These are a variety of brand marks that I created for different clients. Holt is an adoption agency with international partners; Queenslander is a tour company that began with tours to Australia; Micron is a metal finisher who uses an eco-friendly process; Nutrition Care Systems provides consultants and educational assistance to facilities which must provide healthy nutritious meals to residents and are monitored by government agencies.

More brandmarks! Sheffer Associates provided hands on healthcare based on opening up energy pathways to promote healing; McLoughlin built unique upscale housing; James Burke was a law office; Cafe Mistiko was a night club.

These are some samples of other ideas presented to the Cafe Mistiko client. They prided themselves on their martinis and they also had numerous pool tables available for recreation.

Explore! Creative Learning Centers had a previous logo that incorporated a sailboat. They felt they had some equity in this image and wanted to retain something nautical. In addition, they did not want to focus too much on any one artistic discipline as they offered drawing, painting, sculpture, voice, dance, and instrumental music classes. I had way too much fun with this one!

Dremel wanted a special logo to celebrate their 75 years in business. The top design was chosen. It incorporates their very first logo with their existing logotype. I provided 3 other options as well. This was only used on corporate communications and not applied to any packaging.

This was an identity that I created for a guy who was creating audio for websites and computer games and working out of his basement. I visited him there. It was dark and there were so many discombobulated computer parts. It reminded me of the lair of a mad scientist. Hence the logo design--which he loved. This was based on a stock illustration which I altered.

Kyle's logo looked best on black but I adapted it to regular stationery for him as well.

Sibu means "life in balance". This business was promoting vacations in South American jungle settings. The decor in their accommodations was based heavily around natural materials--bamboo, grass mats, wood sculptures, etc. I created a ying yang symbol with leaves to emphasize balance and nature, and brought some elements of their interior design into their stationery.

This packaging for Maybelline was a Clio Finalist in the Cosmetic category. The color of the mascara was shown in the swoosh as well as the cap color. This product was targeting teens and had a playful feel.

This project for Nabisco was a refresh of their original packaging. This project was a holiday promotion so I used vibrant red and green backgrounds. This became a popular stocking stuffer. Although I did everything in regard to the architecture of the package and all the typography, an illustrator created all the animal illustrations.

These are juice labels for an adult product from Gerber that promised extra fiber and came in several different apple based flavors. Illustrations were created by an illustrator.

This was a private label frozen juice product from Coastal. I presented these 5 electronic sketches for a Phase 1 presentation. All of the illustrative work is mine as well.

This cat litter was a private label brand that appeared in IGA stores. The cat icon was taken from a font that included illustrations among its other characters. It added a colorful comic touch to something pretty basic and mundane.

This line of fitness products for children was created by a company called Sportworks based in Vernon Hills. Because the products were to be placed in Target stores, Target had a lot of input and requested super simple packaging. I stuck with primary colors and used some fun, funky typography. I also art directed all the photography of the children with a local photographer. My daughter from China is demonstrating the balance board. We needed ethnic diversity.

I worked for approximately 7 years designing sports cards and related packaging. This is an assortment of the outer box packaging that I did for Leaf/Donruss brands. Most boxes had pop up headers and served as their own P.O.P. display. I prefer to show the sports cards in person as they are best appreciated when they can be touched and held.

Occasionally, for special launches, I designed some unique packaging. These tins were developed for a "Preferred Edition" of the Donruss brand. Leaf/Donruss was based in Lake Forest before being sold to a rival in Texas.

This is a variety of "flavors" of shower gels that I worked on for the company I currently work for in Gurnee, IL. Paris Presents Incorporated produces bath and body products for women, cosmetic brushes, and cosmetic accessories.

This is an example of the different sizes and shapes that I had to unify for one flavor within one brand. I gathered assorted images from royalty free stock photography sites and combined them in various ways to develop these product lines.

This is another example of the breadth of line which included body wash, lotions, refresher sprays, and perfumes done in multiple flavors for Sears. Also created for my current employer in Gurnee.

These festive 2015 Target holiday gift sets sold out quickly. A huge win for Paris Presents.

These were P.O.P displays we referred to as "Sidekicks" and they usually appeared on end caps and help numerous small bargain priced items. I did not design the brandmarks thought I did combine the Ms. Manicure illustration with the brandmark to add some interest. The two had never been so literally connected before.

I designed these sell sheets for one of our leading brands of cosmetic brushes.

My theory: every designer needs at least one wine label in their portfolio. I created these designs for the Glunz Family Winery, based in Grayslake, IL. They needed a label for their Everyday Wines which came in a variety of reds and whites. They needed to be able to add an additional sticker to distinguish which red or white was in the product offering. These bottles were recycled by Glunz patrons. I proposed an additonal seal with the Glunz family brand identity embossed into the gold seal on the neck of the bottle which they opted not to produce.

This is one of several trade show booths I've designed for one of my clients. They required an informative backdrop, a table runner, a box for business cards, a brochure holder, and a podium for a laptop with a looping video.

These were the actual printed pieces for the trade show. All pieces are consistent with the brand identity I created for them.

This brochure was designed to intrigue potential tourists over the experience they could have with visiting this elite resort in Costa Rica.

This gate fold brochure was done for another branch of the Costa Rican tourist business. This group rented villas and casas for longer term stays. I did not design their identity. I used a black background to set it apart from the pieces for Sibu and also to dramatize and accentuate the color in this beautiful country.

This is a series of pieces I designed for CTCA in Zion. They have a celebration every year for cancer survivors and required invitations, signage, name tags, CD labels, gift bags, etc. I was given the theme "Walking on Sunshine" and the font they used for "celebrate life". The sunflower standing tall among the field of sunflowers suggests victorious and exuberant life.

I designed this client's identity (box on left) so he returned to me for a giftable holiday mouse pad design. I incorporated his identity and all his contact information. This would be a handy thing to have right beside computers that may need service in the coming year.

These are web banners I created for my current employer. They were for use on several sites where our products were offered.

I did a number of book covers for Sourcebooks based in Naperville, IL. This was one of my favorites. Again I worked with royalty free stock photography sites to find the right image.