we’re all feeling the hunger pangs as we dive for Romsey’s famous stash of Lance-brand peanut butter crackers. Later he’ll suggest a run to “The King” — he’s known around the studio as the Burger King champion, and can go for days on nothing but the dollar menu. Most times for lunch the staff just gathers around kitchen island, like elephants at the water hole, munching on some PB & J or the fresh vat of salsa Bill made the night before (now with corn!).

Before we know it, 6 o’clock is punching us in the face and Bill clicks over to Rhapsody to play a few choice songs. This is usually the cue to pack up our crap and get the hell out of his space, but some of the more stubborn types linger to tie up loose ends and post some final proofs.

Yes, being a Go Media employee is a grueling existence — but we all manage somehow.

So, dish it out — what’s it like where you work?

“Go Media? Who are THESE guys? What’s this ‘Arsenal: Professional Design Weaponry’ stuff? Vector Packs? Skulls and Heraldry and — Hooladanders? What the hell is a Hooladander?! This is pure madness. These guys are nuttier than a can of Planters!”

The skepticism and self-doubt over whether I was the person for the job stemmed partly from jealousy, and partly from the bad jokes I made in my inner monologue. As the over-thinking, self-deprecating sort, I thought I lacked the fervent creativity these guys have been rockin’ since they were fetuses.

One would think that going to art school cultivates a small sliver of creative confidence, but I always felt like I managed to dodge any artistic endeavors my entire 5 years there. I was that kid who painted suspiciously square-looking still-lifes and who couldn’t use charcoal without washing my hands every five minutes. These signs, along with the fact that I was raised by an OCD nurse and anal-retentive engineer, all pointed to my genetic destiny as a designer.

What I did manage to gain during my college education was the unique resourcefulness that only comes buried inside the cereal box of a designer. I like to think and problem solve, which lead to my interest in designing web experiences. I believe, to this day, that it was actually a solid art education which gave MacGyver the savvy to create bombs out of toothpicks, coat-hangers and some chewed up Double-Bubble.

“Designers are not a lowly breed,” I comfort myself now, “We help explain, plan, and shape the world.” It was obvious that Go Media supported this personal cheer to myself, but I still shook tragically the first day I stopped by the studio. What could I possibly offer THEM, the coolest of the cool?

As it turns out, they wanted to pay someone to plan their large web projects. These guys are illustrators after all, and the last thing they wanted to do was sit down to make some boring wireframes. All they want to do is rock a waccom, jam to some Mars Volta, and eat Jalepeñeo chips from Giant Eagle.

“What luck!,” I thought. “I only have modest experience, but here’s my dream job — literally wrapped up in fabulous gold paper and handed to me with a tentative smile and a miniature dog!” Okay, Bill Beachy didn’t really give me a dog (instead I got a piercing glare from the Go Media mascot-cat Tekno), but I figured things like this only happen to Paris Hilton, so I took their offer and ran.

I’m looking forward to the things I can over-think and over-plan for Go Media, and as I become more comfortable with my role here, I’ll be spreading the word that yes, information designers exist, and yes, we’re taking over the world. At least, we’re planning on it.

Guilty Web Pleasures:

• Nerdfighting
• Doocing
• Twittering

Heroes:

• Neko Case
• Tina Fey
• Bruce Mau

Favorite Summer Albums:

• Liz Phair — Whip Smart
• Rilo Kiley — Execution Of All Things
• M.I.A. — Arular

http://twitter.com/jeff_finley

You just might learn something.

So, I guess I’m one of the new guys here at Go Media… Considering I just started in January. I hail from the Big Ten’s greatest school, The University of Illinois, and received my Bachelor’s degree in graphic design from there in 2007. After a short sabbatical in which I pondered the meaning of life and the origins of the universe, I began work at Go Media in January of 2008. What initially drew me to Go Media was its unconventional approach to the graphic design profession and its willingness to disregard the need to conform to the stereotypical design firm structure. I stayed for the free PB&J. While I have only been here a short while, I have been able to experience a variety of interesting projects; designing logos, brochures, websites, and t-shirts, and the ever powerful KNUCKLEBANG!

