Boys Scouts of America - Freelance

This has been a great privilege to work with Boys Scouts of America. The National Headquarters is located in Irving Texas and it is an impressive establishment with a lot of interesting history and great people.

For this campaign they challenged me with the task to take the previous campaign to the next level. I kept the established people inside the patch and I broke them out of the border. I also simplified the previous look by taking the background into a solid color with a cloth texture to compliment the patch. I boxed each ad inside the patch border while letting the paper or map break over it to give it depth. In the end I was happy with the look and so was the client, it was a big win that has won me more work and an opportunity to work on many more projects, including the annual report.

Numantra - Freelance
Allied Insurance

While working as a freelancer for Numantra I was given the opportunity to work on Allied Insurance. Allied has many services and software they provide for Credit Unions. Many of these Credit Unions rely heavily on Allied to take care of the day-to-day activities so they can focus on accomplishing the other areas of interest.

Therefore my concept was to let the Credit Unions know with Allied Insurance they can relax while at work. This campaign "The Allied Advantage Effect" offers Insurance solutions for a peaceful working environment. The idea is that with Allied Advantage and it's impeccable service a Credit Union does not have to worry about the details... Work feels like a vacation.

TPN - Sr. Art Director/Interactive Designer
Bank of America

Bank of America is the largest account I've held. This job consisted of a massive amount of elements that had to be routinely delivered. We had campaigns living inside campaigns with partnership promotions, holiday promotions, local promotions, photo shoots across the country. This account also had banks inside banks inside shopping centers. We had Offsite Specialty Centers, Offsite Home Loans, Northeast, Legacy, Instore, Common, ALU's, Premium, Specialty Stores (test centers), Mass Affluent, Mass, Merrill Edge, DCN, etc... all having multiple elements or fixtures inside each. Plus, there were ever changing elements and temporary concept POP. This was a serious account that had extreme graphic standards that demanded control.

We pursued anything exterior/interior that was retail at Bank of America and Merrill Lynch. This included associate and customer sales tools, community boards, brochures, digital, counter cards, POP, even the smallest of details like associate name tags, etc. Naturally, it is reasonably clear how much I observed on an account of this magnitude, the good, the great and even some bad.

My favorite win on the account was an interactive tool used to demonstrate the upcoming campaign(s). I lead the project with a smile on my face and a go-getter attitude that I always maintain. I directed the 3D team to help pull it all together. It was used by the agency and the client, and as a special honor, I was requested to demo the project live to the entire staff of over 200 at TPN, including Dallas, NYC and Chicago offices. This project was an extreme challenge to meet the specific demands and in the end it won many accolades. Another challenge that I helped accomplish was assisting with the very confusing Campaign Installation Guide. I carefully reexamined the complicated CIG that existed and recreated it into a much more user friendly guide. Another great success for me and especially the account. Partnership campaigns were also important and I enjoyed plenty of success in this arena as well... I excel in problem solving as demonstrated when the client had a complicated challenge internally and looked towards TPN for a solution. I single handedly resolved the issue in an extremely pragmatic approach, saving Bank of America an estimated $160,000 or more and many painstaking hours of time. It was a terrific win for TPN (Omnicom), the client and myself. Even with the savings and strategy, as reported in the news, this client is faced with specific economic challenges, namely being sued for billions and dismissing up to 40,000 people in it's first phase of restructuring, closing more than a hundred banking centers. It is a BIG bank with a tarnished reputation and we strategically took that into consideration on all the work, and if they can stabilize and remain focused with these strategies, over time they will regain their image.

Please contact me for an opportunity to explain in more detail, see live demos and meet with you in person.

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Powerpact - Sr. Art Director/Interactive Designer
Predominantly SONY and some SGK, Bonterra, and Proctor & Gamble

Sony is the sexy of TVs. It is the top of the line product in its class. With competition like Samsung always offering a decent product and always at a more competitve price we had to be one step ahead, especially with the economic situation. Our mission was to keep the brand image and clearly communicate the forward thinking and feature the technical advancements. The product really spoke for itself, but it was important to help people understand why it was worth an extra $200 over it's competition.

This client was not a bank and it allowed for some fun... One successful strategic promotion I created was to sell products in "bundles." An interesting approach to accomplish this was an interactive promotion with Peyton Manning. My concept was to have access to his playbook, allowing for a promotion that lasted over 6 months...
It had "legs."

I helped create numerous brochures, POP, packaging, posters, campaign, photo shoots and promotions. I helped assist the CD in managing some of the Jr. creative people on the team and I also spent a lot of time on new business and other clients. I strongly recommended a restructure of the company's native files, work orders, communications, images, etc. I also created the entire folder system for the creative department, studio and account service to be able to work efficiently together. Everyone followed this system including the smaller accounts outside of Sony, and it saved the agency a lot of time and money. It allowed everyone to spend more time on the important things and not tracking down information or other essentials. This account forced me to become an expert in retail. This was an extraordinary account that had immense challenges with the economy. With retailers like Circuit City and others cutting back, it presented obstacles for the client and agency that were almost impossible to regulate without extreme measures. In the end, unfortunately, I participated in and witnessed lay offs on a grand scale.

