Cameron Aull Imaging

Looking for Me?

If you're on my Web site then you probably are, "Looking for Me." First, about this site. It's designed so that companies, individuals or organizations can review my background, experience and portfolio of work. My name is Cameron Aull and I'm a Designer with a variety of experience professionally and independently. Anyone to ask I say that "I work in computer aided design, graphics, technical illustration and drafting". I have been a consultant for over twenty years providing graphic / technical design, IT support and development of online media. I build computers and have worked as an IT administrator in varying roles. But, this site isn't necessarily about all of that. The small images can be "clicked " on if you want to see my work, studio, builds...life, just so you know. Use your "scroll" wheel on your mouse to move through my work. Yeah, I've programmed that to work.

I'm a Professional Graphic Designer... ...not an "Artist" My work is illustrative principally in marketing, branding company literature, and technical documentation. Yes, I create posters, company logos, informational diagrams and a lot of very cool U.I. (User Interface) icons. That's a lot of work and experience designing with all types of software including CAD applications, design software as well as web development. I know an abundance of programming languages for web design and how graphics interact with interface design. I have fresh ideas coming from years of experience and working with many companies to create original, scalable and informative designs. So take a look through my work and you'll get a better idea of my skill and my unique styles. Contact me and we can chat, I'm very easy to work with and I know I can provide you with solutions to problems you didn't even think of.

I'm a Technical Illustrator... ...with decades in design I enjoy taking something apart to understand it and hopefully make it better. It's not all about being a senior or an expert at anything in particular. I'm learning everyday and it's something that I expect to always be doing. I work from everywhere. I travel, a LOT. I've worked from, France, Spain, Morocco and I'd lived in San Francisco for about seven years working with companies such as SyBase, Macromedia (now Adobe) and INTEL in Folsom California. I solve complex problems with unique solutions, sometimes really simple solutions. I don't think out of the box, it's somewhere I've never been to have to think out of. I am NOT a resume in a database, a profile on social media, a skill matrix, or a user of any type. I'm an experienced designer with serious passion of everything I put my mind to. Oh, and I'm a biker, hiker, horticulturist, and I build "wicked " patios and decks (see "Things ").

Bump in the Night ...home automation I seem to come up with ideas that require solutions. My house is a little too big for me at times and the difficulty is finding a light switch at night. Dark stairways, poorly lit halls and I have to get up off the couch to hit a light on or off. Hmmm? O.K? How about if I could "Talk" to my house? How hard could that be? On that... I now have my house talking to me. I set up home automation through micro-controllers, tiny computers, smart switches and bulbs. A long road of programming, Interfaces and electrical wiring behind wall switches. But now, with proximity sensors, motion detection and voice commands my house works on its own. Kinda like my own personal butler. WAY fun to do but then again, I've had a few problems. My house sometimes has a mind of its own. I made a video of my house automation if you wanted to "click" the little icon on the side of this article. Again, it's not perfect but with over 40yrs of IT experience and I'm a REAL handy guy (I can build/repair almost anything), why not! Take a look...

More about me. ...where I am and my studio So, now that you have a better idea of what I do, a little more about me. I live in this great little house in Calgary, Alberta Canada. I have a huge studio work space that has all of the current technologies for my on-line work. I have two media stations with 42" monitors and I do remote like I'm in the office. I get around by bike and public transit when I have to so I'm rarely driving my car. It's just a better day for me to get somewhere if I can get there by bike. It's also nice as I seem to "dawdle" on the way back home by distractions of architectural design, signage and people going about their days. I don't have a mobile phone. Or, an answering machine. Yeah, I know most people do these days but I just wouldn't be able to live like that. If I'm home I answer the phone when it rings. Away, then I'm out doing things I would rather be doing than answering a phone. That's OK, I know when you call and since I do work from my studio I can always pick up the phone. And, I video conference (SKYPE - aulldotcam).

If it's broken ...you can't break it anymore by taking it apart When I'm not working on web, graphic design or technical illustrations you can find me working on building architectural structures or in my garage on a "Project ". I build patios, porches and decks for my friends and family and I fix almost everything I can. I've worked in Alaska, France, Spain, Morocco, England and 6 years in California in some form of design or another (I'm a Tourist ). I weld, and I'm a carpenter, electrician, plumber and I know how to shingle a roof (thanks YouTube ). I know glass blowers (Lee Miltier), iron workers (Melissa MacDonald Metalworks), painters, geologists, engineers, presidents, entrepreneurs. I help when I can and I'm excellent at appliance repair. My friends seem to be always feuding with their washer, dryer or some other household appliance. It's OK, I can fix all of that with no problem. I spent three years as a Horticultural clerk for a Gardening outlet and I'm an exceptional landscape designer. And as many years in a comedy club as just about everything including MC, bartender, bouncer (in a comedy club? ) and talent liaison.