When I’m out of the office, I take long walks on the beach by myself and read romance novels . . . or not. You’ll most likely find me brain-dead in front of the television watching the latest reality TV craze eating pork rinds or playing videogames… Just kidding, I don’t eat pork rinds. I occasionally peel myself off the couch to go out into the real world and attempt to be athletic. Other than that, I am trying to become a brew master of the universe… and I will hopefully be brewing my first beer this spring. I am a self confessed hop head, but my first batch will probably be a simple summer ale. When I can, I love going to concerts, and you’ll find that my ipod has just about everything but country music on it. In general, I just try not to take myself too seriously.

In the realm of the design world, I have a strong interest in screen printing and hope to start making posters as soon as I can find some sort of studio space. I dig the work of Jay Ryan, and Chicago is my second home no matter where I am living… unless I’m living in Chicago. I am really passionate about good typography and any faces from HFJ, Zapf, or Frutiger are my favorites. I have recently been getting interested in the vinyl toy world as well as street art and graffiti… so I wouldn’t be surprised if those influences start showing up in my work.

For a taste of my portfolio, go to www.MrAdamLaw.com . Most of it was produced during my senior year of college. Word.

Prior to Go Media, I graduated from Bowling Green State University with a BFA in Design. Shortly after graduation I took my first job with a small, entirely female design firm out of Toledo. I learned to interact with clients and developed some of my web skills. That was my first taste of the real world, also paying for that large college loan was tuff at first. One thing to keep in mind is that hard work does pay off, after working a year I decided it was time for a change and I took a job with PBS not too shabby, better pay a great gray cubical wow I was the man. A year later I decided corporate design was not my thing, And that brings me to where I stand now, and that is with Go Media - the best place to learn and grow as a designer.

What I do at Go Media:

A little bit of everything. Right now my main focus is mostly web design and I also help out with making vector packs for the Arsenal. And the random projects like business cards, logos, etc.

I plan on staying in Cleveland with Go Media, I love it here and this is my dream job.

Inspirations:

-Go Media Team-
-Rick Valicenti-
-Todd McFarlane-

Things I do in my free time. I like to explore and experience new things in the world, I took my first ski trip to NY, I like to rock climb. I love long road trips to visit my distant friends and family.

Music:
Emery
Brand New
Fightstar
Fear Factory
Thursday
The Red Hot Chili Peppers

Movies:
300
Sin City
Old School
Matrix

My name is Christopher Michael Giuseppe Comella (chris) and it’s been 2 days since my last drink…..I mean… I’m Chris and I work at Go Media. I’m a designer of both tangible and digital work, and where my passion lies is at the bridging of those two mediums. Not only in the literal sense of print and web design, but at the core idea of good design being able to traverse many creative platforms. I appreciate idea-based design, but at the same time I also appreciate design that acts on an emotional and visceral level. I’ve been a member of Go Media since September of 07′ and I’m loving it. I love Being in Cleveland contributing to it’s (creative) development.

Some of my favorite creatives are Robert Rauschenberg, Massimo Vignelli, Dan Witz, Stephen Bucher, Takashi Amano, Chris Cunningham, Grady & Metcalf, Stefan Sagmeister.

TidBits of joy:
- Kits and Packs
- Deliverables
- Packaging
- Graphs / Diagrams
- Captions over patterns
- Hand Claps & Hi 5s (dont kid yourself…they’re a necessity in design)
- Layers
- Papers
- Pen & Ink
- Mixed Media
- Hierarchy and Proportion
- Organic and synthetic
- balloons and bouncy balls

Dream Jobs~brief (aka future ventures)
- Fashion brand, ground up
- Lounge/Cafe brand, ground up
- Magazine/Newspaper/Publication

Top Music Im listening to right now
- Pop Levi
- The Rapture (pieces of the people we love)
- Chris Joss (you’ve been spiked)
- Hot Chip
- Rodrigo y Gabriela
- Dillinger Escape Plan (Ire works)
- Simon & Garfunkel
- Iron and Wine

