Here are some marks I designed.

Hey, let's play a game. How many have you seen before? I'm guessing it's three.

Royal Building Products is a huge player in the home exteriors market. They needed to set themselves apart from the competition. But, more importantly, they needed to grab consumer attention in a way that would help them become a household name. Pun intended. So, we presented ourselves with the challenge: how do we make vinyl siding fun and sexy? And, how about all that window and door trim that homeowners don't seem to think about? 

You're looking at the answer. Homeowners come in all manner of personalities, and I wanted to show that in an entertaining and relatable way. People spend a lot of time and effort decorating the interior of their homes to reflect their personalities, so why not extend that to the exterior? Right.

I developed five characters, each representing a different product line. They're fun and engaging, and they love to show off their homes' exteriors. The "Exteriors With Character" campaign brings excitement to an otherwise dull category.

I know you're thinking about your home's exterior now. Aren't you?

Royal Building Products offers a full line of vinyl siding, trim, and decking. Their products can be found on homes across the U.S. and Canada. They're a big company, but that never went to their heads. Truly an awesome client to work with.

Here's a small sampling of pieces developed for their varied needs. Everything from brochures and catalogs to ads to direct mail pieces to trade show booths. Each with its own challenges, ranging from creative to production.

The GOSV Annual Report was the type of challenge I really like.

The Governor's Office on Service and Volunteerism is a federally-funded unit of the Maryland Governor’s Office of Community Initiatives. The GOSV supports AmeriCorps Maryland and helps place volunteers where they can best be utilized. Each year, over 200,000 Maryland volunteers are recognized by the Governor’s Office through activities and services provided by the Office on Service and Volunteerism.

Since the GOSV is all about volunteers, I wanted the focus to be on the people. Real volunteers. I wanted to tell the two-sided story of their lives. There's the everyday side their family, friends, and coworkers know. Then there's the volunteering side where they do amazing, altruistic work. Ordinary people doing extraordinary things. But, who are these people in the community that serve others in need? After contacting several volunteers, we settled on three to highlight in the book. 

Enter the challenge. The GOSV had a very small budget that was just enough to cover printing and some design and copywriting. No money for photography. Perfect. A report about people with no pictures. Not on my watch! This wasn't the place for "beautiful," carefully-posed portraits, anyway. I wanted this to feel like real life. And, what's more real-life-everyday-snapshot than Polaroids? So, with Polaroid camera and steno pad in hand, off I went to meet the volunteers at their homes and offices. It was quite a humbling experience to meet these heroes. And, I was actually proud to take their pictures as well as see them write the statements in their own handwriting. Truly a career highlight for me.

AWARDED: Communication Arts Design Annual, Black Book's AR100

Project MUSE is a provider of digital humanities and social science content for the scholarly community. This massive collection of online journals is made available on a subscription basis to academic, public, special, and school libraries worldwide. It's pretty brainy stuff. You've probably never heard of any of the journals, unless you have a Masters in Anthropological Linguistics, or something nutty like that.

The audience for these pieces was librarians and those in position to make journal subscription decisions. Librarians. Got it. Boring, right? When we first met with the client, they informed us that librarians are pretty wacky, fun people. Nice! So, we played directly into that persona.

This is some of the most fun, goofy work I've ever had the pleasure to create. But not for the sake of being goofy. It was successful, and it resonated well with librarians. So well, in fact, that they frequently shared with MUSE their love of the pieces we created. And, they actually looked forward to seeing what the next direct mail piece was going to be! Wacky, indeed.

Baltimore is very fortunate to have such an amazing radio station at 89.7 on the FM dial. WTMD is not just about great music, though. They do a lot to support the community. They provide significant opportunities for Baltimore musicians to develop their fan bases. And, the station develops partnerships and events that enhance the quality of life in the Baltimore region.

In the beginning, the format and vision was very grass roots, which is why the logo has a handcrafted vibe. The station has grown tremendously, and in turn has outgrown this mark. But, that's okay. I'm happy my work is a part of their history.

I love simplicity. One of my favorite things to do is to edit my creative as I design. What's the quickest, simplest way to present a message? Of course, it needs to be engaging as well.

Mosaic Community Services helps adults overcome mental illness and addiction, transforming their lives, and in turn, the community. They offer comprehensive healthcare services to nearly 30,000 people in Baltimore City and several surrounding counties.

This report was another labor of love. Meeting the people Mosaic helps was a humbling experience. And, seeing how Mosaic provides them with the support and tools they need was inspiring.

AWARDED: Print Regional Design Annual

PBS Kids developed a Digital Storybook Builder for their website. I was part of a group of artists asked to create characters, objects, and backgrounds to be used by kids as they created their own stories online. Each artist developed a stylistic theme as a jump-starter for the kids. I lived vicariously through the rock star theme I illustrated.

I just wanted to use the word 'hodgepodge.'