“I use the workplace as my playground.” —Mejia

Mat Mejia was born in 1973 in Sacramento, CA, USA, and has lived in Los Angeles since 1999. He is currently the Senior Art Director at DNA Studio, a design firm specializing in entertainment-based multimedia. His portfolio includes work for companies and organizations such as Budweiser, Coca-Cola, Guess Jeans, Toyota, Sony, Universal, Paramount, and the US Navy.

As many Web designers take years studying and learning the design “rules,” Mat is a self-taught artist who has found his own, open-minded way, of creating innovative artwork by not following all the rules! “I know a handful of designers with degrees that seem very closed-minded. It's almost as if all the rules and regulations somehow distorted their way of thinking. Obviously, not all are like this - I am certain some of the best designers are well educated and come from the most prestigious schools. I guess my personal experience has been beneficial in that it dismissed me from pursuing a regimented education,” states Mat. His very impulsive or intuitive approach has proven to be successful in his work - the best ideas are spawned within the first 15 minutes of the project's introduction. The ideas are later revisited, to make sure everything hits the mark, even though most solutions are obvious from the beginning.

Mat has been involved in art all his life, from sketching to cartooning and music. Only a few years ago, when his father taught him HTML and introduced him to Photoshop, has his consumption began. As a result, he designs and maintains Holodeck73, an “The Inspirational Launchpad” that is a design portal dedicated to exposing innovation within the design community.