Recommended Reading
- All Access, Steven Bucher
- Altitude: Contemporary Swiss Graphic Design, Claudia Mareis
- The Education of a Graphic Designer, Steven Heller
(magazines)
- GUM
- LEMON
- Monocle

Brain Food:
- Sushi
- SunButter
- S’mores PopTarts
- SouperMarket (Jambalaya)
- Dave’s Cosmic Subs (The San Fran)

I spent my entire childhood drawing. I had a huge box of crayons. Actually it was an entire drawer from a small dresser. I would pull it out, set it on the ground next to my paper, lay down and draw for hours. I did this just about every day. For some reason I had it in my mind that all children all around the world were doing the exact same thing. What else was there? I didn’t realize that I had artistic parents that went out of their way to encourage my involvement in art. I guess it was just good genes that made me actually ENJOY drawing.

While I was still extremely young, my mom enrolled me in art classes at the Cleveland Institute of Art. She told me that I cried and clung to her leg the first day that she dropped me off at class. Later that day when she picked me up I also cried, except this time I had to be dragged from the classroom. I guess I just loved art and drawing.

By the time I was in middle school I was well known as the “kid that could draw.” This only reinforces your skills because everyone would ask me to draw them something. And of course, any time I was bored in class I would be doodling something. It’s also middle school years when I became obsessed with comic books and comic book illustration. To this day I regard professional comic book illustrators to be the most talented and prolific artists in the world. When you look back at Michelangelo’s ceiling in the Sistine Chapel it looks like a giant comic book!

I always had a sketch book with me. I would fill pages and pages with rough sketches of human anatomy like this one.

I also had an early passion for business and making money. There was a game on the Apple II (yes, I’m THAT old) called Lemonade Stand. The only purpose of this game was to maximize profits by adjusting the price of your lemonade based on the weather conditions. I loved this game. I had no business education, but I started several businesses even at this early stage of my life. I started a little landscaping business. Basically I was just mowing my neighbor’s lawns, but they were regular accounts and I would be paid $7 per mow – which I would do once a week even if they didn’t need it. Silly now that I think back on it. I also would buy candy in bulk and sell it at a profit to my friends. Unfortunately I usually ate my profits.

As soon as I turned 16 I got a job and stayed employed non-stop all the way through college. I was frequently put into management positions. I think this helped me further develop my business skills. One final significant business I started before opening my first design studio was Beachy Blacktop. One summer during college I was desperately trying to find a day job so I would have my evenings free to spend with my girlfriend. Unfortunately I could only find nighttime service industry jobs. The solution; make my own job! I designed a little flyer that offered my service: seal coating asphalt driveways. This is a tedious and messy job that most homeowners do not want to deal with. I went around my neighborhood passing out fliers. Within one day I had booked 3 jobs! Within 3 weeks I was earning $200 - $600 a day! It was awesome. Sure, I was covered in red welts from the toxic tar that I had to spread. I also itched constantly, but I was really making more money than I ever had in my life. That was my first taste of business success.

I attended the Ohio State University from 1992 – 1997. I majored in Industrial Design. I already had a good handle on drawing and their design program gave me the computer skills I was seriously lacking. I thought it was a fantastic program and I feel very lucky to have fallen into that school. At the time I enrolled in college I only chose Ohio State because that was the big school in my state and that’s where my friends were going. I didn’t realize that their design program was ranked second in the nation. They only accepted 60 students per year! I can still remember how nervous I felt waiting to find out if I was accepted. While the program was fairly technical, I would work comic book style art into every project. And of course, my senior thesis project was… you guessed it – a comic book! I want to note that those first two years on the computer, learning the software, were miserable. Learning new software is not fun. But these days it’s critical to success, so don’t give up!