Really finding me. The obligatory Google Map.
By Calgary Transit (bus) from downtown it's the #2 South to 17th Ave and Richmond Rd SW. Or, you can get the LRT to the Shaganappi Point CTrain Station. Then walk South on 26th St to 17th Ave, down towards the city center on 17th, to Richmond Rd (you cross over Crowchild Trail bridge) and then I'm about two blocks up (South) then right on 20th Ave. Parking in the back is on 21st Ave. It's about 30 minutes to my place from the City Center. Oh, and the #300 bus from the Airport into downtown if you're flying in. Make sure you get a bus transfer when you first get on any of the buses. This is just for anyone that maybe coming from another country, like Couch Surfers. I'm a HUGE fan of couchsurfing....
It can be a little like the U.N. around my place over the summer months.

Opportunities, Creating!

Wanted - A developer who can collaborate with production teams and client business owners during the design phases of building online media, reviewing storyboards with designers and discuss the implementation of instructional objectives of a proposed media. And, either validate that it's the right medium for the objective, budget, and intended environment or discuss an alternative that supports these objectives. Some onsite work is required to collaborate with designers and developers. Most work can be done offsite provided appropriate office workstation capabilities exist; i.e. e-mail, high-speed Internet access, media software, etc.

That about sums it up ...learning everyday, it's about design I primarily work with advanced HTML, CSS and programming design languages for the "Graphical User Interface " creating unique Web sites and custom application software Interfaces. I utilize my design experience of typography, iconography and colour theory to develop my work. If it's not within my resume it doesn't mean I haven't touched upon it. The list of programming languages is endless. As an independent developer I have to be aware of some frameworks or methodologies that may compliment my work. Independent design is somewhat different than that within an enterprise environment. I do not work with Web programming frameworks, which are abstractions providing "generic " functionality that can be selectively revised by additional code implementation. As example, "BootStrap, Modernizer, Ruby on Rail, NODEJS, CodeIgniter ". I do work with a large variety of well documented and sustainable programming repositories in the design community like "JSFiddle, CodePen " and libraries like JQuery and Moo-Tools. I love PHP and JavaScript but I need more exposure to their implementations to be as efficient as someone who programs in these applications on a regular basis. I don't write these from scratch but I can read, develop and modify them as required.

New media, types, structures, frameworks, tool sets.
I have a limited familiarity to Content Management Systems (CMS) as I am not actively engaged in an enterprise environment which would require it. These include "Wordpress, Joomla, Drupal and MS SharePoint" for the same reasons as mentioned that I don't work in an enterprise environment. On a regular basis I develop with the Apache Server application and the plug-ins for PHP and MYSQL to test my work locally, rather than loading my work onto a live server. I am extremely fluent with this type of QA development. I hand code (Wikipedia that ) from scratch using NotePad++ as my principle code/design program rather than tools like Dreamweaver. I am currently working with a lot more video so I am utilizing Adobe Premier. It's a complex program and I'm using about 20% of its abilities, for now. I will be working with this much more in the future.

Most of my work is for smaller clients, maybe a dozen Web pages opposed to more within an enterprise production situation. Not like I haven't developed for scalable architectures though. I have over 30yrs of solid experience working with computers and systems and about 20 of those working on Internet development. I use a lot of different software for my graphic design workflow so the ADOBE CS applications are not my sole dependency of development. I have AutoCAD experience but it's been a while since I've had any opportunity to do any actual work in it. I'd love to do more. I don't call myself a Sr. at anything. It's all relative to design work and I'm sure I've filled those roles at some point in my career. "...I receive considerable satisfaction from doing work which I, and sometimes others, think is good. " (Saul Bass)

Principally I'm a designer. The TransCanada Pipelines toll calculator "app" would be a good example of my work. The UI of their "Toll Calculator" is FLASH based with a JAVA backend which dynamically compiles an XML document and parsed into the OOP script, AS2 (Actionscript). YIPES, huh? Yeah, that's what I thought when initially contracted for the "opportunity " but for one reason or another I've managed to get the gig for their updates every year since 2008. I believe this has to do more so as to my personality rather than my expertise. They like me, I get the job done off site with no IT management and then I'm out the door. For myself, their main programmer is awesome to work with and brilliant when it comes to logical thinking. We work well together.

That's pretty much what I'm looking for. A creative environment with a great team lead and management with relatively a "hands off " attitude. Realistically I excel in limited tenured projects, one day, week, month where I can hit my "monuments " every time and on budget. Clients whom I've worked for decades with want just that, regardless of my tool sets.

