• LEVEL ORANGE is a blog about the life of design professional Robert Cortez (that'd be me), featuring news and opinion on graphic design, entertainment, technology and the occasional insights into the worlds of advertising and publishing.

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About this joint

Sometimes being a graphic designer is a plum job. I get to take my ideas and make things look nice and people pay me to do it! Other times it can be tedious and grueling and requires more than one creative outlet. This site is just for that purpose.

Here you’ll find my personal blog, typefaces, portfolio and other things that I find time to make note of or write about. A lot of it is probably unimportant or mindless, but occasionally I try to put together something nice. Your mileage may vary.

Personal bits

Born, raised and still operating out of Houston, Texas, USA, I’m a husband, father, movie-lover, gamer and tech geek. The family shakes out like this: my wife Carol, our son Robbie and our daughter Isabel.

For more, read these 10 facts.

← To connect online, you can find me at all the sites/networks over on the left side of the page.

Professional bits

View Robert Cortez's profile on LinkedIn

Pick a title and I’ve probably done it. Creative director, art director, graphic designer, web designer, illustrator, type designer.

Currently working at:

  • Shell
    Senior Graphic Designer
    August 2008 - Present

Previously worked at:

  • PiQ Magazine
    Creative Director
    January 2008 - June 2008
  • Newtype USA
    Art Director/Creative Director
    September 2002 - January 2008
  • Robert Lamons & Associates
    Graphic Designer/Art Director
    March 1997 - June 2002

I may also be available for freelance work. If you’re looking for help with your project, please get in touch.

Technical bits

This site was established on July 4, 1999 with the domain attack22.com, which focused on my experiences after my heart troubles at the age of 22. On January 4, 2005, I renamed this site tinylittlesparks.com and documented my observations on life after discovering the truth about my health. After losing my job working in entertainment publishing, I decided to refocus this site on the things I’m most interested in and less on myself, which brought about levelorange.com on July 4, 2008.

Layout, design and illustration:
Adobe GoLive, Illustrator, ImageReady and Photoshop

Photography:
Kodak Easyshare CX7530 (digital)
Minolta Maxxum HTsi Plus (film)

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