When I graduated college I had only one goal: become a comic book illustrator. I didn’t look for a regular 9-5 job. Instead I moved back in with my dad to save money. I only took a part-time job waiting tables at night and spent my days drawing. I would create characters, write story lines, illustrate 5-10 pages of my story and then use my design skills to put together a beautiful presentation. I would mail these elaborate packages to every major comic book company and a few small ones too.

Here is a character I made called The Machine. He wore a bio-mechanical suit of living-armour that was powered by his body’s own electrical signals. I illustrated 7 pages of a storyline, had a complete back-story, designed him a logo, etc.

This is one of a series of pages I drew that had Spider-Man and Batman fighting. Sometimes the companies want to see you illustrate their characters and these were my two favorites.

For a year and a half I was showered with praise but never offered a job. The industry was in a bit of a down turn. And perhaps I was not as good an illustrator as I needed to be. Whatever the case, I was frustrated. I was still in debt from school, living with my dad and couldn’t land my dream job. The obvious answer is to go get a real design job – right? Wrong. The obvious answer to me was: start your own comic book company! Publish your own comic books.

I knew the key to success in the comic book industry was Diamond Distributors. They’re the company that actually advertises and sells all the comics in the entire industry to all the individual comic book stores all over the world. If I could get Diamond Distributors to carry my book in their catalog – I would be golden! I proceeded to write and illustrate Dreams: Chronicles of the Undead. It was a comic about the metaphysical effects of a near death experience, that and one bad-ass hit-man.

I completed the first issues and fronted $5,000 to print 2,000 copies. This was a fairly huge deal at the time because I was still in debt from college. Once again I put together an elaborate presentation and sent it off with my book to Diamond Distributors… It was rejected. I thought perhaps they got lots of up-start material and needed me to prove my “staying power.” I finished issue two, put together another presentation and sent it off again. Rejected. I finished issue 3, sent it in… rejected. There was only one thing to do: I hit the road to sell my comics directly to the consumer. I attending every comic book convention I could. I would pay for a booth, set up an elaborate display, bring artwork and sell my comics. After 6 months of effort I had sold less than 100 comic books ($300) and had probably spent more than $800 in the process. At just about this time my girlfriend decided to leave me. This was the final straw. I was absolutely depressed. I was deeply in debt. I was still living with my dad, jobless, girlfriendless and all my dreams of becoming a world famous comic book artist were dashed. I had to make a change.

I started looking for my first “real” design job and quickly found one with a novelty toy distribution company; not a bad gig really. I moved out of my dad’s place and started paying off my debts. But I also knew that working for “the man” was not my thing. I still needed to have fun drawing and creating amazing artwork. I had heard of a local Cleveland artist that had gained national recognition by drawing flyers for a rock bar. His name is Derek Hess and he’s truly a great artist. You can see his work here: www.derekhess.com. I am a particularly big fan of his early poster art. I thought this was a fairly smart way to get recognition. Concert posters are printed, distributed and posted all over the city. And drawing stuff for rock bands would give me a LOT of flexibility on what I could draw. I could basically draw whatever I wanted and have someone else do the work of distributing them all over town! What a concept. I went to one of Cleveland’s top rock bars: The Grog Shop. I met with the owner and struck a deal: I would draw amazing flyers for free. In return she would let me tag each flier with a small advertisement. Also, if any one asked, she would tell them that she was paying me $100/flier. That was it. I would work my 9-5 job during the day, then came home and would draw till 2am, go to bed then do it all over again. I was doing about 2 flyers a week. I probably spent 10-20 hours on each flyer.

A flyer I did for the Twist-Offs. Twist, twister, makes sense right?

A flier of The Pretty Things

A flier for Hi-Fi.

The response to my flyers was immediate. I started getting calls from people that wanted my design services. When I called the local free press to inquire about doing some cover illustrations, the art director said he was just about to call me. His designers had my fliers all over his cubical. One of my friends was a rave promoter and he asked me to start designing rave fliers for him. This was another win-win marketing situation. Rave promoters would typically distribute 5,000+ flyers. I tagged each one with my advertisement.

Define The Vibe flier. This was one of my first rave fliers. Later I started throwing my own raves when I was short of cash.

