Business cards to billboards, wearables to web sites, print products to digital design.
Since 1988, I’ve been crafting promotional products for clients near and far, small businesses and corporations alike. I have a pygmaleon drive: if it can be better, it SHOULD be better.
All too often I hear: “I had no idea you did THAT” – even from friends and family members who have been at my side throughout my three-decade career.
Alas, the adage “a cobbler’s kids are always without shoes” has been historically-applicable to my design business. Marketing efforts for my own venture have always been abyssmal (but the fact that this post is available for you to read proves that I’m taking steps to follow my own professional advice).
To that end, I’ve compiled this general list of What I Do:
Design and Print
Logos
Cards, Letterheads, Envelopes
Brochures, Flyers, Sell Sheets, Handbills
Wearables (shirts, hats)
Signage and Billboards
Political Campaign Material (yard signs, lapel magnets, posters)
Vehicle Decals and Wraps
Outdoor and Trade Show Banners
Popup Banners
Publication Design (books, magazines, manuals)
Imprinted Items (mugs, pens, notepads, corporate gifts)
Digital Design and Marketing
Web Site Design and Construction
Web Site and Email Hosting
Domain Name Selection and Procurement
Search Engine Optimization and Analysis
Google PPC Campaigns
E-news and Promos
Social Media Graphics (Facebook Covers, Profiles and Posts, Instagram and Pinterest Imagery)
Social Media Campaigns (crafting content, 0ptimizing post schedules, building Follower base)
Advanced Photoshop Editing
Interactive / Fillable PDF Forms (conversion of existing forms or creation of new)
ABOUT ME
I struggle with self-promotion as much as I struggle with my photophobia (the recorded image you see above is a rare commodity), but I will offer a quick bio:
When asked if I’ve lived in Jacksonville all my life, I answer: “Not yet.” (But I was born and “raised” here).
My design history began as a 19-year-old advertising account exec for the local newspaper.
After three years at that gig, I joined the advertising department of a national retailer where I was set before a newly-purchased digital imagesetting system that was as foreign – and frightful – to me as it was to all other department personnel. I had zero experience with anything electronic, much less computers (this was the eighties, y’all) and yet, I was assigned the task of mastering this behemoth. I was presented with a 40-pound manual and a vote of confidence from my superior. After only a few pages, fortunately (and inexplicably) the convoluted code “spoke to me” and I tossed the manual.
When the department moved to Dallas, I chose to remain here and launch my own business. Apple had just unveiled the Mac computer so I adopted that system, learning once again by a self-taught, cause-and-effect method.
For the next 15 years I contracted to area print shops and other ad agencies, providing a high volume of press-ready designs. As the web became more mainstream, I was able to segue into that arena by relying upon many of the same design principles while adapting to a huge change in methodology. I built my first web site in 1998. These days, my diverse background provides me with a broader perspective of how to best integrate the web marketing realm with the still viable print media – and vice versa.
