About

Often asked whether I am hands on or hands off, due to my experience, I have always replied that I am just doing whatever is needed to give clients the best branding and identity possible.

My flexibility as a designer allows me to create a different style for every client, giving each client their own unique identity, often described as a corporate organic type of design. But that is really due to the clients that I have had the pleasure of serving, working with.

My writing ability enables me to create a flavor, to touch people with the use of language in a way that communicates and educates.

I enjoy exploring the constantly expanding capabilities of the media we are all exposed to on a daily basis, but no matter what media I'm working in, the strategy and objective are the key elements that the concepts, the designs, come from, even if those elements are very basic, very simple.

Ultimately, no matter how good something looks, unless it communicates a convincing message, the work will fail in its purpose. As a result, I am, first and foremost, a conceptualizer, a strategist, over everything else.

My ideal situation right now would be one where I can apply my creative and management skills from the last thirty years in a team environment while creating media solutions for clients.

I bring a high energy level into every endeavor I become a part of, in a way, I'm told, that inspires others and for me that's one of the rewards of being part of a team.

Portfolio

Below are a few samples of my work over the last thirty three years in the various media that communicates a brand to consumers. I have been proud that my work has crossed all industry categories, having done work B2C as well as B2B, while working with the latest technology from the beginning.

Use the navigation below to sort my portfolio for the kind of media you are more specifically looking for, or look at the full portfolio.

Some of the code in my web work has been edited to protect the work that clients have paid for, as well as edits to protect the intellectual property I have had the honor of creating for customers.

The American Fly Fishing Trade Association needed a site design that would have sophistication, flexibility and be something that they could constantly update with the latest trade information. Additionally they needed a design that could be carried through for another site, a sister site, Discover Fly Fishing, which was utilized to foster interest in the sport.

I look back on this as my creating a resposive web design before there were such terms.

Back when 28.8 was a great connection rate on modems, I was tasked with creating a site for Bob Marriott's Casa Mar Lodge, a lodge in Costa Rica whose speciality is Tarpon fishing, back when 28.8 was a great connection rate on modems.

I was quite happy to get a project where I was able to release my creative design sense while combining it with the latest technologies, utilizing Flash and Actionscript for the front end while coordinating the back end with the Programming department.

Responsive Web Design before the term was even created!

CountrySport was a fly fishing shop in downtown Portland that needed a site with style, something that would be updateable and have a reliable online store, along with several other features.

The desire I had was to create a design for this client that would have the flexibility to provide consistency as monitors would progressively increase in size, back when 800 x 600 was considered a large size.

One of Montana's leading workers' compensation risk managament services, Putman and Associates needed a consistent site design for their corporate site, their intranet site, as well as an online claim's application.

The majority of the users of the application were service/claim representatives who were using problematic software to fill out the forms in a routine that I had intended to streamline by making it so all they had to do was tab through all their forms.

For my use here, as well as to protect the work for the client, I have removed many of the dynamic features but you can still get a feel for the application I designed by clicking on the blue diamond in the index page, followed by the register button on the login in the ClaimsWatch page.

This design was created with numerous considerations for the client due not just to the complexities of the industry they are in but also due to the numerous companies that were interlocked within it, so there was a wide variety of tastes to consider and satisfy, globally.

It was a complex managerial issue that led to a real focal point for one of the worlds largest interdealer brokerage firms, Garban Intercapital.

I really enjoyed incorporating databases, live data, with all the capabilities of Flash and Actionscript at the time, though Flash has been dropped from the digital vernacular these days.

This site required a major overhaul, creating a new navigation system, re-design of the site, while keeping the flavor of the original style for Simms, in order to make it a truly functional online catalog and store.

This site, originally designed specifically for Internet Explorer, was quite a challenge when considering the volume of information that the client wanted to have, not just on the initial page but all the other pages as well. There was the desire for an enormous number of links, hot buttons (editable buttons created in flash), a ticker for stock information off of a live stream of data and the need to have their tagline highlighted.

I believe the design solutions met the match and have been looking forward to making the next site fully cross browser compatible.

This design was created through the clients desire for a simple navigation embedded in an overall design that was unlike anything out there at the time for the competition, one that would lead to a simple method for clients to purchase supplies and always have Sun Glow Heating and Air Conditioning in mind.

Originally designed with the flexibility to last through a number of years of monitors increasing in size, this also offered a simple way for the client to add links to partner companies and their products to consumers.