Within 6 months I was swamped with work. One year after I landed my “real” 9-5 design job I went to my boss and told him I was leaving to start a firm. I asked him to outsource all the work I had been doing in-house to my new company. He agreed. He even agreed to continue to pay for my medical insurance! This was the start of what became Go Media; me in an apartment doing rave postcards, rock flyers and novelty toy catalogs.

The next three years went something like this: I was absolutely swamped with work, logged 15 hour days 6 days a week (plus 5-8 hours on Sunday) and was completely broke. My overhead was almost nothing, but so were the rates I was charging my customers. I was really learning my business lessons during these years. I made tons of mistakes, got burned by customers, tried to hire staff too quickly, etc. It was a real struggle. When finances got super tight I would throw a party at one of my client’s clubs. I would run around in the snow for 4 weeks putting postcards on cars in Cleveland’s club district. The night of the event, I would keep all the door money and the bar would keep all the alcohol sales. Twice during the first year I had to use credit cards to pay my rent and utilities. But with each little success I would reinvest the money I made back into the business. I hired a lawyer and accountant. I learned how to use Quickbooks. I started paying taxes, incorporated, added medical insurance and hired a payroll company.

It was also during these years that I met my future partner Chris Wilson. He was the only other young guy I saw in town truly hustling. He was a worker. He first hired me to illustrate some fliers for events he was throwing at clubs in Akron. Whenever I was running around passing out flyers, I would also see him out working. When I was at the printer picking up stuff for my clients, he was also picking up stuff for his clients. I knew I really needed a partner, so I started dropping hints whenever I would see him: “Some day we’re going to join forces and build a killer design firm!”

By the end of 2002 I was finally making enough money and had sufficient jobs booked to support 2 people (living meagerly). So, I asked Chris to merge his company with mine. He accepted and started commuting 1 hour every day from Akron to work with me. We continued to work 15 hour days 6 days a week (plus a few hours on Sunday) and slowly increased our rates. We continued to make mistakes and continued to plow every extra dollar back into the company. We calculated one day that we were paying ourselves about $4/hr during the years between 2003 and 2005. The rest of the money went into new equipment, staff, advertising and professional help. Our typical work day was 10am till 1am. We spent all day at our desks. We ate breakfast, lunch and dinner sitting at our computers. We bartered design services for food. We made one great deal with a frozen meat distribution company that kept us eating steaks and crab legs for over a year. That was great.

By early 2006 we finally were making enough to support a real staff. We hired Oliver Barrett and Jeff Finley. They were the first two staff members to survive the ebb and flow of cash. It was a big accomplishment at that time to support a staff member for more than one year. They both still work for us – along with 8 more amazing staff members. This new group of guys we brought in really had a passion for illustration and rock-band art. They pushed the envelope and helped us land some amazing new clients.

2007 saw unprecedented growth for Go Media. It was literally an AMAZING year. All my wildest business goals were surpassed. The year was capped off with us purchasing a building for our company (we’re still working out of my cramped house.) But all this growth has really taken a toll on my art. When you’re managing a company of 12 people, it leaves little time to draw. For 2008 my goal is to spend more time drawing and creating amazing art. I’m looking forward to another awesome year.

Thanks to all our clients, staff and all my family and friends who helped me along the way. I truly appreciate how much you’ve helped me and how lucky I am.

-Bill

I joined Go Media for several reasons. The employees are down to earth, hard working people that respect the importance of GOOD design. I liked much of the work that is produced, and their client base is diverse. Most of all I respect their idea that honest business is good business; this seems to be a mantra that few companies embrace these days.

Work I’ve done in my 3.5 weeks so far: TPM Magazine Advertisement, LOTS of Pepsi website development, flash animations and other promotional stuff for Go Media. Created 3 new fonts for the Arsenal: Celest, Diffraction, and Identity Theft. They will be available soon.

What I’m responsible for: Designing, coding, and enhancing anything that is thrown on my desk.