Please contact me for an opportunity to explain in more detail, present many more examples and live interactive demos. I would greatly appreciate your time.

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Levenson & Hill - Art Director/Interactive Designer
One Arts Plaza, Bestway RTO, RU Vodka, Gordons, Aaron Brothers glazer's, greatwide logistics, churches, and more

Levenson and Hill is a large award winning agency. I learned a lot from my experience at L&H and I owe my sense of calmness to my exposure with that creative department. I earned my "Worked Until 5:00 a.m." patch while working on the numerous accounts and I had fun. I realized that it is teamwork, attitude and communication that is the grease that keeps the wheels spinning (and good ideas). I learned and observed that no matter the tight deadline that drama is not necessary. This is the place that groomed me to be a leader in the field.

I worked on numerous jobs, however one of my favorite projects was the Dallas Ad League Roast of Barbara and Stan Levenson. It ran in D magazine as a full page ad, Dallas Morning News, online, coast to coast in other publications, and it was respected inside the advertising community. Not only did the design and my illustration turn out great, I enjoyed my time and reaction to all my hard work. It was a big, exciting night with over 800 people in attendance downtown. I attended the Roast with my girlfriend at the time. In a subtle manner, I explained to her that I created everything from the posters, matches, table magazines (with a die cut through the cover to simulate a burn), life size cut outs of The Levenson's, etc. Coincidentally, we were married downtown and our quests stayed at the same Hotel where the Roast was held. I would like to say that this design to your left is my masterpiece, because it is what convinced my wife that I "must be a special guy."

Seriously, though, my understanding of typography, photography, presenting to clients, design and attention to detail matured at L&H, and after my offer from Powerpact I reluctantly decided to leave. I was counter offered, but in the end I decided to leave.

Another favorite at L&H was a project for Greatwide logistics. If you managed a company that moved it's product with multiple 18 wheelers then you were in our demographic. Since there were only a select few of influential people in the country, we had to stand out in a unique way, striving to make it fun and more importantly informative. The answer was a metal box with 6 wooden crates. These were not inexpensive, but they were not being sent to shoddy people, either. Each metal box opened and operated exactly how some 18 wheelers open. These were hand welded and each crate was stamped individually with it's specific service. Inside each crate was a brochure that provided more information. I helped brand Greatwide through interactive banners, trade show booths, brochures, ad campaigns, etc... Greatwide is now the leader in the fleet transportation industry.

Finally, I think one more project worth mentioning from L&H is the Bestway story. This client had a logo that was one of those that you hoped you never had to work around. We recommended Bestway to rebrand themselves, and our "reco" was to start with the logo and also to invest in photographing the products correctly. Bestway would not budge on the logo so I designed around it. I researched the other rent-to-own companies and my intention was to build off the logo and create something that could not be ignored. I was fully aware that the catalog proved to be the most successful media to reach the clients customer base. The entire creative department participated in the rebranding project and my design was chosen. I was the leader on the Bestway account, consisting of a monthly catalog, retail store makeover, delivery trucks, brochures, interactive, etc. This was a very demanding account and I had to learn how to work smart and work fast.

Please contact me for an opportunity to present more examples and live interactive demos from L&H. I would greatly appreciate your time.

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IMC2 - Art Director/Interactive Designer
Proctor & Gamble, and more

IMC2 is an agency with fun, and an enjoyable atmoshpere. For example, I freelanced there for months and I brought my dog to work everyday. I rode a scooter from cube to cube and through the Zen Garden, ascending a rock climbing wall. This was a laughable experience. I also worked a lot, a whole lot. I was one of about 20 interactive designers hired for freelance, and I'm proud to say it was only a copywriter friend and I that were the last 2 remaining. When I received a phone call from L&H, offering me a full-time position, I decided to accept.

I ended up designing so much interactive I could not even keep track of it. The projects seemed to come from everywhere and were endless. I mostly worked in Flash AS2 and Photoshop. While at IMC2 I never worked on anything that was print. Without print it created an interesting process, due to the fact that they are an interactive agency. I became quite knowledgeable about organization, interactive design and how to work through lunch!

Please let me know if you would like to see more portfolio samples from IMC2.

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SRJ Communications - Art Director//Interactive Designer
Magnolia Medical Staffing, Henjum Goucher Court Reporting, NIA Insurance and more

I spent over 3 years at SRJ and it was a great place to learn the ABC's of how to brand a company from logo, website and collateral. It was a small boutique shop and I took on responsibilities outside of what is handled at large agencies. Without a traffic manager, I was the one calling, bidding and explaining die cuts, specs, packaging, foil stamping, varnishes, the various printers. I learned and have a real deep understanding of what is and is not possible, what is affordable and practical. I witnessed small companies and listened to their concerns. I helped budget the retainers and I learned the importance of entering my time for billable hours. On reflection, it was the perfect experience for me at the time. I would never say I'm above taking on any of those responsibilites to this day. I'm interested in doing great work and surrounding myself with nice people that I can learn from or even offer advice.

Although I did design numerous websites at SRJ here are some I created while there and at other agencies.

Also here are just a few samples of some promotional logos I did for TGI Friday's.
Please contact me for more logo examples. I enjoy creating logos and I have a great appreciation for what a logo can do and their importance.

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