He was born in the La Jolla section of San Diego, California. He and his two sisters were raised by their mother, Susan, and stepfather Paul Zimmerman, both high school teachers. He studied at San Francisco State University in San Francisco, California where he joined the rock group, The Green Things. On tour, he learned about art and design drawing posters and fliers for the band. After they split, he took classes in Photoshop. He was in his 30s when he was hired for an entry low level position at Macromedia and later became Art director.