What I like: Knitting, photography, movies, exploring new places, museums, shrinky-dinks, tea, camping, gallery openings, beaches, parks, jogging, playing violin and piano, learning new things.

Examples of work:

Favorite Quotes:

“The things you own end up owning you.”

“Life isn’t worth living if you can’t feel alive.”

“If you give up when it’s winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer, fulfillment of your fall.”

“Don’t take life to seriously because if you do you’ll forget to laugh”

“The only God the world serves is success, not greatness.”

More examples of work:

Prior to Go Media

I went to college at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and graduated in 2004 with a BS in Media Arts and Animation. I originally went into college to pursue a career in making video games or CG movies, but I left college with more of an interest in illustration and graphic design. I started freelancing shortly thereafter after being inspired by artists such as Rob Dobi, Derek Hess, and Justin Kamerer. I set out to create artwork for bands with hopes of getting my artwork in stores and potentially worn by their fans. I really liked the thought of that.

After 2 years of that, I decided that I would like a bit more stability and team environment, so I joined Go Media. At the time it was just me, Bill and Chris, and another new hire Oliver Barrett.

What I do at Go Media

I was initially hired to contribute to the design services for Go Media but there was also some emphasis on my marketing skills. I really enjoy the Internet and I seem to have a natural knack for generating buzz, marketing, and getting my name out there. I enjoy online communities and building online relationships. So part of my responsibility early on was to bring this asset to the table at Go Media. I launched the Go Mediazine blog as an outlet for us to write articles and tutorials to help build a relationship with the design community. My goal was to let the world know who Go Media was and that we’re nice dudes (and dudettes now) who don’t just create cool artwork, but we encourage the growth of the design community. I help promote the Arsenal and build relationships with magazine editors such as Computer Arts and IDN to help spread the word about us. I really love that stuff.

Another marketing related note, I somehow managed to help my friend Brent Simon get famous on the Internet and land himself on Jimmy Kimmel. That was a heck of a fun ride and part of it was due to my passion in promoting stuff online. Obviously, if Brent wasn’t such a charismatic and addicting songwriter and geek, none of this would have happened.

But my real passion has always been with creating art. That’s the core of my being. I usually find a way to express my creativity in some form or another whether it be on paper, digitally, musically, or with video. I spend my days at Go Media designing and drawing (those are fun days), doing some busy work that never sees the portfolio, various forms of online marketing and relationship building, brainstorming new ideas for Go Media, and learning new things.

Personal Life

All this creativity comes with a downside though. I find myself being lazy around the house while my fiance Kim (who is Go Media’s office manager) gets peeved with me as I’d rather be making a new song or designing something than doing laundry or dishes. I am not good with car repairs or other handyman type things (I can assemble store bought furniture and change lightbulbs, but I cannot replace the furnace, fix a toilet, or a busted stove). I’m not a “tough guy,” although I am a lifelong Cleveland sports fan and I also enjoy playing sports whenever I can.

I spend most of my personal time with my fiance Kim. I’ve been with her since June 2003 and we share an apartment together. We are getting married on Sept. 27, 2008 and I built a wedding website to give people more info on it. We plan to buy a house within the next few years! We have a pet bunny named Cocoa who is such a cute little bun. He’s shy though and doesn’t like to be held, but he’s still cool in my book. I am an avid Netflixer and usually try to watch 2-3 films a week. Although lately it’s been down to about 1 per week.

Favorite Films

I would consider myself a film nerd, but my taste in film is pretty particular. For me, watching films (and listening to music too) is a very personal thing. I look for movies that speak to me or inspire me. I want to feel something when watching them. Sometimes I can enjoy the Hollywood Blockbuster for some entertaining escapism with friends, but I watch films mostly by myself. I would say that I lean more towards a cinema verite/documentary/realism style of film more so than anything else. But my tastes are always changing.

Some of my favorite film directors are Alan Clarke, Alejandro Inarritu, Andrew Bujalski, Chris Cunningham, David Lynch, Duplass Brothers, Joe Swanberg, Harmony Korine, Michel Gondry, Mike Leigh, Richard Linklater, and Werner Herzog.

