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keith chastain

concept . design (ux) branding . print

Get to Know Me

A little bit of history

I started working as a graphic designer about 15 years ago. Back then it was almost entirely print-related work. Magazine spreads, ads, corporate identity systems, business stationery, brochures, direct mail marketing campaigns; you name it. Even billboards and vehicle wraps!

The name of the game was strong concepts, design aesthetics, and knowing your stuff when it comes to print production, specialized prepress techniques, and output resolutions (DPI = dots-per-inch and specifies printing press output, PPI = pixels-per-inch and specifies image resolution. They are NOT the same.). Those were exciting times. Yet working with todays web and digital technologies has taken designers to places we never imagined we would go... and that is even more exciting.

To sum things up, I have a lot of experience to bring to the table, including years of working with the Adobe Creative Suite, (now Creative Cloud) applications; with the latest additions to my toolset being the awesome Sketch (a modern digital design app) and InVision (a prototyping web app). Both of which I enjoy immensely.

I do all my work from my Mac/Macbook Pro. I enjoy learning the very latest web technologies, standards, and best practices. I take pride in creating high quality and engaging web, mobile, and digital experiences. I enjoy staying in the know on current design, UI, and UX trends to better understand what’s effective and what isn’t.

Get to Know Me

A little bit of history

I started working as a graphic designer about 15 years ago. Back then it was almost entirely print-related work. Magazine spreads, ads, corporate identity systems, business stationery, brochures, direct mail marketing campaigns; you name it. Even billboards and vehicle wraps!

The name of the game was strong concepts, design aesthetics, and knowing your stuff when it comes to print production, specialized prepress techniques, and output resolutions. Those were exciting times. Yet working with todays web and digital technologies has taken designers to places we never imagined we would go... and that is even more exciting.

To sum things up, I have a lot of experience to bring to the table, including years of working with the Adobe Creative Suite
(now Creative Cloud).

I do all my work from my Mac/Macbook Pro. I absolutely love learning the very latest web technologies, standards, and best practices. I take pride in creating high quality and engaging web, mobile, and digital experiences. I enjoy staying in the know on current design, UI, and UX trends to better understand what’s effective and what isn’t.

My Work Standards

So you may be wondering, am I a graphic designer, a web designer, a front-end web developer...? The answer is yes, I'm all three. I consider myself (and strive to be) a full-stack designer. Being a full-stack designer means having an expanded skill set with deep knowledgeable about what can and cannot work elegantly within the context of a product’s design (brand identity, website, web/mobile app).

I also believe in being a team member who can jump in and help even outside my area of focus. This is beneficial for clients who want to keep teams lean and diversified with everyone having a better grasp of the whole-picture.

It seems to me that businesses and organizations are pivoting towards bringing design to the center of their business process. As a result, I think stakeholders and executives are increasingly recognizing the value of UX design, and increasingly want to be involved. I know a number of designers who have varying viewpoints on this; but I consider it a good thing.

I believe that the only proper way to design & build a modern website is with a fully responsive, mobile first approach.

Clean Design, Clean Code

So many websites suffer from poorly written markup. I believe in writing clean, semantically correct HTML, as well as lean, structured CSS. In my opinion, good CSS can only exist with equally good HTML markup.

Besides eliminating buggy behavior and vastly improving a site or app's performance, clean, well structured code is easier to read and edit. Not to mention the benefits of improved Accessibility and Search Engine Optimization.

Clean markup also saves time and money when other people have to interact with it. Especially if it needs to be integrated into a content management system or any other web application.

Always Learning

Web technologies I'm using now:

HTML 5 & CSS 3

Mobile-first responsive design (with best practices)

Front-end frameworks & grid systems (such as Bootstrap 3)

Sass and LESS (CSS Preprocessors)

Web technologies I'm currently learning:

Javascript plugins (customization + integration)

Javascript (custom JS + jQuery)

Using command line + Github

Web technologies I plan to learn next:

AngularJS (an open-source web application framework maintained by Google)

Swift programming language (latest from Apple for iOS and OS X apps)

Working with Digital Publishing & the new Apple News format

Concerning UX

Being a full-stack designer, I like to design complete front-end experiences. Experiences that can take users seamlessly from one device to another. I like to start by talking about how to make important, upfront planning decisions. Then use context as a guide to create a flexible content strategy with particular emphases on design for touch screens; one of the most important interfaces in today's world.