Work for this client began with this site, which was a catalyst for the creation of online banner advertisements, print advertising, direct mail packages, along with work in quite a variety of media, all of which continued the use of this design.

The aSc, adSite Creative LLC, site has essentially been an avenue for showing off what I can accomplish with search engine ranking while enabling clients to preview the work being created for them.

The site offers a few samples of work created for clients as well as a responsive design that offers consistency in all mobile devices, as well as desktop.

Created for trade related sites where Mentor Graphics wanted to be informative, as well as educational, in order to attract prospective clients and employees.

The 10k file size restriction made it quite a challenge to create something that would be interesting as well as simple.

This is the oldest banner I have in my portfolio, from back in the 90's.

This skyscraper for Sun Glow, Inc., was created to be consistent with the print advertising, the direct mail, the rest of the online advertising being created for them and the site that we developed for them.

I was quite happy to hear the results that the advertising, online as well as offline, created for Sun Glow. And the client was glad to have another problem - not enough stock for their online sales.

Designed to be consistent with the out of home campaign created for the client, this banner weighed in at just under 8.5k in file size for yahoo due to my decision to minimize colors as well as the size of the area that transitions.

The max file size yahoo would accept, at the time, for this banner was 10k, so I was quite happy to be able to come in well under that size, despite my usual desire to make the most out of every byte.

Frame 0 of 7

The client had asked for something fresh, something creative, that would appeal to kids as well as mothers, on a very tight budget to boot.

Frame 1 of 7

Vis: Older woman sits at a duck pond feeding the ducks.

Sfx: Ducks quacking, birds singing.

Frame 2 of 7

Vis: Young boy walks in from the right and sits on other end of bench. Cut to boy opening up package of franz bread.

Sfx: Rustling of Franz bag.

Frame 3 of 7

Vis: One of the ducks notices the bag, cut to his head swiveling around to the boy. Ducks begin to make their way to the boy's side of bench.

Sfx: Ducks quack indicates he notices bag.

Frame 4 of 7

Vis: The woman is trying to persuade the ducks back to her side using more of her old no name brand bread.

Sfx: Woman: 'Here duck, duck, duck.'

Frame 5 of 7

Vis: Boy feels bad so he reaches into the bag and offers a slice to the older woman as a peace offering.

Sfx: VO: 'Fresh tasting franz bread. Preferred by ... just about everyone.'

Frame 6 of 7

Vis: Title shot of a loaf and the tag line.

Sfx: VO: 'Good taste runs in the family.'

Frame 7 of 7

This concept knocked their socks off and authorization was given to proceed with production.
The next day I was informed that they had concerns about what the ASPCA might have to say about feeding bread to ducks and I was asked to reconceive the concept.

So the solution was to remove the birds from the equasion. We never see the birds in the revised spot, though we hear them louder. At the end we see that it was a human family dressed up in duck outfits we were hearing.

Frame 0 of 3

For this spot, this client, I wanted a very comfortable, personal feeling to develop, to insure the message was delivered.

We never see the interior of the car, never see the drivers face or even hear the car. A smooth, slow zoom out while some of Handel's water music plays in the background, followed by the tagline.

Frame 1 of 3

Vis: Camera zooms out slowly on car driving coastal road.

Sfx: Classical music – Handel's water throughout.

Frame 2 of 3

Vis: Continue slow zoom out.

Sfx: Music continues.

Frame 3 of 3

Vis: Continue slow zoom out. Fade in logo and headline – 'Your own personal concert hall.'

Sfx: Music fades out.

For me, this spot is a bit of foreshadowing, I suppose, because at the time I created it I never would have thought I'd have lived on the west coast. This was intended to be shot on 101 down south.

Frame 0 of 8

My idea for this spot was to play on the old school tale of kids not doing their homework and the excuses they come up with.
However, this was to be set in the modern day, where having an Apple P1 makes such white lies implausible.

Frame 1 of 8

Vis: Fade in from white on a boy in class, at his desk, looking glum.

Sfx: Classroom sounds throughout.

Start of theme to 2001: A Space Odyssey.

VO: 'All of mans quest for knowledge, his pursuit of understanding ...'

Frame 2 of 8

Vis: Boy is looking nervous as the student next to him shows homework.

Sfx: 2001: A Space Odyssey theme builds to climax.

VO: '... his creation and harnassing of technology ...'

Frame 3 of 8

Vis: Boy stands up and blushes, sad and embarassed.

Sfx: VO: '... has led to this moment ...'