My favorite films as of today include The 7 Up Series, 21 Grams, Adaptation, Aguirre: The Wrath of God, A History of Violence, All or Nothing, American Movie, Amores Perros, Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, Blue Velvet, BIKE, Cinemania, Crash, Decline of Western Civilization 1-3, The Devil & Daniel Johnston, Donnie Darko, Elephant, Eraserhead, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Fast Food Nation, Fat Girl, Freaks, Fucking Ã…mÃ¥l, Funny Ha Ha, Garden State, Ghost World, Grizzly Man, Gummo, Half Nelson, High Fidelity, I Am a Promise, Inland Empire, Jesus Camp, Joe Kid on a Sting Ray, Julien Donkey-Boy, Kissing on the Mouth, L’Enfant, Made in Britain, Masculin Feminin, Meantime, Mulholland Drive, Naked, Napoleon Dynamite, Nosferatu, Office Space, Old Joy, Palidromes, Pan’s Labyrinth, Phenomena, Pi, The Puffy Chair, Say Anything, School of Rock, Scum, Secrets and Lies, Spellbound, Starbucking, Stroszek, Super Size Me, Talk to Her, The Celebration, The Firm, The Freshest Kids, The White Diamond, Waking Life, The War Zone, Wild at Heart, Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill, and Word Wars.

I’ve created my own films and music videos, but I haven’t done anything new in a while. If I had more time, I’d really like to make another full length film. My friend Dan Haylett is a big influence on this aspect of my life, and since he’s away at college trying to earn a PhD, I’m not as inspired to make films.

Music

Music, like I said before, is a really personal thing for me. I don’t claim to be a musical connoisseur or anything but my tastes are pretty particular. I don’t listen to FM radio or watch MTV so I don’t really know what is popular most of the time unless I’m looking at tabloid newspapers at the grocery store or stumble across it online. I have always found a strong personal connection with punk rock music and it’s various offshoots. I’m also currently enjoying a lot of DIY folk and punk bands. But labels are just labels - I like my music honest, sincere, and real - a lot like my films. I like to feel a personal connection with the artist and I like a raw natural sound.

Some bands I’m currently enjoying:

Abe Froman, Andrew Jackson Jihad, Bellevue, Bottle Rocket, The Blank Fight, Brent Simon, Bright Eyes, Commander Venus, Defiance Ohio, Ghost Mice, Hooky, KiWi, Latterman, Life Rocks, Park Ave, Paul Baribeau, The Sidekicks, Shorebirds, Strike Anywhere, This Bike is a Pipe Bomb, This is my Fist, Tilly and the Wall.

I also create my own music under the alias BOXOMYLK and I play drums in By Bread Alone. My band is new, and we’re still working on songs at this point in time and I’m only in my first 6 months of playing drums. I think I’m coming along nicely and I am getting better every week.

Favorite Artists

While I strongly support my fellow artists at Go Media, I am currently digging the art of Richard Minino, John Dyer Baizley, Dan Mumford, and Aaron Horkey.

I’m also becoming a fan (again) of conceptart.org. I was a frequent visitor to that site in college when I was drawing a lot, but have forgotten about ever since I started going more “graphic design” and “type” work. I am coming back to it again and I hope to start drawing a lot more. We’ll see!

The Future!

So I plan to be part of Go Media in some way for the rest of my life (or the rest of Go Media’s life, however long that may be). And by that I mean I’ll be forever involved in creativity no matter what the name of the company is. I look forward to creating art for this world in whatever medium I can muster. Although I will have to work on being a better fiance (soon to be husband) and make sure Kim’s not doing all the cooking and cleaning at home. I know she hates that! If I can just stop being a whiny art nerd and get some chores done and possibly cook a decent meal, I’ll be on the fast track to success! Haha.

That’s me!

Artwork Examples

My personal portfolio can always be viewed at jefffinley.org, but here are some of the works I’ve done in the past 2 years: