So Who Am I? – Part 1: The Basics

To put it briefly, my name is Deirdre and I’m a Graphic Designer, as well as a Web Designer. Originally hailing from the great city of Chicago, I moved to the West Coast in 1999 where I worked as a film editor for a number of years before shifting my interests to design. In early 2006 I relocated to Portland, Oregon, while maintaining my clientèle in Irvine and Los Angeles.

Who moves from sunny Southern California to the wet-gray of the Pacific Northwest? Well, me for one – but why?

I’m a bit of a strange bird. I was raised in Illinois and grew accustomed to the four seasons- which rarely exist in So Cal-, so, after residing there for six years, I decided it was time for me to live among my people – Northerners – once again.

Due to the sensitivity of some of my clients as well as a general concern for posting what some may consider objectionable material, much of my print work is only viewable upon request.

If you are interested in using my services or would like to discuss the prospect of working together, please fill out the contact form and select “To Hire Me” in the subject section.

What services do I provide?

Design for Print :

• DVD Insert Covers
• DVD Disc Art (Top Art)
• Full and Double Page Ads
• Logos
• Posters
• Business Cards

Design for Web:

• Website Design and Build
• HTML, CSS
• Desiging on top of WordPress as a CMS

Design for Media:

• DVD Menus
• Animated text for intros and credits.

Editing (NLE):

• Promos, Features, Music Videos
• Mastering and DVD Authoring

What Is My Software Experience?

• Adobe Photoshop CS3
• Adobe Illustrator CS3
• Adobe Dreamweaver CS3
• Adobe After Effects 7.0
• Sony Vegas 7.0
• Media 100
• Final Cut Pro 3
• Avid
• Sony DVD Architect 7.0
• Microsoft Word
• Microsoft Excel

What Systems/Operating Systems Do I Use?

• Mac OSX 10.4
• Windows XP SP2
• Linux Ubuntu Ibex 8.10

So, who am I? – Part 2: The Details

As you now know, my name is Deirdre. My career in design and media began in 2000 when I took an editing apprenticeship for a film company in Los Angeles. This would eventually lead me to DVD Authoring & Menu design, Digital & Print design, as well as Website design.

In 2000, after finishing my apprenticeship, I took a full time editing position (NLE) where I also assisted in and designed DVD menus. After a year, I was promoted to Post Production Manager while retaining my position as head of the editing department.

In 2003 I relocated to San Diego, CA and began Editing as an Independent Contractor where I regularly worked with four different film studios. Shortly thereafter, I would include DVD Authoring and DVD Insert design as additional services. This would also include DVD disc art, full & double page ads, specialty boxes (such as DVD box sets) logo design and business cards. I still work with these clients – my relationship with them has been nothing short of excellent – but to further enhance my skills and experience in the field of design, I am looking to branch out locally.

My web experience developed outside of work beginning in 1999 but quickly became an area of interest for me, having designed sites for Queerky, Red Door Wellness, SoCal Crawfish Connection, TASC, as well as number of my own personal sites (this one included).

I am and independent, professional woman who is adaptive, focused, friendly, queer and dedicated to my work.

I currently reside in Portland, Oregon where I thoroughly enjoy the weather, mountains, rivers, trees and community.

For The Hardware Curious:

Main Graphics System:

• 1.8 GHZ AMD
• 1 GB DDRAM
• 120gb Primary Drive
• 80 GB Secondary Drive
• DVD ROM
• 19” Flat Panel Monitor
• WinXP SP2

DVD Authoring System:

• 1.2 GHZ AMD
• 1 GB DDRAM
• 60 GB Primary Drive
• 120 GB Secondary Drive
• Removable Secondary Drive Bay
• DVD ROM
• 17” Flat Panel Monitor
• Win XP SP2

Video Editing System:

• 1.8 GHZ AMD
• 1 GB DDRAM
• 80 GB Primary Drive
• Removable Secondary Drive Bay
• DVD ROM Drive
• 17” Flat Panel Wide Screen Monitor
• WinXp SP2

Laptops:

• Mac iBook G4 (OSX 10.4)
• HP Wide-Screen (WinXP SP2)
• Dell Inspiron (Linux Ubuntu Ibex 8.10)

Storage:

• All systems are networked. Combined with the removable drives and a 500 GB external USB drive, I have approximately 1.5 TB of storage.

What’s up with that URL?

Growing up, I had always had an interest in fantasy novels, particularly- The Lord of the Rings and developed a (probably unhealthy) fascination with Dwarves. I always imagined a Dwarven bra as having been forged in bronze or iron, and being female, it just sort of stuck. I have an increasing collection of pictures, books, buttons and even figurines that I paint, that prove my allegiance to that gruff, hearty race of people we call Dwarves – and if you think that I make this claim without understanding that it sounds excessively geeky, you are wrong.

Thanks for dropping by,

Deirdre O’Lavery