Thanks for checking out the NEW Rookie Designer.

Let me introduce myself… My name is Jake Van Ness, one of the co-hosts of Rookie and also the owner of Prepressology, a print design and consulting business. With over 14 years of experience working at various print shops, I have been involved with the design and production of everything from stationery to commercial printed marketing collateral to label and packaging products. I worked my way up from a customer service rep position to a prepress technician early on in my career and even stepped into the role of Vice President at one print shop during 2010. Through the years I kept finding myself going back and trying to find independent design projects to work on during my free time. Eventually in 2007, I started my independent design business under the Prepressology business name. At then end of 2010 and through the beginning of 2011, I decided to make Prepressology a priority and work even harder towards the goal of working for myself full time.

I feel my hands on training in the prepress and print environments have made me a stronger, more efficient designer. Completely self taught and always looking for the new thing to learn, I enjoy the challenges of design and the ever changing landscape of design. While I like to focus on print design, lately I have found myself working on a few web and social media projects that fit into the growing areas of design. I continue to enjoy these project but when it comes down to it my true passion is print design.

If I am not working on design, you will most likely find me behind the lens of my Canon Rebel. Photography has become another passion of mine and has grown over the last few years. It keeps my creative juices flowing and helps prevent burnout from working on independent design projects for long hours. Photography gets me out into the world and helps me appreciate the beautiful area where I live in Upstate New York. My photography covers landscapes, flowers, wildlife, food and many other random subjects. If it looks cool, I like to shoot it.

Design is my life. I find inspiration in almost everything around me and what I read. There is a lot to talk about and a lot I want to share. It is with great pleasure that I have the opportunity to co-host with Kitty Florido on the Rookie Design Podcast. I hope you’ll join the conversation as well so we can all learn together.