SEBASTIAN BALLESTER

As the proud son of immigrants, and a proud first-generation American born in Ann Arbor, Michigan (Go Blue!), my creative journey started early.

My father is a fantastic classical guitarist (and world-class Oncologist before his retirement) who instilled in me at a young age a love for music, art, personal health, and a passion and respect for understanding the world and embracing other cultures. My mother, also a wonderful Child Psychiatrist in her professional life, gave me my first exposure to computers and early Photoshop software which gave me an early advantage in not only design technology but a great understanding of computer technology. She can also take credit for my deep passion of the things I care about most - my family, my friends, my work, and my community. My big sister is my best friend and quite simply is the best person I know (that doesn't have anything to do with my professional career, but I just wanted to say it).

Around the age of 10, I started playing guitar. It stuck. I ended up going to college for Jazz Guitar and Music Theory, performing in bands and recitals while completing my Associates Degree and teaching lessons to pay the rent, but quickly realized I was most likely not going to have a career as a rock star. I transferred to a Digital Arts program to focus on video game design, where I learned industry standard 3D modeling software like Maya (and the now deceased Flash) and the ability to tell stories and bring characters to life, but I ended up gravitating towards graphic design and other multimedia mediums as I completed my Bachelors Degree in 2011. Along the way, I learned skills ranging from a complete understanding of the Adobe Creative Suite, Final Cut Pro and other industry-standard video software, a knowledge and love of photography, videography, film, writing, shooting, and editing, The Principles of Design, Classical Art, Folk Art, Modern Art. I also took electives like painting, sculpture, world history and others that only further expanded my skill set and world view.

Six months after graduating into an ongoing economic recession, I took the first job I could find as a product photographer at a small golf retail company. Working my way up from an hourly employee to a salaried one, I was eventually given so many responsibilities - like graphic design, social media, front-end coding, admin access and creating relationships with our sales reps - that I was appointed to the newly created position of Art Director.

During my time there, we grew as a company from a few thousand social media followers to over 100,000. We started multiple successful affiliate programs. I alone improved the quality of their brand by leaps and bounds as I grew into a better designer and artist. The owner eventually trusted me to help him make one of his dreams a reality - an entirely new golf apparel company - and I was really proud of the work we were doing in all facets of my various jobs. I learned so much and did things I never thought I would get the chance to do, like have my ads published in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, Playboy, Forbes, Entrepreneur Magazine, Golf Digest and more. I even had commercials, some I directed and some helped produce, broadcast on the Golf Channel and NBC. I hired and managed people under me. I even made life-long friends in the process.

In 2019, my wife and I embarked on our combined creative journey and started Bizarro Designs. We use our design skills to help promote the creative scene in the Tampa Bay area specializing in creating wearable art, accessories and almost anything else they can think of for bands, artists, businesses and organizations. A 50/50 profit sharing model with our partners and also use many of our designs to help raise money for local charities and causes like Feeding Tampa Bay during the 2020 COVID pandemic fulfils our wish to enrich and uplift the local community. Our designs are manufactured by various companies like Printful, Printify, and more. The print-on-demand model is cost-effective and eco-friendly by eliminating unused inventory.

As I move onto the next chapter in my career, I look forward to what it brings. New challenges to overcome, new achievements to unlock, and new relationships to eventually cherish. And - of course - new skills to learn! Things are evolving and we are all keeping up as best as we can. I'm familiar with many AI tools and use them sporadically during budget or time constraints, but I try to rely on human-based skills whenever possible. Keeping up with all of the social media apps and trends is also just part of the job!

If you happen to need any of my services, please don't hesitate to reach out! My CV and contact info are below.

Thanks for wanting to learn more about me!

Much love, Sebastian Ballester (not AI)