I AM ORIGINALLY from the SF Bay Area, and have recently returned after living in Italy and New York. I studied art at the Lorenzo di Medici College in Florence and Sarah Lawrence College in Westchester, NY. I worked for several years in the fashion industry in Manhattan before starting my own fashion design company (Satyricon LLC), for which I designed all branding and promotional materials as well as my own line of clothing. Upon returning to San Francisco three years ago, I decided to focus exclusively on graphic design. I was Art Director at E2 Media (a South San Francisco-based Full-Service Advertising agency) for two years before striking out on my own. I'm most attracted to clean, integrated design. I think a designer's greatest challenge is knowing what to leave out! Another challenge is to pursue beauty while keeping the strategic concept intact. Creativity is very important, but not at the expense of functionality.

--Saramanda Swigart