Travels bring new designer to Imagemakers team

Sept. 7, 2010 - PRLog -- Dan Warner, newest member of the Imagemakers design team, grew up in northeastern Pennsylvania but has spent most of his time since exploring the world.

His love of travel began before he graduated from high school when he spent a year as an exchange student to Javea, Spain.  That whet Warner’s appetite and he began searching for ways to continue his studies abroad.  While attending Edinboro University of Pennsylvania he studied Iberian language and literature at The Universidad de Salamanca in Spain, and philosophy at St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia.  

After graduation from EUP Warner supported travels throughout Europe by teaching and tutoring at various universities and polytechnic schools.  It was during this time that he became interested in design and advertising.

“Travel is integral to who I am as a designer, and the experience of immersion in different cultural contexts, with unique visual languages, materials, palettes and ways of seeing, continually renews, inspires and strengthens my work,” Warner said.

This belief that travel and experiencing different cultures helps create more tools from which to create effective design is in perfect alignment with the philosophy of Dan Holmgren, Creative Director of Imagemakers.

“I believe experiencing other cultures helps us expand our creative base, as well as our understanding of other people.  Immersing ourselves in new and different customs and landscapes broadens the images and experiences that we can each bring to any project,” Holmgren said.

That’s why Imagemakers offers its employees the Culture Shock Travel Benefit.  After a year of employment team members can apply for a grant, this year up to $1,500, to be used for travel to a foreign country.

“Our hope is it helps make a trip to a foreign country as affordable as a domestic trip,” Holmgren said.

The only stipulations on the trip is that the team member must take at least 50 photographs while traveling, purchase a local newspaper and share their experiences with the rest of the team upon their return.  Some of the travels that team members have taken include trips to China, Viet Nam, Greece, Egypt, Italy and Croatia.

“We can send our people to seminars in Chicago and it would likely cost more and result in less benefit for them and for our clients.  I think we can learn more by meeting other people and experiencing other cultures,” Holmgren said.

Warner could not agree more.  He was drawn to Imagemakers because of the firm’s reputation for outstanding design and advertising work, but he soon knew he had found a good home for his design skills.

“The folks here are fun, professional, passionate and hard-working.  It’s an excellent fit and I’m thrilled to be a part of it,” Warner said.

Warner, who received a M.F.A. in Design from the University of Notre Dame, is also teaching several design courses at Washburn University this semester.  His wife, Mervi Pakaste, also teaches and is an assistant professor of graphic design at Kansas State University.  They met at EUP and Pakaste was already teaching at K-State when Warner graduated from the University of Notre Dame.

“She absolutely loved her work and colleagues and wanted to settle in this area, so I moved to Manhattan,” Warner said.

He worked on some projects for Imagemakers on a freelance basis before coming onboard in mid-July.

“We’re so pleased to welcome Dan to our team.  His amazing talent and varied background helps us be even more responsive to our clients’ needs.  We’re fortunate his travels have led him to Wamego and to Imagemakers,” Mary Foster, project manager for Imagemakers, said.

# # #

Providing the kind of web development, graphic design, and advertising efforts that get results. Imagemakers has the knowledge and expertise to make sure your materials not only work, but work for you—and with the highest return on investment possible.