Devon Smith - Email Designer | Graphic Designer | Marketing Professional
"No college degree was the route for me. It took years of trial and error. When I failed, I tried again. I needed to understand the mechanics and conceptualization of modern email design, graphic design, and copywriting if I wanted to pursue a life in creative design."
My wife (left) and myself (right) taking a quick picture by the Seattle Ferris Wheel.
From a young age I was always fascinated with digital content design. When I was around 12 years old, I was part of a gaming community called "Habbo Hotel". I was a superstar, a visionary amongst other 12 year old's, a god like presence... My ego is showing. All jokes aside, I spent hours on hours trying to figure out RSS feeds for live radio, early drag and drop website creators (before the era of Wix). I did all of this out of pure curiosity and the need to show others my eye for detail and design.
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I created my first graphic and website at the age of 12. That is a huge feat for a kid messing around with a few programs. Now, I wasn't writing HTML or styling with CSS. But, I understood the concept of how it all worked. Fast forward 10 years, there I sat in my first college class being shown the basics of HTML.
What I soon came to realize was, I am not learning as much or as fast as I was when I had been researching and building on my own time. For some (like myself) learning in a structured environment with little freedom causes distraction rather than improvement. You could beg the argument that it shows lack of discipline. True, it very well could. For my own situation however, I served 6 years in the Military. I showed up everyday, gave it my all, and never missed an opportunity to improve myself. To say I have no discipline is incorrect, I just learn at a different pace then others.
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No college degree was the route for me. It took years of trial and error. When I failed, I tried again. I needed to understand the mechanics and conceptualization of modern email design, graphic design, and copywriting if I wanted to pursue a life in creative design.
Myself pictured with a tiger at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium.
First time doing a static line skydiving jump. What a rush!
As I stated above, I served 6 years in the Military. I served in the North Dakota Air National Guard. For the first 4 years of my enlistment, I worked as an Aircraft Mechanic. Following that position, I was promoted to Maintenance Management where I was responsible for scheduling all maintenance actions to be performed on multiple, 30-million-dollar aircraft within the unit. This was a great opportunity for me to learn leadership, time management, discipline, and dedication to the job. I had multiple people relying on me to do my part to keep the operation running smoothly.
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I spent many months away from family and friends. I spent many weekends working while everyone else was relaxing. But to me, it was important that I was serving a purpose that was bigger than myself. It gave me the opportunity to put others before me. Discipline, dedication, loyalty, hard work. This is a small list of skills that I learned while serving my country that I carry with me today.
I decided to hang up the uniform in August of 2022 so I could pursue avenues I was more passionate about. Immediately after leaving the service, I was recruited by Titan Machinery to work as the Marketing Automation Specialist. This opportunity was a great stepping stone to getting my foot in the door with the career I envisioned for myself. I have a strong creative mind and a keen eye for detail. I also have a powerful analytical side to me. I enjoy digging through the data to find trends that speak volumes with how users are utilizing the information you are providing them with.
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Balancing these two sides is an intricate dance performed every day. I have spent years finding the balance that works for me.
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I hope you have enjoyed reading a bit about me. Take a look through the rest of my portfolio and don't hesitate to reach out to me at devon.w.smith@outlook.com with any questions, suggestions, or concerns.
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Thank you,
Devon.
