About Stoneback, Inc.
My name is Travis Stoneback. I’m a graduate of The Art Institute of Atlanta and currently have 24 years of experience as an Art Director and Graphic Designer for both print and digital. During that time I have collaborated closely with business owners, editors, writers, marketing teams, and creative directors in a deadline-oriented environment—both in-house and as a freelancer. I am a results-driven self-starter who is experienced, reliable, and effective, and I have never missed a deadline.
Getting my start in publishing has given me over 20 years experience working directly with large-scale printing houses ensuring that deadlines and quality standards are met. From multi-page publications to product packaging and apparel, I am an expert in all things print and production related, and am up-to-date on all printing standards, techniques and practices.
On a personal note, I am a strikingly-original, creative, and open-minded individual with an eye for detail who still gets satisfaction from simply getting creative and collaborating with others. You can rest assured that our collaboration on your project will result in something you’ll be proud to showcase, and we’re likely to have a good time succeeding together!
Got a question about your project or specific service offered? Need a free quote? Shoot me a message and I’ll get back to you within one business day.
Roots in Graphic Design
Comics. Cassette tape covers. I was doing graphic design before I even knew what it was. I was totally the kid who drew so much during class in elementary and middle school that my teachers often wrote irritated notes to my parents on my drawings, which my parents had to sign and return. I loved drawing. It was such an issue one year, that a particularly frustrated teacher took one of my drawings, tore it into tiny pieces, and pretended to feed it to me as the rest of the class looked on in horrified delight. It only made me art harder.
By the time I was a high school student in the 90’s, I would extract dozens of photo elements, type-faces, and scraps from magazines in order to paste-together and create fold-out cassette case album covers and liner-notes for my band. [Pause for eye-rolls. 3, 2, 1…] Once assembled, I’d take the cobbled-together comps to Office Depot and get about 10-20 color copies made. I’d take them home, trim them, score them, fold them, and package our tapes. Those crude and amateur layouts unknowingly introduced me to the world of graphic design—and the rest of our friends to the poor quality of homemade demo tapes in the 90’s.
After high school I enrolled in The Art Institute of Atlanta to get the technical training that would be the necessary counterpart to my natural inclinations. I landed my first design-oriented job in the pre-press department of a print shop a few months before graduation. I quickly learned that while education helps lay a strong foundation of classical theory; it’s experience and application in the workplace that truly begins to turn one’s potential into something tangible.
Forged in Publishing
I continued to work at the print shop after graduation, but my duties were based solely in the pre-press/printing side of design and did little to scratch the creative itch. I spent my days quietly powering through an ever-amassing onslaught of business cards, letterheads, and medical forms while the production manager beat an ominous-sounding drum with the bones of my romanticized idea of a career in graphic design. However, through this experience I was able to apply the technical principles of printing that I had been taught in school, within the confines of a trial-by-fire environment. And I am truly thankful. There’s a reason for ink limits. There’s a reason why what you see on your monitor isn’t always what you get on a printed piece. And you don’t—for the love of God— miss a deadline.
Thankfully, not long after, I landed a job as Art Director for a monthly digest-sized magazine. It was a 40 page magazine for which I was responsible for the branding, art direction, and monthly design of all graphical content, cover to cover. Without my technical and pre-press background, I’d have floundered within the first month. However, with my experience in printing, I was able dive in head-first and let my creativity run wild. I was designing. Art-ing again. I was happy. 20 years later I still manage the design and press-production of 3 simultaneous publications in a deadline-oriented environment.
Experienced. Reliable. Effective.
As a career artist, these 3 words really resonate with me. I often hear horror stories from clients about their frustrating experiences in dealing with unreliable or untrained freelance designers. I can tell you that I wouldn’t be 20 years into a successful design career with repeat clients if they didn’t feel that they could depend on Stoneback, Inc. to deliver effective design solutions in a timely manner. Simply put: pleasing clients = good word-of-mouth. I am experienced. I am reliable. I am effective. I’d love to show you how that translates into a great experience letting Stoneback, Inc. handle your graphic design needs.
