Darren Odden
Web Developer, Designer, and Strategist in Santa Cruz, California
Darren Odden
Web Developer, Designer, and Strategist in Santa Cruz, California
The son of an Art teacher, I learned to appreciate the form and manner art spoke to me. I was introduced to calligraphy when I was eleven or twelve after Dad took a course in lettering for continuing education units. I quickly learned that I loved to draw letters and would make signs, posters, logos and more.
I bypassed school, but in each job I took, I was designing forms, ads, documents, and presentations. None of these jobs was I listed as a designer, but each of them I took on the process, and created a functioning design that made returns on the time spent. (Well, okay, I didn't do any design on the ranch I worked on that one year.)
It wasn't until after I had worked at Compaq and Dell Computers that I realized that Design was an actual job. It was during the 2001 dotBomb that I started mediaMystique, and expanded into my design roots. With a background in programming, I was able to move into the web world easily.
Now I use my expertise with strategy to create designs that match the users needs. I lead my clients through identifying their brand and users to best match the message and product to their clients.
I truly thrive when my clients succeed.