A quick run-through of my preferred workflow goes something like this:

  1. Get a fix on the primary and secondary user groups I’m designing for, and create at least 2 or 3 user personas.
  2. Hash out a content survey document that classifies and prioritizes the content for the website or app. This helps me and other team members get a handle on how the content flow might need to change across multiple devices.
  3. Create wireframes to define the overall flow as well as the user routs for navigating through the site/app.
  4. Create the design style guides.
  5. Create the site/app layout and user interface (UI).
  6. Once the wireframes and design styles are finalized, start writing the front-end code.

Copywriting & Editing

As with design work, I also have a passion for well crafted words. In my experience, visual design aesthetics and written communications often become synonymous. I've been noted many times for doing more than a decent job helping my clients write and edit content for their websites, marketing materials, blog posts, landing pages, articles, and more; and I enjoy doing it.

My Work Standards

spartans, what is your profession!

So you may be wondering, am I a graphic designer, a web designer, a front-end web developer...? The answer is yes, I'm all three. I consider myself (and strive to be) a full-stack designer. Being a full-stack designer means having an expanded skill set with deep knowledgeable about what can and cannot work elegantly within the context of a product’s design (brand identity, website, web/mobile app).

I also believe in being a team member who can jump in and help even outside my area of focus. This is beneficial for clients who want to keep teams lean and diversified with everyone having a better grasp of the whole-picture.

It seems to me that businesses and organizations are pivoting towards bringing design to the center of their business process. As a result, I think stakeholders and executives are increasingly recognizing the value of UX design, and increasingly want to be involved. I know a number of designers who have varying viewpoints on this; but I consider it a good thing.

I believe that the only proper way to design & build a modern website is with a fully responsive, mobile first approach.

Clean Design, Clean Code

The foundation of a beautiful site or app

So many websites suffer from poorly written markup. I believe in writing clean, semantically correct HTML, as well as lean, structured CSS. In my opinion, good CSS can only exist with equally good HTML markup.

Besides eliminating buggy behavior and vastly improving a site or app's performance, clean, well structured code is easier to read and edit. Not to mention the benefits of improved Accessibility and Search Engine Optimization.

Clean markup also saves time and money when other people have to interact with it. Especially if it needs to be integrated into a content management system or any other web application.

Always Learning

What I know, what I'm learning, and the road ahead

Web technologies I'm using now:

HTML 5 & CSS 3

Mobile-first responsive design (with best practices)

Front-end frameworks & grid systems (such as Bootstrap 3)

Sass and LESS (CSS Preprocessors)

Web technologies I'm currently learning:

Javascript plugins (customization + integration)

Javascript (custom JS + jQuery)

Using command line + Github

Web technologies I plan to learn next:

AngularJS (an open-source web application framework maintained by Google)

Swift programming language (latest from Apple for iOS and OS X apps)

Working with Digital Publishing & the new Apple News format

UX Design

About UX and my approach

Being a full-stack designer, I like to design complete front-end experiences. Experiences that can take users seamlessly from one device to another. I like to start by talking about how to make important, upfront planning decisions. Then use context as a guide to create a flexible content strategy with particular emphases on design for touch screens; one of the most important interfaces in today's world.

A quick run-through of my preferred workflow goes something like this:

  1. Get a fix on the primary and secondary user groups I’m designing for, and create at least 2 or 3 user personas.
  2. Hash out a content survey document that classifies and prioritizes the content for the website or app. This helps me and other team members get a handle on how the content flow might need to change across multiple devices.
  3. Create wireframes to define the overall flow as well as the user routs for navigating through the site/app.
  4. Create the design style guides.
  5. Create the site/app layout and user interface (UI).
  6. Once the wireframes and design styles are finalized, start writing the front-end code.

Copywriting & Editing

It seems I have A way with words

As with design work, I also have a passion for well crafted words. In my experience, visual design aesthetics and written communications often become synonymous. I've been noted many times for doing more than a decent job helping my clients write and edit content for their websites, marketing materials, blog posts, landing pages, articles, and more; and I enjoy doing it.

Some Of My Work

Let's Connect

One of the joys of freelancing is the ability to travel. Thus, I currently don't maintain a permanent residence. I tend to winter either in Indianapolis or Chicago. Plus I have family in Colorado I like to spend time with when I can. However, I am interested in a more permanent assignment and would be happy to relocate for the right opportunity:)

yougotkeith@gmail.com @yougotkeith linkedin