illustration ; graphic design

Everarbor was proposed to do a collaborative design with the Cleveland Clothing Co., another well established apparel brand in, well, Cleveland, Ohio.

Historically both brands opt for bold, simpler designs. This time out I/we took used collaboration to push that with a design far more lavish in detail than tees previously seen.

The diamond shape is a not-so-subtle nod to the owners' affinity for baseball, which given the prevalence of once-named Indians/Guardians, felt fitting in representing these collaborators as well as the city.

brand design ; graphic design ; apparel design

Cleveland Vegan has grown to be a city-wide if not state-wide beacon for the veggie inclined. Their branding was developed at the same time they debuted, and as they put it to me, felt as if they had grown out of it.

The initial charge was to make this big, bold, and fun.

Vegan food comes with a lot of perceived pretension and assumptions. What Cleveland Vegan prefers to do — and has done since they opened — is just to make awesome tasting food, without meat.

After some adventurous rounds, CV felt they wanted something far more traditional and simple instead.

In the end I think we found a solid solution that is clean as hell with just enough boldness in the sans serifs to retain some modern fun.

I did manage to revitalize their “carrot”. The original was an aspect that lent to the mark feeling dated. This one feels like a fun stamp — or a sticker on a sandwich box.

I did some very preliminary concepts for apparel artwork but they opted to take the designs in house. Alas.

photo illustration ; graphic design

The folks over at Imagine Exhibition asked me if I could lend a hand to their upcoming pop-up bar that would tie-in with an already touring dinosaur exhibit. Directors Travis Allen and Ryan Cooper wanted to harken back to the days when dinosaurs were perceived more or less as mythical lizards. We discussed how the bar might have a carnival or sideshow lilt to it.

Time being the incessant knee-capper, I couldn’t produce the horribly inaccurate dino illustrations discussed. Instead, I scoured every stock site for vintage illustrations I could chop up and smash together worse than John Hammond and Dr. Moreau combined.

In addition to the posters for the main four attractions, they asked for a handful of posters that would promote various other mini-stations within the room.

Gertie’s poster in particular was a blast to work up because i got to play around with all those verrrrry early century design trends.

illustration ; graphic design

Pretty straightforward here, but I didn’t want this to get lost in the shuffle with the other posts.

I’m not what you would call a great painter in the traditional sense, so this, given my time frame, was my best “college try”.

I think I’m ok with it.

mixed media sculpture ; prop fabrication

God protects fools and drunks, as they say. Well, while I don’t place much stock in the divine, someone was surely looking out for me while I built these damn things.

I had sketches, I had a pile of retro junk… all I needed was the gumption to bring these sci-fi modules to life.

I recommend changing Dremel bits often.

writing ; storyboarding ; graphic design ; motion graphics

photographed by Ilenia Pezzaniti

Some days you have an idea and decide to blow months passionately pursuing it on a lark.

Margaret is a project that aspires to bring classical, noir film aesthetic to a more visceral, modern storytelling approach.

It started with a script and sketches. Storyboards followed. Then came props, promotion, and an as yet funded campaign to actually make the film.

Shot over 2 nights and edited down for production in mere weeks, it was a sprint of a project that while tiring, ultimately turned out to be satisfying in the end, even without it being funded.

Please see the other pages for the props and poster art.

graphic design ; branding

I’m never one to blow my own horn, but when Cleveland Vegan shifted gears on their rebrand I was bummed to lose the direction of their initial charge: to make this fun, bold, and inviting!

So… here are a few of the “Also Rans”. I’d like to think I would have tried these restaurants out.

The idea(s) here being that these would lean on the far brighter end of the rather, say, established ‘greens’ and ‘oranges’ that accompany vegan fare. You get a spirited, inviting palette with dynamic lettering. Bold. Round. Big swishes.

Maybe this place has ice cream too.

design/branding; illustration

Fresh Coast Candles was a client that really lived up to it's name. Organic, clean burning candles with a true local spirit behind each one (well, Michigan local), not to mention easy as hell to work with.

This project was a complete rebranding from the ground up — logos to labels. Everything. A process made smooth by the client being so easy-going and enthusiastic towards the drawing/design direction.

writing, publication design, illustration

When i’m not designing, I’m drawing. And when I’m not drawing, I try to write.

