My name is evan austin, and I’m a freelance graphic designer and social media helper living in Ojai, California with my wife, three children, one dog, three cats, and a Roomba. A 2007 graduate of Santa Barbara City College, I like to “design from the inside” by learning as much about my client’s world as I can so that my visual solutions reflect their identity. Personally, I enjoy designs that put images or words in new contexts, usually to encourage new thinking about social issues, and I believe that the process is as important as the product. I design using Adobe Creative Suite 5 (Photoshop, Illustrator) on a MacBook Pro, sometimes with the help of a Wacom Intuos 3 digital drawing pad.
I grew up drawing by hand, and before I even knew that “graphic designer” was something a person could be, I had created original drawings, logos, and other promotional designs for friends and organizations. Most notably, in high school I created internal graphics for a music department fundraising effort and a logo that was printed on tshirts and used for several years. I also hand-drew the school newspaper’s first recurring comic strip, and created several logo and promotional designs for the Peer Mediation Program. Outside of school, I drew a logo-style element for the market where I worked, which was printed on tshirts.
After high school, I attended Ventura Community College for several semesters, exploring art and not satisfying any specific degree program. I especially enjoyed still life and figure illustration, working both in pencil and charcoal. After a couple of years spent working in the aerospace field, where I learned to manage both time and people, as well as produce some technical drawings by hand (which were then finalized into blueprints by engineers), I returned to school, this time at Santa Barbara City College and with a specific degree in mind. Some of the portfolio work on this site was completed during that period.
During my last semester of college, I had the opportunity to intern with professional graphic designer Andrew Engel, where I assisted in producing line art and color comps for DVD packaging for animated feature films, CD book graphics for a local musical group, gift card and brochure graphics and layout for a local car wash and water vendor, and more. I was exposed to an incredible process that often began with hand drawings and physical objects being photographed or scanned, and creating graphics from those real-world sources rather than entirely within the computer. This process and revelation continues to inspire my designs today.
Personally, I design logos and graphics for diverse projects ranging from the social activism community group I started in 2005, to my daughter’s birthday CDs. I have uploaded original designs to custom printing sites, and have worn and sold unique clothing items. When I’m not designing things, I work as an independent social media marketing consultant and teach computer- and art-related classes at a local charter school. In my spare time, I sleep.
"We've engaged evan to handle our social media for us for more than a year. He's creative, energetic, thoughtful, flexible, timely with his deliverables and easy to work with. He represents his skill sets accurately and he is capable of a great many things that can add value to businesses, both large and small."
“evan is a talented designer who can quickly and effectively solve design problems. His designs show a high level of creativity, sophistication and professionalism. He is one of those students that an instructor remembers because of his dedication and passion to his work."
"evan is one of those people you hope and assume you'll know personally and do business with for the next thirty years. He conducts himself with the utmost integrity and communicates clearly and respectfully. evan is organized, process-oriented, good at problem solving and can independently drive a project to success and conclusion. While this world could use more evan austin's, I'm proud to say I know, trust and respect this one deeply."
"I've hired evan several times to do graphics for me and just hired him again. He is able to work with my not always clear written requirements to create clever, unique images that nail down what I need. He is also very easy to work with, responsive and provides a very good value. evan also was able to turn around projects very quickly when I needed them done. I've referred him to others."
"evan has done work for Citizens for Peaceful Resolutions. I am on the executive board of CPR. His work is creative and attractive. He delivers on time. You won't find a more honest or capable graphic artist."
"evan created a beautiful logo for my small business at an affordable rate. evan did a really great job of blending my ideas with his own creative vision and professional eye. He was very patient and responsive to my many requests for small tweaks. He let me know when my ideas didn't work, but made perceptive suggestions for what might work instead. I think my final logo is visually pleasing, easy to process and subtly conveys the nature and values of my business without going overboard with details and colors. I highly recommend hiring evan for your graphic design project."
