There’s a new guy at Allovus Studios, and we are thrilled he has joined us! If you’ve ever met Courtney Comfort, you know he’s always got a warm smile to share and an incredible arsenal of design skills to employ.

Get to know him by reading our interview!

Tell us about yourself!

I’m a Seattle native–born and raised here. I started out in the ticketing industry. I really enjoyed working with non-profits for a long time. There’s not a lot of venues I haven’t worked in. I worked at the Paramount, the Moore, the Seattle Symphony, the Pacific Northwest Ballet, even the Triple Door. That was fun. Then after ten years full-time at the Paramount, I decided to go back to school for something that I could consider a long-term career. That’s how I found the design program at Seattle Central, which is where I teach on Fridays.

Can you tell us more about your teaching job at Seattle Central?

In 2017 I was offered a teaching opportunity at Seattle Central where I received my design training and degree. The time I spent in the design program was the most intense and transformative experience of my life, so I was thrilled for the opportunity to give back. Our first-year design and visual media students all take a year-long class together, which provides valuable experience navigating group-collaboration on a variety of projects that mirror real-world work. The section I teach is a five-week intensive on interactive design processes, usability testing, and prototyping with a focus on mobile platforms. I love sharing my passion for interaction patterns, best practices, and user advocacy with the next generation of creatives!

How did you decide to become a designer?

I actually didn’t know what I wanted to do in college. I took English and math. Then, I took a career development course where they have you take personality tests. The instructor said that this “design thing” kept coming up for me. That made me think. My grandfather was a graphic designer. He worked for the Bemis bag company in Seattle. They did really cool work. I always knew it was in my family.

What is your role at Allovus? What do you do?

I’m the new studio design lead. I’m Steve Godfrey’s right-hand guy. I work with clients, help define goals, and keep the users at the forefront of the solution. I work on everything from software and web projects to more traditional flyers, brochures, etc.

Do you have a design philosophy?

My philosophy is to understand who is going to be using the thing that you’re creating. I celebrate the processes, too. I like to take things apart and create products that are beautiful and fun to interact with.

What is your favorite part of your job?

A couple of things. The variety of work for sure. Most of my career has been in mobile apps. But now, it’s fun to flex my typography muscle and do other kinds of creative work. I also love everyone at Allovus.

What do you like to do when you’re not working? Hobbies?

I do long distance bike tours. I’m currently training for the AIDS Lifecycle event – from San Francisco to Los Angeles. This is my third time doing it. You ride along the coast for part of the time. There’s a lot of elevation gain, so it’s definitely something you have to train for. Unfortunately, the event has just been canceled for this year, due to the COVID-19 outbreak. I’m also a secret karaoke enthusiast!

NOTE: For those who don’t know, AIDS/LifeCycle is a fully supported, 7-day, 545-mile bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles, co-produced by and benefiting San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the Los Angeles LGBT Center. The event raises awareness about the ongoing HIV/AIDS epidemic and funds services such as HIV testing, prevention, care, and much more.