Meet the Community - K¹² Visual Designer Daniel Boris
‘Meet the K¹² Community’– is a regular blog series featuring students, learning coaches, teachers, curriculum specialists and anyone else who plays a role in making online education a reality for children world-wide.
Meet K¹² Visual Designer Daniel Boris
What is your background?
I attended George Mason University and studied Fine Art for a year, then enrolled in the Art Institute of Pittsburgh were I graduated with a degree in Commercial Art. I’ve worked as a professional visual designer ever since.
What exactly is the role of a Visual Designer at K¹²?
Visual Designers work with a team of teachers, content specialists, instructional designers, and media experts to create intuitive, and (hopefully) beautiful educational products. This ranges from on-line animated, interactive projects to the creation of illustrations for our printed books – and everything else in between.
How long have you been a Designer at K¹² and what’s the best part of your job?
I started working at K¹² back when they were just a start-up in 2000. I was K¹² employee #48. After a few years, I left K¹² to work in a completely different industry, but returned again in 2008. Collectively, I have been a designer at K¹² for over 6 years. I’d say the best part of my job is the variety of projects I get to work on at the company, and the great people I get to work with; I work with some very bright and talented people. The level of creativity at K¹² is exceptional.
When did you discover your affinity for design?
I started drawing when I was very young. I always loved the comics, and comic books. I used to spend endless hours copying comic strips from newspapers. I knew I wanted to be an artist then, and remember always having a difficult time drawing hands or feet. I thought to myself, "How can I be an artist and not be able to draw hands and feet?" So, I decided I'd be a cartoonist. Although the cartooning is still a passion, I currently make my living as an “all-around” professional graphic artist working on computer, and using the industry standard applications like Flash, Photoshop, and Illustrator.
What made you pursue a career that combines design, education and technology?
It was a little bit of luck and good timing for me. In 1996, I landed job in the graphics department of a small company that made educational training projects on CD. That was a new field back then, and I helped make the graphics for things like Microsoft Office, and Java training tutorials. I’ve been involved in the Education industry ever since. The great thing about the Education field is the Mission; your job is to help people expand their knowledge. That’s worth getting up for each day, ya know?
What are some of the notable projects you have worked on as a designer for K¹²?
I’ve worked on many notable projects at K¹². Everything from Music and Art, to Language Arts and Math. If I had to choose I’d say recently working on K¹²’s Proprietary Math course was the most noteworthy. Everybody is very proud of that effort, and it was nominated for national awards.
Because education is a life-long endeavor, how do you keep your own education alive?
Oh, I’m constantly learning new things. Software changes so fast that you are continually upgrading your skills. I learn things from colleagues too. And at K¹², I also get several hours each week to devote to my own professional development. Things like learning new software, or trying new illustration techniques.
Share an interesting or unusual fact about you.
My comic strip – Hoxwinder Hall – was selected as a Finalist in The Washington Post’s “America’s Next Great Cartoonist” contest out of nearly 500 entries. Initially, Top 10 finalists were selected by a panel of industry professionals, and then readers were asked to vote for their favorite entry. The comics with the highest number of votes would advance into the contest’s final Top 5. My strip made it into the Top 5.
Ultimately, I didn't win the contest, but it didn’t matter. What mattered was the enthusiastic response my comic strip received from readers and internet viewers. It validated my efforts, and meant that people really liked the characters I created. A year later, the comic was selected as a Runner-Up in another contest, and I won a month-long mentorship with Rick Kirkman, co-creator of the popular syndicated comic “Baby Blues”.
As a result of all this, I’ve begun producing new comics that I post on a dedicated website site: www.hoxwinderhall.com. The comic strip is developing a nice following, both on the comic’s website and on Facebook, and I am again pursuing my life-long dream of newspaper syndication.
I’m also creating a limited edition printed book called, “Hoxwinder Hall – the very beginning”. The book’s “Foreword” is written by one of the Washington Post judges, and I’ve currently received over 50 pre-orders for the hardcover volume. The book is self-published, and will be out by the upcoming holidays. Pretty exciting stuff!
Related Links
thinktank12 blog: Meet the Community
Washington Post: America's Next Great Cartoonist Contest
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