I attended the Art Institute of Dallas, where I graduated with a degree in Visual Communications in 1990. I then decided to move back to my small home town in the Midwest. As you can imagine there aren't alot of "art" jobs in this area, but I got lucky and landed the Asst. Art Directors job at a commercial screen-printing company. I learned quite a bit about retail signage, but the demand for artistic creativity wasn't very high, to say the least. After a couple of years, I moved to Fort Worth, TX and got a job over in Dallas at a sign shop as the Art Director. I learned a lot more, met loads of great people and by 1995 was ready to venture out on my own.
Now everyone has heard the horror stories about starting a business, but again I was lucky and made enough good contacts in the sign & graphics industry to open my own shop, with clients lined up. This was fantastic, my major account was a tradeshow builder that built very cool displays and booths for the major toy manufacturers across the U.S. and Toy Fair NYC. My future wife, Tamara, worked for this tradeshow company and we hit it off immediately. Before long, I convinced her that SHD was a much better place for her to be, and we were married soon after. Of course, she keeps the wheels of the business turning, while I just design stuff, and to her credit, she hasn't ever suggested that we rename the company.
About this time I (along with millions of other folks) discovered the Internet. And it didn't take long to figure out that this was the future of SHD. Working remotely opened up doors that I never even knew existed, which allowed the business to eventually change direction. SHD got out of the sign & graphics business, and entered the home-based graphic/web design business. During this process we came across a superstar programmer who does some amazing things on the web, and even though he lives in California, we've worked together successfully for years. This sounds a bit scary, I'll admit, but once we discovered we could actually make a living from the home office, we decided to move to the hills of northeastern Tennessee. Now the "how & why" we came to this decision is a whole other conversation (somehow it made sense at the time) and we ended up staying for 5 years. Probably Definitely 4 yrs too long, and after our son Barrett Alan was born August 5, 2002 we decided to move back to the Midwest. This has been a terrific move for us and it feels fantastic being around friends and family again. On January 15, 2007 our daughter Sydney Penn was born (pause for congrats) so the company is definitely growing!
UPDATE 2014; we (as a family) decided we really needed a change. So, once the school year was finished, we packed up and moved to Little River, SC which is north of Myrtle Beach and actually just about 1/2 a mile from the North Carolina state line. Huge change, but how can you argue with living at the beach and enjoying some of the freshest seafood in the world?
UPDATE 2018; Ater a good run in Little River, again, we (as a family) decided to leave the "Beach Life" and return to the Midwest. The four of us have come together even closer as a unit, and very much enjoyed the experience of coastal living, but came to the decision to move back home. Being around friends and family is awesome and we're a looking forward to many years of happiness. Get in touch and let us help improve your business image by design ... SHD in the Midwest, USA.
And there you have it, the short version of SHD. We're a very small company (I guess with only one person it's the smallest company possible) and if you call the office you will either speak with me, Tamara, or get voicemail. I have been doing this a long time and am very easy to work with. Check out some work, and please don't hesitate to contact us about a project.
About SHD Customers
I met Stuart many, many years ago. Through all the time we worked together, he was consistently good natured and a willing partner. I could ask him for any effort knowing that he would do what was needed to help me graphically. If it was up to Stuart, my deadlines were met and my needs were satisfied. He is a reliable, hard-working man. He is a good guy too, easy to get along with, and by far the most normal graphics designer I've ever dealt with.
Ron Farmer - US LEDWithout reservation, I recommend Stuart Hughes highly. We've had the privilege of working with him beginning some 15 years ago, when we asked him to redesign our logo. In a matter of days, he created a logo that continues to represent our small business. We employ that logo proudly. More recently, he redesigned our website and in keeping with his superb workmanship, he has created a site that represents us well. It's fresh, contemporary, and presents our services in a manner that is easily understood, which is not an easy task.
Deborah Demer - Demer IRAs the owner of several companies that have contracted with Stuart, I am always looking for a good deal, but most importantly, timely and quality results. Stuart Hughes has never let me down, not one time. He is very dependable, and I've never worried about my outcomes when working with him. On top of being very talented, he seems to want to know the endgame, and gives input to help his clients achieve their marketing goals.
Joe Goddard - Cardinal HealthcareStuart is a very professional individual that will give you 100% effort everytime. He always meets our tight deadlines, even when most designers would say "impossible". Stuart is a very smart, funny, well respected person, and I can say that with all sincerity because I have known him for over 40 years.
Tim Matthews - Mid-Land CoI like nonsense; it wakes up the brain cells. Dr. Seuss
Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated. Confucius
Subtlety may deceive you; integrity never will. Oliver Cromwell
Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value. Albert Einstein