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StoryRaps - Kids Show

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Wes Tank’s StoryRaps is a kids show on safe streaming channel Kidoodle.TV. In addition to developing the look of the show’s title animation, iconic book jacket, and promotional graphics, I lay out spreads for animation and contribute image ideas for new videos as part of the StoryRaps team. I’ve also had the opportunity to direct several episodes, including Time Rhymes (above) and Gift Rappin’.

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Green Room - Digital Music Magazine

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The Green Room is a web-based magazine run by the Pabst Theater Group. Inspired by theater green rooms where performing artists relax before a show, the magazine is a forum for exploring topics that relate to entertainment in the Pabst Theater Group’s venues and the greater community. Drawing inspiration from the visual library of independent music, the site is a nod to DIY punk posters, 70s logotypes, and the modern concert experience. A coordinating launch campaign plays on the concept of a backstage pass, inviting viewers to step inside the Green Room.

Turner Hall Ballroom photos by Will Hues

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Oriental Theatre Policy Trailer

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In 2018 I worked with SRH Marketing to design the titles for the Oriental Theatre’s new policy trailer, introduced during the Milwaukee Film Festival. We drew inspiration from the cinema palace’s fantastical, imaginative interior to create a sense of wonder for audiences.

Read more from SRH.


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Wedding Venue Site Redesign

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Turner Hall Ballroom Weddings needed to set itself apart in an increasingly competitive local market as the trend of weddings in non-traditional spaces means new venues are opening all the time.

To give Turner Hall an edge, I lead a redesign of the previously brochure-style venue website, creating a site that was more immersive and modern, including a contemporary-feeling logo that nods to the venue's history.

Many couples have no experience with wedding planning before they get engaged, and I knew this was an opportunity to make Turner stand out. Working with the private events director, I added an entire toolkit of features to help couples make their decision including vendor recommendations, room Layout examples, links to galleries of other weddings at the venue and other local resources.

Click to expand

Click to expand

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Typeface - Public Art Installation

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Typeface is a public art installation by Reginald Baylor Studio and Adam Carr, based on community conversation with support from myself, Buttondown Design, and a number of community organizations.

Under Baylor’s direction, I contributed to and supervised the design of the temporary installation’s graphical elements and assisted with graphic preparation and printing for fabrication of the community-driven art piece’s complex sculptures. The project, which empowered local communities by breathing new life into abandoned and marginalized spaces, was installed throughout the city for six months.

PRESS:
TypeFace turns local communities into their own content and canvas
OnMilwaukee.com

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Florentine Opera - Season Image

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As part of MIAD's competitive internal internship, Visual Resources, I was challenged to create a set of cohesive, approachable visuals for the four shows in the Florentine Opera Company's 2012 Season.

In order to appeal to a broad audience and help visualize opera's emotional intensity I illustrated simple but dramatic symbols in a stylized manner, inspired by cut-paper. The climactic depictions, reminiscent of simplified Victorian toy theater cut-outs, are set against vivid backdrops painted as a reaction to each show's score.

This project was selected as the winning design and was used by the opera company to promote their 2012 season.

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Menu Design for Local Brewery

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In 2017 I designed a suite of menus for the Riverwest brewery Company Brewing. Using typography inspired by hand lettering and the color scheme from their existing brand and website the new menus help position the restaurant as a casual, neighborhood destination. In addition to the menu designs, I created a set of templates and a customized training manual to allow the restaurant to make their own updates to the menu, helping maximize their initial investment in the designs.

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Mrs. M–––––'s Cabinet - Exhibition Companion Site

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In 2016 I worked with The Chipstone Foundation to develop an online companion to their latest installation at the Milwaukee Art Museum. Mr’s M––––’s Cabinet is a “lavish nineteenth-century interior, filled with some of the finest and most diverse objects found in the British Atlantic colonies in the seventeenth century.  This Cabinet is designed to inspire wonder, curiosity and perhaps even some mystery.”