Climax of 2001 theme.

Boy (timidly): 'My doggie ate my hard drive?'

Frame 4 of 8

Vis: 3 different color P1's zoom out from camera right, zooming away from camera.

Sfx: VO: 'Introducing the P1, the dawning of ...'

Jazzy, techno, music track comes in and continues.

Frame 5 of 8

Vis: P1's slide in from camera left until it centers on middle P1 and the monitor flips up. Camera pans down.

Sfx: VO: '... a new age in education. The only notebook ...'

Frame 6 of 8

Vis: Other P1's fade out as opened P1 begins to rotate slowly.

Sfx: VO: '... your children will ever need, to take them ...'

Frame 7 of 8

Vis: P1 spins rapidly and color shifts.

Sfx: VO: '... from grade school, to college and beyond.'

Frame 8 of 8

Vis: P1 morphs into apple logo shape

Text fades in quickly.

Sfx: VO: 'The Apple P1. Learn different.'

 

We've all had those distasteful moments when one can detect something that doesn't smell quite right in the fridge and so I created the idea that Arm & Hammer was "The flavor saver."

This was created as a creative, risky, option for a spec pitch presentation for the account, well before the tools to create such work were digital.

Created as one tangent of a spec pitch I had made for the account, this concept comes from a slice of my own life.

Do you remember your first kiss?

I considered the lack of actually showing the product itself to be complimentary to this concept, since we all know what this kind of kiss looks like, but decided to incorporate the shape into the branding in case there were any concerns by the client.

My work for Brown & Williamson, began with a number of OOH Bus Kings for KOOL cigarettes, but wound up leading to full page, color, print work and a wealth of experience on a huge project as part of a great team.

This Out Of Home Bus King for Shilo Inns covers all relative information for your trip to the coast and gives one a glimpse of such a getaway. Or should I say getawave?

I was asked to come up with a simple one color, full page, ad to tout Chase's Personal Financial Services' winning of the Malcom Baldridge Award and I wound up creating a solution using the company logo as a vehicle.

This was about a moment of thinking, the first thing that came to mind, as I'm sure would be natural for most Art Director's who would get the project.

I always enjoyed creating full page ads for the NY Times, amongst other publications.

This movie screen ad sets a style and color scheme for the Herzog-Meier dealership that has a simple elegance and sophistication to match the, at that time, latest model from Volvo.

Resume

Summary

 

Creative professional with thirty four years of online and offline experience, as well as a passion for new media.

Skilled in creating marketing solutions in all forms of media, project management, building strong team environments, managing staff, production, client presentation, acquisition and relationship building.

Experienced in designing for the Web, Advertising, Applications, User Interfaces, User Experiences, Interactive Multimedia, Direct Marketing, Corporate Identity and Logo Design, as well as Search Engine Marketing.

 

For a pdf version of my resume, please click here.

Clients Served

 

Below is a partial list of the clients I have served, in one capactiy or another, over the last thirty three years by creating work across the broad spectrum of media available to make the most of every budget for my clients. The full listing exceeds more than 80 clients, from large international clientele to small regional shops and brands, coast to coast.

1 800 Flowers, 3com, AFFTA, Aer Lingus, Alpenrose, Alpine Angling, Angels Northwest Reporting Services, Angostura, Asbestos Removal Inc., B & I Furnishings, Bank of America, Bank of Clark County, Big Horn Fly Shop, Black Bear Gifts, Bob Marriotts Flyfishing, Brown & Williamson ( KOOL, Viceroy, Raleigh, Barclay, Kent, 555 ), Carr Chevy World, Carr Subaru, Casa Mar Lodge, Cedar Mill Little League, Chase, Chase PFS, City of Seaside , CountrySport, Creative Black Book, Custom Fly Rod Crafters, CyberMedia , Discover Fly Fishing, Disney, Domino's , Einstein Moomjy, Faberge, Faustini Institute of Martial Arts, Franz , GAC, Inc., GE, Great Northern Wines, Gutterman's Inc., Handyman Online, Herzog-Meier, Hess, Hewlett Packard, Holt & Haugh, Inc., ICAP, iChristian.com, Ice Cream Express, Lexmark, the Lighthouse, Mentor Graphics, Minolta, Mira, Mountain Angler, Nautilus, Nagalle, Office Mart, Outdoor-X, PGE, Partnership for the Environment, Portland Trailblazers, Prudential, Putman and Associates, Qualcomm, Regenesis, River Essentials, Roe Outfitters, Sheba, Shilo Inns, Simms, Special Needs for Special Kids, Sun Glow Heating and Air Conditioning, TCI, Texaco, Thomas & Thomas, The Travelers, Tulip, Umpqua Feather Merchants, The Uniform/Scrub Source, Westbank Anglers, Western Credit Services.                                     

