Q
Meet Drew
With over a decade of experience in this expanding industry and having worked as a senior designer for the last ten years in a global technology-driven design group, helping pioneer #DriverlessFutureNYC app solution as well as defining the tools to support the new brand message of the company. I am looking to lead a team of enthusiastic people who
have vision and who believe
in what they do.
About Me
Hello, my name is Andrew Lager, most people call me Drew. I grew up in Minnesota but now live in Salt Lake City, Utah with my wife and daughter. I started my career at the University of Minnesota–Duluth where I studied Graphic Design and worked at two different paid internships. Growing up in Minnesota I always lived in a tourist town and after high school, my family bought a fishing resort 50 miles from the Canadian border. Whether I knew it or not, hospitality and tourism meant that marketing and communication influenced my career path. I have always loved to design things, but my instinctive nature toward tinkering showed me how things work, which led to the joy of creative problem solving or in other words, designing.
Growing up my father was a gifted carpenter, from creating the design to handcrafting a finished piece. Because of his dedication and influence, I look at my work as a craftsman. I approach each project with a hands-on mentality, design pieces with lasting value, and create meaningful experiences. I believe that different projects require different tools and enjoy the challenge of problem-solving and creating a unique product for each individual client. I am interested in working with other enthusiastic people who have vision and who believe in what they do.
My Design Background
I have worked for small mom and pop print shops, to being a partner in a web development business, to my most recent job, working at IBI Group, a global technology-driven design firm. All this while absorbing the knowledge of many different disciplines; design, branding, and strategy. The best advice I got was to, "get out and get a job at the ground floor and learn about every aspect of that business, not just your job, learn about how it all makes the business work". Because of this advice while I worked at the print shop, I could take your order, design the product, prep it for printing, print the project, do the finishing work, collect payment and deliver the product.
This really helped me with my next endeavor of becoming a partner in a web development business. This company specialized in organic local search engine growth for small businesses and this is where I got involved in digital marketing. Here I honed my business development and project management skills, expanded the services, and helped grow the company.
This leads to my most recent job, where I wore many hats. At the local Salt Lake office, I work closely with project managers across different disciplines to create branded marketing materials that help drive local business development efforts. On a corporate level, I was part of two global teams, the NET (Newsroom Editorial Team) and NDT (Newsroom Design Team) where we created strategies and ran the campaigns across our digital and social media platforms. I also worked on creating the tools and guides that helped define the brand message for the Marketing & Communication teams across the globe.
Awards
2018 Adobe Creative Jam – People's Choice Award – A 1-man team and 3-hours to concept, design, and prototype a user experience using Adobe XD. – App Design (UI/UX)
2016 APA Utah – Achievement Award – The Cairns District Design Guidelines – Branding, Illustrations, & Book Design
2016 Urban Design Utah – Merit Award – The Cairns District Design Guidelines – Branding, Illustrations, & Book Design
2016 APA Utah – Merit Award – Orem State Street Corridor Master Plan – Branding, Illustrations, Public Outreach (that included public meetings & social media), & Book Design
2015 Urban Design Utah – Merit Award – Orem State Street Corridor Master Plan – Branding, Illustrations, Public Outreach (that included public meetings & social media), & Book Design
Design Competitions
Blank Space’s “NYC Driverless Future” – Team sAVe was one of four finalists in the 2017 NYC Driverless Futures competition and is currently in development through the New Lab in New York, with support from the IBI TH!NK network.
AIA Utah Young Architects Forum (YAF) reVIVE – One of three finalists 2016 reVIVE Urban Park Design competition.
Testimonials
Faced with a tight deadline and no budget, I had to rely on internal resources and I immediately thought of Drew. In hindsight, it was the best choice I could have made – not only did Drew deliver as expected, producing exceptional visual imagery for the required video, but out of his own initiative crafted a series of additional resources (playing cards, app screenshots, stand background) that substantially enhanced our submission. More important, however, was the way how Drew interacted with the original team members, collaborating seamlessly and pro-actively to a true team effort that got us being selected as one of the four finalists from over 200 international submissions. Drew went well beyond ‘the call of duty’ in this pursuit. It is not an overstatement to say that, without Drew’s passionate, creative and personal involvement, we would not have made such a good demonstration of thought leadership.
Oliver Hartleben
Associate & Coordinator, IBI TH!NK
Drew has a wealth of knowledge and a great understanding of traditional print design, web design and digital marketing strategies. He is highly technically skilled and stays on top of industry trends and developments. Drew considers form, function, schedule and budget to deliver comprehensive and realistic design solutions. His designs are clean, consistent and suitable for branded cross-channel marketing projects
Benny van der Wal
Light Keeper Owner, Creative Director
His graphic skills are outstanding but he went beyond that, he has the drive to do it! In a very limited time he was able to create a mock up of an app and run it on stage in front of 600 people while presenting. And that's just one example, he also put together a website for another entry shortly after. Our team (sAVe) made it to the final four and I strongly believe that it was big part thanks to Drew. Team work makes dreamwork right? Well he is one of the best team players I have ever worked with!
Meriem Sakrouhi
US East Visualization Lead | Project Designer at IBI Group
My company hired Drew to design our logo when we were trying to develop a distinct image. He was able to meet our expectations within a few days with multiple images suited to brochures, web site, and business cards. He provided print guidelines to include exact color, size ratio, and specific acceptable uses for each image. Very happy with his work and quick response.
Ken Skaught
Medallion Estates
Drew was a fantastic partner to bounce ideas off of and was the ultimate team player. He was able to fill all gaps that appeared whether it be graphic or concept development. Without his help we would not have been listed as a finalist! Drew came to New York to help us prepare for our presentation in front of a live audience of 600+ people, where he showed his versatility yet again by helping us design marketing flyers, tech support (while on stage) and business development at the after party. It can often be difficult to work and collaborate with people in different offices, let alone different states... but Drew made it easy and fun!
Nathalie Waelbroeck, LEED AP, WELL AP
Project Designer at IBI Group
CONTACT
If you like what you see, please get in touch. You can drop me note below or check out my LinkedIn page to see more of my experience, my resume, and you can message me too.
ABOUT
I've always loved to design things, but my tinkering showed me how things work, which helped me discover that creative problem solving is designing.