A keyline, in graphic design, is a boundary line that separates color and monochromatic areas or differently colored areas of printing on a given page or other printed piece. The line itself, usually consisting of a black (or other dark colored) border, provides an area in which lighter colors can be printed with slight variation in registration. In traditional paste-up graphics workflows, keylines for cropping were often merely indicated on original artwork, and then images were stripped into the area manually with the keylines themselves being added as part of the process.

Keyline Pie is a collection of musings, discoveries, and whatnots about life as a graphic designer. Originally, Keyline Pie was launched as a requirement for a graduate-level course at University of Baltimore. Beginning July 1, 2011, I vow to keep this blog updated for as long as you continue to read it!

Blogging from my central location in Columbia, Maryland, and wherever my travels take me. I received my bachelor of arts degree in visual arts from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) and a master of arts in publications design from the University of Baltimore. Currently the publications manager at Prince George’s Community College (PGCC), I’ve worked as a graphic designer for both public and private sector companies. But, I love working in higher education and the various projects the area requires, including student recruitment materials, alumni magazines, and websites.

I’m known to pick up the occasional freelance project, so if you have a project feel free to send me a message at needaspark@briodesign.com.

You can also find me on Twitter (TweetDeeTweet), where in addition to random thoughts throughout the day, I assist the students of PGCC in real-time. Ahhh, the interwebs!

When not designing, I enjoy traveling (cruising, especially!), photography, and Baltimore Ravens football.