About me
I focus on building outstanding presentations.
A brief capabilities overview: Skills that help make each project a resounding success and exceed expectations
- PowerPoint: Rescue, Refresh, New Builds, Template Design
- InDesign: Document Production, PDF Forms
- Photoshop & Illustrator: Graphics
- Presentation Support Skills: Sharp eye for grammar and syntax, presentation consulting/coaching, sound design, music curation
- Complementary Apps: e.g. Canva, Prezi, Word, Acrobat, Logic Pro, WordPress
Early on I prioritized getting the message across.
I always had a fascination with techie stuff. It usually ended up being me running the AV equipment in class, figuring out how to connect all the various equipment. Making sure the sound was working and that the visuals aligned properly.
The intention of any presentation is to tell the story, not be distracted with the medium. I took on the role of removing and preventing distractions so presenters could tell their story most effectively.
This led to earning a degree in Advertising at the University of Georgia, in the Grady College of Journalism & Mass Communication. Among many insights, this was one that came from my perspective as a songwriter:
Ads are a lot like songs.
Yesterday may cause side effects like regret, nostalgia, and yearning
Along the way I was an avid musician, learning to write and perform songs. It occurred to me that songs and ads have a lot in common. The title is a headline, signaling the intention of what’s to come. Then you’ve got the body copy in the verses, filling you in on the details. The chorus comes along and delivers the tagline, the thing that wraps it all up and gives you the “aha” moment.
| SONG | AD |
| Title: Sweet Caroline | Title: Anticipation (Heinz Ketchup) |
| Verses: And when I hurt Hurtin’ runs off my shoulders How can I hurt when holdin’ you? | Verses: It’s making me wait (visual of ketchup pouring slowly) |
| Chorus/Hook: Good times never seemed so good | Tagline: It’s sloooow good |
It was around this time I discovered we all have niches, areas of expertise that might seem mundane to the possessor, but fascinating and sought-after by those whose focus is elsewhere.
My particular niche seemed to be finding creative ways of expressing ideas on behalf of others who are embedded in their work. It’s not that they couldn’t do it themselves, but they’re often swamped. A dedicated fresh perspective often adds that special something to a campaign or presentation.
A diverse range of experiences expanded my reach.
A couple of years crafting presentations at an advertising agency in Atlanta opened up the opportunity for a career pivot: at a post production house as a sound designer, working with video editors, 3D animators, graphic designers, and programmers on tons of exciting projects. But at a small shop, everyone wears multiple hats. So in addition to Pro Tools audio, I learned Photoshop, Flash, and web design. All while also being the guy who could fix printer issues, reformat hard drives, and restart the server.
Around the same time I made my first website, a home for my music projects at AndyArd.com.
I started Pennymoon Creative as a moniker for my production work, which would later become One Big Production. Out of necessity and budgetary constraint, I did most of the work myself and learned a lot. That also enabled me to expand my services.
A move to Denver marked a shift into freelance work that continues to this day. There have been a couple of stints as a contractor-to-full-time, but most of my work has been with a wide array of clients in finance, biotech, media, legal, construction, and about a dozen other fields. It keeps the creativity flowing to distill messaging from so many different sources into coherent narratives.
I came to recognize my mission: Helping people tell their stories.
That’s what presentations are: Storytelling. You have an idea that you want to share, and make sure that the whole concept gets conveyed so that your audience then has the same idea. You want agreement, consensus. You want to change things, to move an initiative forward.
Often that’s hard to boil down to a simple form, and I’ve discovered that it’s one of my strengths. Through the use of carefully constructed language, clear and concise visuals, and apt analogies, I work with clients to make presentations that will carry their message confidently.
Working with What’s Available
During one extended contract I was tasked with a couple of ambitious projects with no budget:
“We need a free screenshot library.”
The assignment: Make a content management system (CMS) for marketing images so that the sales team could easily catalog and find images.
There ended up being two solutions, one using Google’s Picasa photo software, and the other using Microsoft Office’s own clipart library.
Both methods are now obsolete due to changes or discontinuation of software, but the principles are still valid and here’s a rundown.
“A lookbook we can edit.”
Next, a Lookbook and collateral template that everyone in business development can edit.
The original was in InDesign, but reps need content to respond quickly to their demands. With the right set-up, PowerPoint ended up working well.
I know that’s only two tasks, but as you’ll see it ended up being much more. Both involved using software somewhat off-label, getting apps to do things the developers hadn’t intended. The danger there is that sometimes those functionalities disappear, as happened with the free CMS options. But the lessons learned are always valuable.
