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Striking the Perfect Chord

Digital Art Director Walter Deyo Tells Us How He Bridges the Gap from Website Concept to Completion

Whether executing a guitar riff or executing a website for a client, Walter Deyo believes in always going above and beyond expectations. He feels that unless you give everything to what you are doing at the moment, you are failing yourself. Taking that philosophy from the music recording studio to the digital marketing studio at CMDS, Walter discusses what it is to be a CMDS Digital Art Director rock star.

How did you get into your current field?

I have always been interested in the creative side of things. I always loved music, movies and playing video games. One time, I remember playing this video game and it had its own editing software where you could create your own game within a game. I really loved doing that. There was also a coding language built in and I spent a lot of time learning that. Once I got to high school, I was introduced to Photoshop. The rest is history.

What has been your favorite project so far?

There have been a lot of them, but I particularly enjoy working on projects that give me the ability to exercise more creativity. This happens a lot with B2B websites for large corporations.  A few examples would include creating layouts for the pages and seeing how all of the pieces interact with each other. Very cool!

What makes you a digital rock star at CMDS?

My ability to adapt. I get thrown into a lot of situations that are new and unfamiliar. I’m pretty capable of figuring out those situations and handling it to the best of my ability. I also really care about each task or project so I will always put in the extra effort to figure stuff out.

What is the one technology trend within your industry that cannot be ignored?

Definitely MOBILE. Look around and most everyone has a mobile device on them, no matter what age they are. Mobile has been on the rise for a while and I can even see people not logging into computers at all in a few years. Everything they use will go with them.

How have you incorporated current trends and technologies into a campaign?

Using mobile technology as an example, everything that we do as an agency has a long term plan behind it. When we design a website, we always make sure that it is enhanced and also made for mobile devices. Moving forward, we may even change the way we create websites. Desktop computers may be a thing of the past in 10-20 years!

Best part of your job.

Getting positive feedback from clients fuels me, haha! Also, just being able to work with my team to create amazing stuff.

One word that best describes how you work at CMDS.

Flexible.

What apps/tools/software can you not live without?

Definitely Photoshop. The possibilities are endless!

What you wanted to be when you grew up.

I always knew I wanted to do something creative. Whether it be visually creative (I loved drawing as a kid), or a rock star (my uncle was a musician and got me into playing guitar), I just knew that there was a passion to create. The idea that I could make something that could impact the emotions of somebody else was always appealing to me.

A person you idolized early in your life.

Jimmy Page. He always looked larger than life up on stage.

First concert you saw.

Blink 182. I was 11.

What is currently on your playlist?

I’ve been listening to a lot of 80’s stuff, like Oingo Boingo. I’m a big fan of Danny Elfman and his unique creative style. I’ll go from that to some obscure European heavy metal and then over to some soundtrack music. I like to play musical parkour!

Who are you when you are not a CMDS digital rock star?

Hmmm…trying to be a musical rock star! I also love writing music for my band and hanging out with my band. Oh, and watching horror movies. Every other month my friends and I all make sure to get together to watch one.

What’s the best advice you ever received?

To never give up. I feel like it’s almost to a fault, but I don’t like to give up on anything.