Resumes, Skill Matrix, Cover letters - Recruiters.
I'm constantly looking for opportunity. Every day I have to write, edit, alter and process some type of resume for a specific job posting or request. Mostly it's for individual agency recruitment consultants who've found my profile on sites like Monster or LinkedIn. I'm always asked the same questions every time and it seems no one every just reviews my Web site to actually see what I do. So, for those who may be looking for me to fill an "opportunity " this is what I do and don't do.

"I will solve your problem for you, and you will pay me. You don't have to use the solution. If you want options, talk to other people. But I'll solve your problem for you the best way I know how, and use it or not, that's up to you. You're the client, but you pay me " - Paul Rand.

) I rarely apply for positions that require any type of degree, University certification or diploma. I've been a designer for over twenty year so all of my experience is in my work history. I am not an engineer, analyst, specialist, UI or UX designer, expert, senior, project manager, director. I have filled many roles in my over abundant experience and I'm sure I have touched upon all of these professional designations to some degree at one time.

) I do not have more technical knowledge than what is within my resume. I cannot alter my experience to reflect any particular qualification strengths. If the qualification requirement bullet points exceed my experience or exposure to proprietary skill sets then you may wish to consider more alternative candidates.

) My work is on limited tenured projects and I work best from my own studio where I have all of the equipment I need to complete my work. As an independent designer my work experience is on limited tenured projects, rather than any quantity of years of employment. Should you be gauging my experience as to years of employment with a particular company then I would not be a suitable candidate. I work as a temporary contractor on projects I like, with people I like to work with.

) I am not incorporated, I am a sole proprietor. Incorporating is beyond an affordable expense and, as a limited supplier, I do not make over $30,000 per annum to qualify for GST remittance. I charge out at $45 per hour. That is a reasonable remuneration for my experience and professional abilities. As a recruiter should you wish to represent me to your client above that would be your jurisprudence. Should my set rate of remuneration diminish due to any inability to provide my services as an incorporated entity rather than sole proprietor I would not be interested in the "opportunity ".

) I do not work on any projects "free " to provide tests, review of abilities, options, alternative solutions or work for volunteer design positions. I have a broad body of work within this Web site and you should be able to gain enough significant knowledge as to whether or not I may be an appropriate designer who is aligned with your style guidelines, experience and requirements.

) If you have contacted me without regard to reviewing my web site or my body of work with "opportunities " beyond my professional experience I will reply with the following statement.

"Thank you for your interest and consideration regarding your current opportunity. Unfortunately I do not possess the qualifications to be a suitable applicant nor do I have anyone within my Network who may be able to fill this particular position. All the best in finding a qualified candidate ".

Inspiration. Again!

I like to be a creative person. Art, sculpture, kinetic designs, Architecture, graffiti. The prospect of involving my work with technologies adding to anything in relationship to a charitable landscape is intriguing to me. Some of my favourite most influential designers include:

) Alexander Calder: American sculptor known as the originator of the mobile
) Arthur Ganson: Renowned kinetic sculptor, Cory's Yellow Chair
) Aparna Rao: High-tech art (with a sense of humor )
) David C. Roy: Spring driven kinetic sculptures
) Anthony Howe: Wind-driven sculptures
) Bob Potts: Kinetics, the very essence of natural rhythmical movements
) Theo Jansen: Kinetic sculptor and artist
) Charles and Ray Eames: Modern architecture, furniture and industrial design
) Casey Neistat: Film Maker, Creator, YouTube Citizen

Renovation Renegade ...the siding project In the summer of 2016 I took a hiatus from working as a designer/developer to renovate the siding on my house. I'm an experienced designer but I have a real solid passion of architectural design and construction. So much that I removed all of the old siding on my house and changed the architectural design of the building. Horizontal planes which caught water were updated, complimentary cedar ledgers along the walls, and replacing old insulation. It's was a lot of work and had taken most of the summer working between the rain drops. So, renting scaffolding and waste bins, climbing ladders, ordering truck loads of material and trying to tarp the building from the elements (the mean season). It looks amazing now, it's warmer in the house, water doesn't sit where it shouldn't and it was worth the work after I finished.

A Room without a view? ...aull decked out I work on things that really "Bug" me. Everyone has something that just doesn't work right, needs to be repaired or really doesn't fit in. I have a great work/life space but sometimes I have to change things to make them better. This is the adventure of rebuilding one of those spaces. A ton of work but now I have a remarkable space that is just right for relaxing and it makes my life better overall. You have to have a good balance of life and work spaces. Places you can hide out and collect your thoughts or just relax after a day of a busy life. I don't look at something and think "I have to fix that one day". If I can make it better then I dig right in. OK I'm a little compulsive but, never without a plan and always for the better. Follow my story of building one of those spaces.