The principles involved are still valid, and can be very instructive to teammates and even the original software developers if they are listening.
In the process, I got familiar with blogging platforms starting with Blogger.com and later WordPress. To learn and become adept at it, I started a satirical news site like The Onion called JankyVision.com, which later grew into The PostNewsTimes.com.
It’s a great way to gain all the related skills: building and maintaining a site, researching (yes, really), writing, and editing stories, producing the images, tweaking design with CSS, promoting the blog, recovering from hacks, and a zillion little tasks that pop up out of nowhere.
But won’t AI do all that now?
Perhaps, and it’s only getting better every day. In the current moment, though, much depends on the skill of those who are crafting the prompts. Asking the right questions, being familiar with the nuances that make your project unique and make it work.
What’s Your Superpower?
Experiences like this taught me that my superpower is MacGyvering. For those not familiar, MacGyver is a TV show (from the 80s as well as a 2016 reboot) in which the main character employs innovation to navigate difficult situations. For example, using a paper clip, a gum wrapper, and bird feathers to escape a sealed vault. His name has become shorthand for scraping together solutions to problems with whatever is available. It usually involves a novel way of using tools either by themselves or in combination, and that’s what I’ve done for most of my career to maximize the impact of my clients’ budgets.
Of course, it is also very effective to allocate the budget to accomplish the desired task more forthrightly – a concept I refer to as getting The Thing. We don’t always have that luxury, so it’s eternally helpful to have options for completing an objective.
I generally aspire to have two or three ways to accomplish the same task, in case one of them fails for some reason. For example, copying and pasting can be done via the top menu, keyboard shortcuts, and the right-click menu. This concept extends to many other facets of productivity, including ways the developers didn’t foresee. I’ve always developing tricks for breaking down complicated chores that save lots of time.
Of course, there’s still the conventional application of those tools, relying on expertise and creativity to get things done the usual way. Never hurts to have both paths available.
So Yeah, That’s Me.
Drafting this, I considered at a few points whether this was really an “About” section. I’m going on about projects and methods, and not about me as a person. Maybe that’s part of who I am. I do have my own interests and activities, but I seem to spend the better part of my days helping other people do their thing. I enjoy seeing them fulfill their visions as much as I enjoy fulfilling mine.
I’m a husband, a father, a band leader, singer-songwriter, music producer, blogger, presentation designer/consultant, graphic production artist, web designer, astronomy enthusiast, aspiring novelist, frustrated inventor, former Boy Scout, video game junkie, tech nerd, and recovering ADD scatterbrain. We’ve all got lots of things going on, and it feels great to get them out there in the world.
What might seem to some a repertoire spread too thin is to me a rich, diverse collection of interests that keep me engaged in this fascinating world, sampling the trends of the times.
I’ve earned certification as a Microsoft Presentation Specialist, which was something of a formality by the time I’d been working as a presentation professional for 20 years. It’s nice to have, though.
If you’ve read this far, then you probably understand why I’m hesitant to do the typical “call to action” routine like on my landing page. By now you probably have a pretty good sense of whether we’d work well together, and if that is the case, I look forward to helping you accomplish your thing.
Featured Project
Interactive PDF Brochure
A client asked for a way to encapsulate a presentation as an interactive PDF that could be shown on a tablet, allowing access to the different sections at a touch. There were some unique challenges that arose with this project, but it worked out. Here’s a rundown.
What My Clients Say
This work always reminds me that I can’t look good unless I help make them look good!
“Andy has worked on several challenging projects for Z-Axis and has consistently provided excellent results within demanding deadlines.”
Alan Treibitz
Managing Partner
Z-Axis LLC
“Andy always understands what I’m trying to do and exceeds my expectations. He is very conscientious of every small detail from what fonts are used, color schemes, conciseness, and how all of that fits into existing branding.
Andy will bring a polish to your project that will impress even the toughest clients!”
Derek Marshall
Principal
Prairie Professional Services
“Taloma Partners has used Andy’s services several times when needing support on high-impact presentations for clients. He is quick to understand the strategy, has a great design sensibility and is a pleasure to work with. We recommend him for anyone needing presentation support services.”
Lori Fox
Principal
Taloma Partners
Ready to Work on Your Project Together?
If all this sounds about your speed, let’s figure out if we’d be a good fit. You might end up needing something a bit different, and no harm done if so. I might be able to point you in the direction of a helpful resource anyway!