Welcome to the portfolio of Michael Shirley, a multi-disciplinary creative director & art director based in Chicago, Illinois.

About Me

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I am here to invent. To innovate. To create.

I could have chosen to become a lawyer, or an accountant or a banker, but I didn’t. I wanted to be a creator. To be a person that solves problems not with numbers and figures, but with ideas.

The creative industry is brutal and not for those who can’t pour everything they have into a project, only to have to start from scratch the next day. I go to sleep every night knowing that I can’t just come up with one idea and expect to survive, I have to do it again and again, day-in and day-out, and I love it.

"I believe that there is no such thing as traditional media, only a traditional approach."

Am I unorthodox? Yes. But it’s an unorthodox and fluid industry— one that never stands still and never rests. There are a 1,000 other qualified people who have good ideas, but I have the versatility to make great ideas, across all mediums and I can do it again and again.

So enough about me. Let’s talk about you. You may have a big problem, or you may have a small one, and you can throw all the money and manpower in the world at it without ever denting it. But all you really need is one good idea, one solid concept and a little bit of perspiration, and you can crack it wide open.

And that’s where I come in.

New Media & Innovation

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The future of media is evolving at an amazing rate so why shouldn't we be on top of it as creatives? Cool things are happening everywhere— mobile applications, interactive out-of-home, lifestreaming and social media are forcing us to constantly re-evision our lives. To be a part of the future we have to help create it.

Interactive & Digital

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Today ideas transcend the medium, and we're only scratching the surface. I began tinkering with Flash and HTML almost a decade ago. Immediately I was infatuated with the possibilities of what was quickly becoming possible. I firmly believe that understanding how something works is absolutely integral to the creative process.

Print & Traditional

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Print was my first creative foundation. I love holding a matchprint in my hand and color matching on press. There’s something therapeutic about working on a storyboard or writing a script and I've never forgotten it. It's because of this foundation I've been able to evolve into the hybrid creative I am today.

Relevant Expertise

Photoshop CS5 Illustrator CS5 InDesign CS5 Flash CS5
Dreamweaver CS5 AfterEffects CS5 FinalCut Pro Motion
HTML/CSS ActionScript Processing OpenFrameworks
Arduino Mobile Apps/WAP Emerging Media Typography

Inspiration

You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club."

— Jack London

Creativity is thinking up new things. Innovation is doing new things.”.

— Theodore Leavitt

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