Useful Things
I've been working with computers and software since about the mid 80's and I've built dozens of them from scratch as well as fixed all of my friends computers. I have a network of media systems throughout my house connected to a central server. My front room media center is connected to a small development computer called a "Raspberry Pi" running on a Linux Debian distribution. I like the idea of open source development communities especially when it comes to tinkering or maker spaces. My media center now has unlimited "free " movies, TV series and educational videos of all sorts. It's cut my cable bill by a LOT. If you're interested get a hold of me and I can tell you how to do it.

I'm a member of at least half a dozen Meet-up groups from U.I. and U.X. design to tech start-ups, and I get out and Network as much as I can. I love a crowd of people especially when there's so many talented designers and builders in Calgary. I want to make movies and I'm influenced by YouTube film maker Casey Neistat. Check him out. My brother and his wife in Fairbanks Alaska have a film production company "Moving Images". I produced, designed, coded and administrate their Web site.

Doing! Not Saying!

Community! A collaboration of talented individuals with unique visual literacy driven by curiosity, challenged by constructive disruption.

I like to be where I am.
I'm a part of my community and hopefully you've looked through my portfolio and body of work to see my passion for design and some aspects of my life which reflect that. That's the idea behind my Web site, so you get to know me and my work better. I want to be part of bringing more technology and efficiency to the charitable landscape by collaborative contribution and driven to doing things better, for the better.

I'm not the "best " or a senior or expert at anything in particular. I love what I do as a designer, providing unique and innovative solutions to digital campaigns, enhancing multi-media technologies and learning to look at things differently. Rarely do I say I'm going to do something and not do it. I think breathing life into ideas should personally obligate you to actions not just words. The liberation of ideas is only negated by the fear of creative engagement. Lets look ahead, prepare for the worst, cast away fears and doubts and build something we can all reflect upon and say "Lets Do What We Can't "! Oh, and lets have a life with our families and our friends and like where and who we are opposed to dreaming about what we'd rather be. Saying and Doing are two different things, start small and work your way up. Keep promises, manage your direction, be honest with your failures and stop saying things you think people want to hear, raise your voice and be heard. Build something you're proud of, make the mundane an adventure, do something difficult, unpredictable and remember to come to the aide of your community with a hand up not a hand out.

Awards & Certifications ...INTEL, Movie Extra, Horse play Work and life balances. I love what I do. I've done some amazing things with amazing people, and I hope to continue as long as I can. Over the course of my career I've gained recognition for my accomplishments but "I am always doing that which I cannot do in order that I may learn how to do it " - Pablo Picasso. I volunteer for my community because it's the simple things you do for others which make a difference. I'm a certified Scuba diver, welder, bartender, movie extra, handyman, as well as a designer. I simply enjoy being busy. Companies which I have worked for have given me recognition for my work and I'm a certified developer from INTEL and TransCanada Pipelines. I've been recognized by my City as a volunteer for the Mayors Youth Challenge, Hackathon. Movies... I've been in a half dozen films as a film extra. I can ride a horse, very well. And, I've been a Veterinary assistant (I'm not squeamish ). I don't work for recognition but I do excel at excellence and aspire to be better. Challenge yourself and you'll never be disappointed for your efforts.

Where I'm supposed to be ...Art, Collections and Artifacts Today? More than likely I'm in my studio working or designing or learning. Then again, I may be out riding my bike, wandering around my city looking at architectural designs, watching people engaged in everyday life, building something fantastic (maybe another patio or deck? ) or out in my garden, maybe in my garage with something dangerous like my "Tiger Torch ". I collect a LOT of art work by a variety of talented individuals that I keep in touch with and studios that I frequent. As well, I collect things that I am interested in that I show case in my studio and home. I like to be surrounded by things that inspire me like old hand tools, Typewriters, hand blown glass work, paintings, photography, sculpture, interesting artifacts of visionary design. My surroundings in my personal space say a lot about me and inspire me every day as well as the people I have as friends, family and acquaintances. So, I may not be around my studio every day, sometimes I just have to get out.

I'm just mentioning this as I don't have a mobile, smart or cell phone. I'm just not connected that way and it's a personal reflection as an individual of who I am. I want to enjoy my time with my friends when I'm out, listen to my environment, relax without any assumed forecast of interruptive engagement or be subjected to apprehensions of remote imaginary contingencies. So, you want to get a hold of me that's what the form below does. I'll do my best to answer you back as soon as I can or call you when I have the opportunity. If I miss you by phone it's not like I really actually missed you it's just that I was out doing, rather than... saying.