A Man Of Many Design Skills

Web Designer • Manager • UI Designer • Webmaster

I began creating graphics on my Dad’s Atari computer as a kid in the 80s (see my first “work” here). I would spend hours “drawing” pictures with the mouse. I like to think that I knew my future career all along. 

In college, I initially studied communication. But afterwards, I stumbled upon a graphic design job and I re-fell in love with drawing with the mouse. I headed off to grad school in Baltimore, Maryland where I learned about typography, information hierarchy, web design, page layout, and so much more. 

Afterwards, I was fortunate enough to gain experience at large agencies like the American Red Cross, The Atlantic Media Company, the Baltimore Sun, the San Diego Housing Commission, and Arrowhead General Insurance Agency. I began as a print designer (designing flyers, postcards, business cards, etc.) and over time, was asked to design websites, ads and every type of digital media imaginable.

I then decided to try freelancing full-time. After some stumbles and hard lessons, I worked full-time at a marketing agency, and learned yet more invaluable lessons. I was given autonomy to manage entire site redesigns directly with the client – from discovery calls to drawing out sitemaps, from researching to wireframes and ultimately mockups.

Now as the founder and lead designer for Soul & Heart Creative, I manage every aspect of the design process for all of my clients – from the proposal and contract to the onboarding, design/branding process, wireframes and design and implementation. I manage client relations and ensure their business has all the tools they need to grow.

As a freelancer, I have primarily specialized in website design (mostly with WordPress), advising best practices for design, user experience, responsiveness, SEO, security, servers, site speed, and much more. I have worked with WordPress for 9 years and have navigated every hiccup and hurdle imaginable and thus, have learned how to not only make websites beautiful but how to optimize and make those sites secure and fast and fix them when they crash.

I also love creating web graphics, landing pages, emails, videos and designing mockups in Figma and working with a developer to ensure the implementation is immaculate. And I still love creating print designs, logos, and social media graphics as well.

This winter, my family grew and we gained another new co-worker here at home. So even though I love running a business, I could use some stability. The up-and-down nature of running this is not as sustainable as it used to be. So I’m looking for something full-time (or part-time) where I can utilize all of this experience and help out an organization that aligns with my own values. If that’s you, I’d love to connect with you.

And if you want to see more of my portfolio, check out my recent projects here.

Thanks and I hope to hear from you!

Much love,

Ryan Berg
Founder & Lead Designer
Soul & Heart Creative