                                                                                                       

2004 - Present

 

CEO, Creative Director of adSite Creative LLC, OR and NY

Client acquisition, concept creation, presentation, project management, hands on creation of designs, wireframing, as well as hand coding to produce work in digital as well as traditional media. Providing clients with consistent creative branding, marketing and commerce solutions that provide benefits, user stories, all while moving them towards mobile applications. Improving search engine marketing, creating sites, User Interfaces, User Experiences as well as site maintenance for clients.

2001 - 2003

 

Creative Director, VP, at ONSITE Technology Inc., Portland, OR

Developed concepts, designs, enterprise software, to provide marketing and business solutions for a variety of clients while being hands on creating Web Designs, Mobile Designs, User Interfaces, User Experiences, Application Designs and database development, as well as traditional media solutions. Responsible for client presentation, interdepartmental coordination, project management, creating user stories, human factors, wireframes, proposals and estimates. Managing multiple projects and staff while nurturing a team environment.

1999 – 2000

 

Senior Art Director at Bradshaw Advertising, Portland, OR

Concept origination, presentation, project management, managing multiple projects. Oversight of production in numerous forms of print, broadcast and digital media.                                                                                

1994 - 1999

 

Art Director, Creative Director

Harlan Kaplan, NY, NY; Portland, OR

Acquired clients in Portland. Built concepts to solve marketing problems in both the short and long term for clients. Presented, produced work in print, video, web design and interactive multimedia.

 

1994 - 1998

 

Senior Art Director at Lane Island Design Corp., Roslyn, NY

Interfaced with clients, oversight of staff, generated concepts and layouts for print and package design. Continued to complete projects after moving west to Portland.

1993 - 1994

 

Art Director at Grey Direct, New York, NY

Created innovative print campaigns, television commercials, direct marketing programs. Presentation to clients, managing staff, hiring photographers as well as illustrators, overseeing photo shoots and final production of work. Became primary new business creative.

1992 - 1993

 

Art Director, Creative Director at Harlan Kaplan, New York, NY

Acquired clients, freelanced, developed concepts, presenting and overseeing final production of work in all forms of printed media.                                                                                          

1989 - 1992

 

Art Director, Assistant Art Director at Campbell Mithun Esty, New York, NY

Devised concept, client presentation, interdepartmental coordination, oversight of staff, hiring talent, overseeing photo shoots and final production of work. Part of team that managed national and international accounts.                                   

1988 - 1989

 

Art Director at Anton Newspaper Publications, Garden City, NY

Created newspaper advertisements, interfaced with a number of different departments.                                                                                                        

Software

 

I started working with these applications, on both PC's and Mac's, before they had any version numbers attached to their names. As a result, I have been teaching people how to use many of these applications well before there were any books to guide people.

These are not all the applications I have expertise with, just the ones I use most frequently these days.

Adobe Acrobat; Adobe After Effects; Adobe Creative Cloud; Adobe Creative Suite; Adobe Director; Adobe Draw; Adobe Dreamweaver; Adobe Flash; Adobe Illustrator; Adobe ImageReady; Adobe InDesign; Adobe Photoshop; Adobe Premiere; Adobe Sketch; Agile; Ajax; AngularJS; Bootstrap; CSS; DHTML; Google AdWords; Google Analytics; HTML; JavaScript; JQuery; Microsoft Excel; Microsoft PowerPoint; Microsoft Word; MySQL; PHP; SaSS; Scrum; Swift; WordPress; Xcode; XML.

Teaching Experience

 

2001   Portland Community College

Received Certificate of Appreciation for helping the professional skills training program.

 

1998   Portland Community College, Sylvania Campus – Computer Graphics Instructor

Taught from curriculum and beyond. Class focus on combining the latest versions of QuarkXPress, Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop to create work in different media including the creation of web graphics.

 

1994 - 1998   Harlan Kaplan, New York, NY – Computer Graphics Instructor

Taught graphics softwares to computer professionals, updated students on new versions and how to combine different applications for a better final product.
                                                                       

Contact

Please fill out the brief form below to contact me.

I look forward to hearing from you and appreciate all comments.