About

My name is Dan Simon.

I am an Illustrator, Graphic Designer, Art Director, Studio Operator, Web Designer, Painter and Amateur Photographer, not necessarily in that order.

I am self-taught in most of my mediums, having used trial and error, the occasional guidance of friends and mentors, and long hours of practice and work. I believe strongly in working hard, and working smart.

I’ve worked for large multi-nationals and small boutiques, and done a lot of work on my own. I’ve worked on brands like Coca-Cola, Vonage, Colgate, Clorox, Campbell’s and Mac’s Convenience stores. I believe my work speaks for itself, so I encourage you to explore my growing portfolio.

For recommendations on my work, check out my Linkedin Profile.

March¹Studios represents my professional freelance endeavors, and my personal exploits.

Philosophy, Manifesto

Advertising Agencies, Marketing Agencies – from boutique shops to the multi-nationals, even down to lowly freelancers like myself – always seem to have some sort of operational philosophy. Some might call it a “Mission Statement”, a “Motto”, a “Manifesto” or any number of other things that basically mean the same thing: this is the premise under which we operate.

I’ve never been inspired to sit down and set out a literary interpretation of my working philosophy. In my formative years as a artist and designer, I discovered the perfect manifesto for working under. While I’m not heavily influenced by the style of the author, I am definitely inline with his thinking. Since the late nineties, I’ve attempted to follow Bruce Mau’s Incomplete Manifesto for Growth.

The three rules that are the most prevalent in my work:

4. Love your experiments (as you would an ugly child).
Joy is the engine of growth. Exploit the liberty in casting your work as beautiful experiments, iterations, attempts, trials, and errors. Take the long view and allow yourself the fun of failure every day.

14. Don’t be cool.
Cool is conservative fear dressed in black. Free yourself from limits of this sort.

18. Stay up late.
Strange things happen when you’ve gone too far, been up too long, worked too hard, and you’re separated from the rest of the world.

I am now in the process of recording my own Manifesto, which you can find here.

History

This version of the site [2010] represents the second fully functioning blog/portfolio iteration of March¹Studios.com. Originally registered in 2001, it’s lain essentially dormant for nearly a decade, with various iterations of the site coming into fruition for short periods of time. What exists now was always the goal – a repository for my work that’s as easy to update as it is to access for potential clients/employers.

Theme

This site is powered by WordPress.

The theme is designed from scratch, specifically geared towards this portfolio. There are now plans to modify it for public release.