The following materials are several of many pieces designed to establish brand identity for Lotus Sushi & Steakhouse, a hypothetical high-end sushi restaurant specializing in authentic Japanese cuisine.

Lotus Sushi & Steakhouse aims to bridge the traditional with the modern. Traditional elements of Japanese culture were used, like origami paper. However, the design of the restaurant is very sleek and modern, with minimal abstract decoration. The chosen sans serif typeface is also clean, controlled, and modern.

In order to set Lotus Sushi & Steakhouse apart from competitors, a thin, sophisticated sans serif typeface was chosen. Gold, black, white, and tan were chosen to communicate fine Japanese dining without being overstated, and to avoid color clichés.

This project received several awards, including a student Gold regional ADDY and best in show. At District 8, it was awarded another Gold ADDY and Judge’s Choice Award.

For an independent study project, I created a satirical color guide for designers and marketers, entitled “Don’t Be Like Frank.” The booklet highlights appropriate use of color in graphic design and also includes a cartoon strip, starring Frank, to demonstrate poor use of color (as well as type design). The goal of this project was to learn about color theory while also making the subject more fun and engaging for all ages.

The 36 page book was written by me and based on research project. It begins by describing what color is, and then explores where our color associations come from: the innate, cultural, and psychological. Though Franks bad inventions, like “Blue Breads,” are used throughout the narrative, the second half of the book focuses on specific colors. Those pages highlight reactions to individual colors, and provides cultural examples/symbolism and other interesting facts about each color. Each color page also includes a comic strip for one of Frank’s failed business ventures.

This project was awarded a Silver Student ADDY regional award.

The goal of this project was to create a current issues campaign centering on one organization. World Wildlife Fund raises money for worldwide conservation efforts. Their hypothetical “Have You Seen Us?” campaign focuses specifically on the five species of penguin that are classified as endangered. This campaign aims to bring attention to these sometimes “invisible” species, that are overlooked by more recognizable penguins, like the Emperor penguin.

I chose to incorporate the color red, due to the penguin’s appearance on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List, and included interactivity in order to grab viewer’s attention, and target more age groups. Penguins were also assigned different colors in order to more fully separate one species from another.

This project received an Excellence in Design Award.

During an internship at the Hamilton Wood Type Factory in Two Rivers, I created a series of letter-form postcards using wood type and a Vandercook press. To create the postcards, I first sketched out ideas. In order to make each postcard unique, I tried to combine two versions of each letter that varied considerably in both size and general characteristics (ex. serif vs. sans serif).

Once selecting the type, used a combination of wooden furniture, metal furniture, and leads and slugs to create a lockup (middle photo), which was switched out for every letter. I then mixed ink and ran the press, having to wait for the ink to dry before adding more layers. Extra, non-letter elements were added later by

the Hamilton Wood Type Factory before the postcards placed up for sale.

The Gateways to Phoenix Success (GPS) Program redesign was part of an internship for the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, and included a postcard and brochure. The purpose of the redesign was to further brand the program, while also making the content flow better.

The original designs used very literal images of a GPS screen. I decided to use the concept of a GPS screen and make it a bit more abstract, while also flowing across the brochure/postcard. I also designed a number of icons that look like GPS pins for added visual elements to fit with the text and the student experience within the program.

I was also given a number of photos to include in the brochure, and decided which photos would fit best for both design and program representation.

For this project, several teams were assigned to redesign an existing car brochure. The project goal was to design for three specific target audiences, using various messaging, visuals, and layouts. After selecting the Jeep Grand Cherokee, our group researched existing target markets, gathered customer information, and photographed the vehicle.

Within my group, I chose to target the “Adventurer.” I then conducted research to find out what was most important to each target audience, and how best to approach the brochure redesign visually in order to get those messages across. The Jeep brand itself was also researched, so each team member could design within that established brand identity and narrative.

A combination of our group photos and Jeep’s existing brochure photos were used, and all background images I used were taken on my own adventures. As part of the group, my main responsibilities were gathering research and writing the final group creative brief, which summed up our project.

Giveadaam Ventures, LLC. was founded in 2018 by a fellow UWGB classmate, Marissa Michalkiewicz. The company focuses on restoring houses near campus, with an emphasis on sustainability. I designed the company logo as well as fundraising t-shirts, and various marketing graphics.

For more information, visit: https://giveadaamventures.myvolusion.com

During the summer of 2018, I designed four different menus for a new Skaliwags restaurant in Green Bay, WI. All illustrations were drawn by hand, and the paint splatters were made on paper and edited in Photoshop. One project challenge was creating a changing menu that could be easily edited for daily printing.

These pieces were created as part of a 50 day logo challenge. While I did not complete the entire challenge (because 50 days is a lot), I did create quite a few logos and marks for fictional companies. My goal was to use a different color scheme and font each day. In addition, many logos were made using hand-lettering and converted into digital format.

Like the logo challenge, I was not able to create every day, but my goals were similar: use a different color palette and style for each letter. These letters were all created by hand and transferred into Illustrator.

The goal of this project was to create a current issues campaign centering on one organization. World Wildlife Fund raises money for worldwide conservation efforts. Their hypothetical “Have You Seen Us?” campaign focuses specifically on the five species of penguin that are classified as endangered. This campaign aims to bring attention to these sometimes “invisible” species, that are overlooked by more recognizable penguins, like the Emperor penguin.

I chose to incorporate the color red, due to the penguin’s appearance on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List, and included interactivity in order to grab viewer’s attention, and target more age groups. Penguins were also assigned different colors in order to more fully separate one species from another.

This project was awarded a silver Student ADDY at regional level.

As part of an internship at Hunt Adkins, I was tasked with redefining the digital brand guidelines for Hayward® Industries, Inc. This included creating new app icons, updating digital banner ads, and creating several email templates.

A large portion of the digital brand guideline project was creating four email templates to be used as e-blast examples. In order to best represent the Hayward® brand digitally, I had to made decisions about color, photo and icon usage, as well as buttons, links, and footer information. Many decisions were made based on a new website reskin that is in development.

Given Hayward has around eighteen different apps, they needed find a way to uniquely identify each one. To do this, I used existing branded icons and also found new ones to represent the purpose of each app. I also used a simplified version of the company logo against the standard blue for a clean, modern look. To begin, four icons were initially prestented to the client.

Another internship project at Hunt Adkins involved redesigning the Hayward® Amazon brand store page. To do this, I had to create wireframes for the home page, as well as six separate product pages. I then scoured through existing photography and found new stock photography for each header and product image. I worked with copywriters and within a creative team to create PDF mockups to present to the client.

This logo was designed in 2019 for an upcoming coffee shop in Washington. The artwork was aimed to reflect the geography of the area and the overall feel and atmosphere of the shop.

Ironside Computers Graphic Design Samples

Akito - Hand drawn type face converted to a vector image, then printed on vinyl and painted with acrylic onto the computer case

Empyrean Academy Logos - Logo designs for three “houses” of a fictional school: Aequitas (balance keepers), Imperium (wielding extraordinary power), and Veritas (truth and justice). Logos were laster cut, painted, and put on limited edition computers.