Richard Toland

My background in a nutshell

I was born abroad as an Army brat in Frankfurt, West Germany. My father was an Army Ranger and my mother was a manager for what was then know an AFEES (the Wal-Mart of military bases). Has long as I can remember, I was two things for sure… a die-hard Star Wars fan and an artist. So yes, I was always that Star Wars geek in the back of the class growing up. I was also that one kid in class that was constantly getting sent to detention for drawing in class. Which to be honest, was kind of funny since I spent detention doing the exact same thing that got me there in the first place… drawing.

A few years later in 2002, I took a temporary job at Educational Testing Services as one of just artist huddled in a corner of their newly founded production department. Just three short months later, ETS hired me on fulltime. There I learned all aspects of print design and production. Over the years, I eventually worked my way up in the organization as the once small group grew and evolved into a full-fledged corporate graphics and production department consisting of approximately twenty-two artists and designers at any given time. We serviced over twenty State-run K12 testing programs that ran year-round, producing an average of 2,000 graphics a week, building and compiling test booklets, guides, and other materials all from scratch. While working at ETS, I went to school at night and eventually earned my bachelor’s degree in Digital Design in 2005. In 2010 after moving up in the organization as far as I could, I left ETS to pursue other opportunities in the world of freelance.

As a freelance/contract designer I began to learn other facets of the industry and disciplines, mainly web design and development and UX/UI design. I have been blessed to have worked with a variety of clients and organizations, both large and small, on a number of projects as a freelancer. My experience includes everything from start-ups, mom and pop businesses, corporate clients, web development teams, and even UX design projects.

Its’ been an amazing journey and one that has allowed me to work on all kinds of projects that I simply would never have been exposed to had I stayed at ETS in 2010. However, at this point in my career, I would truly love to return to a company or corporate environment where I can share my own experiences and knowledge, as well as continue to learn from other’s experiences and knowledge. I believe I would be an amazing asset to any organization moving forward and look forward to joining a new team soon.