The online companion houses additional information about the cabinet and the mysterious Mrs. M–––– and gives visitors a portal to access additional content related to the exhibit and interact directly with Mrs. M–––––.

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Boutique Film Production Company Website

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After creating graphics and providing project support for a number of videos for Honeycomb Productions, they asked me to help design their new logo and website. Under the direction of president Kurt Raether, I gave the Honeycomb website a playful approach, using vintage illustrations paired with a dramatic black, white, and goldenrod color scheme to promote their services as a boutique and classically cinematic production company.

Animator Matthew Dwyer followed the playful illustration style in his quirky introduction to the Honeycomb Reel embedded on the homepage. In addition to creating the site's graphic style, I also consulted on the site's navigation structure and assisted with copywriting.

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Bosavi Headlamp eCommerce Site

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In the summer of 2014, I worked with Larry & Dan Freschl on a website and promotional materials for their rechargeable LED Headlamp, Bosavi. Working off of their strong marketing base, I redesigned their previously hard-coded website in Squarespace's CMS, setting up eCommerce and working with Benjamin Wick Photography to provide them with a professional set of product photography.

Design Like Mad - 24 Hour Design Marathon

After experiencing the inaugural Design Like Mad event in Madison in 2014, I brought the idea to Milwaukee. In the Spring of 2015 I organized a 12-hour "Design Marathon" to benefit local non-profits along with co-organizer Jillian Duckwitz and a talented team of volunteers. Design Like Mad MKE brought together 65+ designers, developers, and copywriters to donate 12 hours of design work to 24 area nonprofits, with a final value of over $40,000.

More recently, Jill and I shared our experiences and a refined process outline with a new team who has rebooted the idea locally as DesignMil.

PRESS
‘Design Like Mad’ marathon event will pair designers with nonprofits to bring creativity to causes
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service

Photos by Benjamin Wick Media

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In•Season Pop-Up Dinner

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In•Season is a seasonal pop-up dinner hosted out of my home in Brewer's Hill. Featuring dishes from the minds of Milwaukee's top emerging chefs and produce from local farms, In•Season is a synthesis of experimental cuisine and experiential dining. As the primary driver behind In•Season, I organize, promote, and host the events, working closely with the chefs to showcase their vision and make sure everything runs smoothly. 

PRESS
Artist couple creates high-brow, low-brow conceptual feasts
Tap Milwaukee 

Photos by Benjamin Wick Media and Twin Lens Weddings

Certificates of Presence - Photo Book

I first saw these bizarrely intriguing still life photographs by Latvian-born Livija Patikne at Debra Brehmer's Portrait Society gallery in 2012 and immediately let the gallery director know that if she ever decided to do a photo book with the work, I wanted to help with the design. 

As luck would have it, Brehmer showed this collection again in the spring of 2014 in tandem with work by Vivian Maier and J. Lindemann and we collaborated on this photo book in time for the show. We narrowed down the photo selection together and created this compact catalog that surveys the strange collection of still life, self portrait and gravesite photography created by the artist in mid-century Milwaukee.

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Parking Garage Signage

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In the summer of 2014 I collaborated with Reginald Baylor Studio to re-envision a downtown parking garage. Working with the garage’s management company and design support from Armahn Gonzalez, I completely redesigned the directional and informational signage of the garage to playfully complement Reggie’s external, backlit car sculptures.

PRESS:
Magical Thinking Transforms Parking Garage
Urban Milwaukee

Garage photos by Michael Horne.

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Hand Painted Wrapping Paper

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Petiole Paper Co. is a personal project I started to experiment with color and pattern. A lot of my design work is digital so it’s always fun to challenge myself to do something with my hands. These designs start with watercolor paintings and become repeating patterns with digital editing. I’ve always loved the ritual of giving gifts and I created this series of holiday papers that capture the joy of Christmas in unexpected ways. In 2019 I sold my wrapping paper as part of MIAD’s student and alumni holiday art sale and raised over $300 for student scholarships.