A Brief History of Jacob Haas

Perhaps it would be nice to have this recorded somewhere … a terse history of my life so far.

I was born Jacob William Haas in April of 1980 on an Army base in San Antonio, TX. My family moved fairly frequently from state to state throughout my childhood, eventually landing in Central Pennsylvania when I was 14 years old.

The constant moving coupled with the fact that I was homeschooled for several years left me a painfully shy and socially awkward teenager. But I eventually made my way back into the public school system in 10th grade. I tried several ways to make friends … Boy Scouts, marching and orchestra band, and other extracurricular activities.

But it wasn’t until 11th grade and — thanks to the art classes I attended — that I started making friends with like-minded individuals, including my future wife. I opened up more and started tuning the artistic talents I knew already existed inside me.

Nearing graduation the following year, I began thinking of what I should lean towards for a career and eventually set up a meeting with a representative from the local technical college to see what they could offer me.

I asked if he knew of anything that I could utilize my artistic talents with, like computer arts or design or something, and he recommended the college’s sister school, the now-defunct Bradley Academy, which was a college devoted to graphic, multimedia, interior and fashion design.

It sounded like a dream come true. And a short while later, after a tour of the facilities, I applied and was accepted to start the fall after graduation.

Two years of intense study at Bradley gave me a loose grasp on the basics of design and triggered latent abilities inside me. I had a degree, a computer, some design software and a decent portfolio … all I needed was a little luck to land my first design job.

More than 20 years and countless creative projects later, I find myself an art director in charge of two designers at an award-winning marketing agency. I have a lovely daughter who is an absolute ball of energy and quaint little house in Lebanon, PA. But I’m always looking for that next step, that next big thing to propel my life forward. I know it’s out there, somewhere.

That’s why I created this website and blog — in tandem with keeping my portfolio up-to-date — to continue that hunt for that next big thing.

Published
Categorized as Personal

By Jake

Reader, writer, designer, creative director. He does web work, print work, and dream work. Heavy advocate of self-care. Updates his blog much less often that he should.