About

I’m a Graphic Designer, Front-end Web Developer, lover of handmade goods, and budding screen-printer—loving living in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood. My formal background is in print design, with a BFA in Visual Communications Design (proudly) from Kent State University. I’ve worked with all types of companies and clients in my 8 years’ professional experience–from designing sites and promotions for national consumer packaged goods companies during my days at DigitalDay Creative Group, to programming Flash mini-sites for the second largest insurance provider in the US at Juice Interactive, and to working with entities of every other size all along the way. I’m incredibly grateful for my time and experience at any of the companies I’ve worked with along the way, as they’ve all been very understanding, patient, tolerant of and willing to explore the progression of what Web design is and should be. Their tolerance, acceptance, and understanding of embracing Web standards has allowed me to grow as a designer and developer, and to develop my own strong set of best practices along the way.

But, by early 2010, it was long past due that I try to pursue my passions in life and head out on my own. So, I decided to try to take things into my own hands and start my own company, spreading my focus equally between design services and creating my own work to sell. Seeing my contemporaries create beautiful print work, and selling their own creations made me long for the practices and craft that I’d learned in my studies years earlier, and the old 9–5 downtown just wasn’t doing it for me anymore. Enter Pretty Clever, the brainchild of mine and my partner at the time. Now, Pretty Clever has established a small screen print shop, with some pretty great releases queued up for 2011, including: a few t-shirts, a couple posters, a software release, and buttons buttons buttons!

This site, ryanwerth.com, is a place for me to express my personal views and experiences in creating my own business, developing my own set of best practices, and trying to maintain my dignity and self-respect throughout it all. Just a document of things I’ve learned stumbling through this life. Thanks for visiting, and if you’re interested in working with me, checkout out my company’s site at http://prettycleverdesign.com!