Walter Costinak in the Principal, Creative Director, Designer, Illustrator,
Typographer, Animator (and any other title that fit's the bill) of 2 Design
& Communication. Walter (usually referred to as "Walter"
because not many people seem to remember the spelling of "Costinak")
prefers to be called "Walter" - not Walt, Wall, Waldo, Wally
(Wally by close friends and family is okay). *This is not a big issue with
me (Walter) but it is a bit of a pet peeve...and now that I have released
this information, I will probably have most of you emailing me addressing
it to Walt, Wally...well, you know. I tend to ramble on a bit when I'm
writing, but I'm sure you will find this acceptable because it doesn't
seem so dry and stuffy like some Online Bio's can be. Also seems to work
as a character profile in a way (even though these days you can never tell
what the person behind the keyboard is really like). Though I can assure
you that I am a person who is honest, friendly, and pretty well rounded
(this may also refer to my physique - I need to lose about 10-15 pounds).
Boy, that one seems a bit too personal...but then again, I wanted to reflect
my character is this Info/Bio/Profile/ ...whatever you want to call it.
Well.
That's enough rambling (see, I told you I do tend to ramble on) and now
on with the typical specs on who I am. Less on the real personal side and
more on the information side. By the way, if you've made it this far, I
hope I've caught your interest and I thank you for taking the time to read
this. Okay, okay. I'll stop. You'd be scrolling forever if I kept on with
this!
Name:"Walter
Frank Costinak"
------------------------
I was named after my father's two brothers (Walter and Frank)
who didn't have any children. I respect my father a great deal for doing
this (and all the other choices he has made in raising me as a infant/child/teen.
I
should credit my mother here too. She had a lot to do with the whole process
as well. Uh-oh...rambling again...but I thought you may want to know this.
*Technical Note...I do realize the my "quotation marks" are not
really quotation marks, they are actually the "Inch Symbol".
This was just a concious design decision...I prefer the upright look opposed
to the Sixes & Nines for this piece. Sure beats typing Alt-0147, Alt-0148.
What a strange place to mention this...but I had to do it.
Age:"Thirty-Something"
-------------------------
Actually I'm only thirty (at the time of producing this Bio)
but my birthday is September 25, (anyone wanting to send me a Birthday
Present is welcome to do so, I won't complain...a new laptop would be ideal!)
and I was born in 1965, so when you are reading this you should be able
to figure out how old I am.
Some
people are leary about putting too much info about themselves on the net,
but I look at it this way: If someone wants to know something about you,
they'll find a way. I don't really feel thirty. More like twenty-something.
When I'm on a creative bent, you could probably subtract another 10-15
years. I feel I'm at the perfect age right now. Why? Sorry, I can't answer
that...this is the "WHO" section. But I can tell you that some
people think I am older than this for a couple of reasons. 1) I have some
grey hair. Okay, not some. A lot. I like my grey hair...kinda Shaun Connery-ish.
Better than Picard-ish. 2)Some people say that I act mature for thirty...is
this possible? I mean, from the text you're reading, do you get that feeling.
Nah! But then again I do loosen up a lot at the keyboard...
Education:"Grey
Matter Wrinkles"
-------------------------
You probably realize by now that this isn't exactly a point
form Bio. Everything is bundled in tightly with my thoughts on the subject
matter...and that subject matter being me. I prefer to represent myself
this way. It's more ME, and less Fluffy Inflated Stuff That Bores People
Out Of Thier Minds. Rambling stopped. Okay, on with some F.I.S.T.B.P.O.O.T.M.
(see previous). I graduated from UCFV (University College of the Fraser
Valley) with a diploma in Graphic Design & Communication at the top
of my class. (Toot!) Made Dean's List. (Toot-Toot!) And was the only student
ever to receive the Outstanding Achievement Award two years in a row. Click on the
piece of chalk below and you will see that I can also do complex mathmatical equations without
breaking a sweat!.
I've
also received other awards, the Netscape Grand Prize for the "Go for
the Gold" Web Site Design Contest ( I'm kinda proud of this one).
I also instruct at a design school (teaching a vector-based drawing program)...I
thought I would throw that in here because it seems to fit. I could also
list off all of the design & illustration skills I have...but I would
hope you could sense this from the graphical portions of my site and this
Bio. I have also taught myself (since the age of thirteen) computers and
software. I had a TRS-80 Model I. I believe it had 4k of Ram. Yuch! Obviously
I have developed all of the online WWW material you are looking at as well.
When it comes to explaining how my creative process works, I guess I relate
myself to a child (a very large one), sitting on a floor with a pile of
blocks, arranging and re-arranging them until you run out of combinations
and possiblities, things start to "click" and the ideas start
flowing. Major rambling! I'll stop here. I think this is enough about my
education. *Even though I did start wandering.
Personal Life:"Important
People"
--------------------------
It doesn't seem right that this is appearing at the bottom of
my "WHO" section...my family is the most important part of my
life. (maybe this warrants a site devoted to them) More extensive rambling.
Alright. Back to the topic. I am married with three incredible children.
Two daughters, one son. My wife (Sonni) is a very understanding & loving
person who I have been with since we were teenage sweethearts. Her real
name is Sonja, but she prefers Sonni.
Here's a little piece of info that's kinda weird....Sonja has a German background,
but her name is more Slavic....I (Walter) have a Slavic background but
my name is more German....Okay, maybe it's not that weird. A little interesting
maybe? Rambling stopped again. My eldest daughter (Samantha) is very cool,
the next daughter (Cassandra) is fiesty and very independant, and my infant
son (Matthew) is the cutest little guy you have ever seen..and I'm not
just bragging. That's all I'll say about them because I respect thier rights
for privacy. If they want to develop pages on the net when they are older,
I'll help them out. Even though by then I am sure they will be showing
me a thing or two about Internet Communications. My Mom & Dad are cool
too. Same with my brothers and sister. Same rules apply. I can't permit
myself to release info on them without their permission. Okay, I'm done.
Thanks for listening (looking?) Please select another button.