This long-form short story stemmed from the question “What would happen if a terrible event happened but was eclipsed by something far worse?” Armed with that question and a near obsession with Washington Irving’s Sleepy Hollow mythos, I set out to pen this little tale.

The final presentation contains a hidden message in the the design and the “packaging” itself suggests this story was sealed away to be forgotten.

illustration; packaging design ; copy writing

I love the design of liquor bottles. They swing for the fences.

So when the opportunity to take a xmas gift to another level, I dove all in to make this bottle design for a friend. I wanted to be totally serious about this major inside joke for a friend. It was a trip to reign in all that nautical elements and make them work.

Sometimes it’s the joke-jobs that turn out the best. Would that I could develop this further, over more time than a week, and ya know, for real alcohol.

illustration ; design ; sculpture ; videography ; production

And the dream continues, as does my work on Too Hot to Handle — Remembering Ghostbusters 2. For this leg of the project I found myself pulling teeth out of my fist when the idea of “Could we do severed heads leaking slime, maybe with some animation?” To which I said “Hey I could build them practically and shoot it here!” Couldn’t bite my hand fast enough.

I proceeded to sketch, and sculpt, and model, and bore out, and sand, and pack out with tubing to let slime flow through. Yes. I volunteered for this.

Despite my tone, this project was immense fun and impossibly challenging. As it is with most productions, it’s best when you see the final project, so I won’t show any of the raw footage — and shouldn’t show anything final prior to release!

Hopefully these stills from test shots and the like suffice.

It remains that if you could tell my 5 year old self — that terrified kid in a theater seeing GB2 — that one day I would be making these creepy heads in my basement…?

writing ; publication design

The 2020 edition of my little short story self-challenge brought forth this book, relics.

Over 3 segments, the stories rolling into one unified narrative, the book tackles questions about demons and their relation to Hell, churches, and human beings.

Special Editions of this book were housed in a glass (plastic) coffin box, sealed away with consecrated earth and a blessed vial of water taken from a river in Hell. The cross serves to keep any evil at bay by casting a shadow upon the horrors within the vessel.

illustration ; design

Sure it’s not on everyone’s favorites list… but this movie left a mark on me as a kid who was still reeling off the megaton blast of Ghostbusters.

The older I got I learned more about the history of this film project and what a passion project it was for Dan Aykroyd. Theatrically it flopped and it became a sore subject for him despite his enthusiastic efforts.

I wanted to honor that spirit of effort with this poster. It had to be a grimy, kitchen sink of visuals much like the film itself, with equal attention paid to each individual element, once again, like the movie. Whole ads and coupons and articles were created if only to be hinted at amidst the mess.

A funny anecdote follows this poster’s “unveiling”. The actress Valri Bromfield is notably missing from this poster. She played the “ditch-witch” cousin to John Candy’s “Dennis”. Originally, she was to appear along side him in the portrait. As the piece progressed, I realized she would inevitably be covered up. I mollified my own guilt at excluding her with two reasonable facts. The first being that this was a family portrait, nay say, an immediate family portrait. As a cousin she likely wouldn’t be present, right??? Secondly, this movie was obscure enough… would ANYONE remember her smaller, but no less amusing role?

Fast forward a couple weeks. While selling it at a craft market two dudes casually stroll by. One goes “whoa, cool poster!” the other then says, without breaking his stride, “it’s missing that other cop lady”.

art direction ; graphic design

This one is fairly straightforward. And fast.

The task was simple enough. “We need three record covers for digital. You know what I like. Go dark.” And that… was the phone call. My buddy needed them in by the morning. It was 6pm.

My fascination with old textbooks, flight logs, military typography, and so on, coupled with often times horrifically accurate medical illustrations seemed to fit the societal demise barked out across these three (re)releases. Maybe it’s all that precision in both disciplines that makes sense as a pairing?

It hurt my soul to use stock illustrations for the covers but as time wasn’t something I had — at all — I did what we all must in desperate times.

Overall I think the trio has a vibe about them, like some hellish propaganda issued as cautionary flyers.

branding; design; illustration; photography

Abbot had Costello. Forest had Bubba. I got my good buddy Skapes.

Everarbor started as the fevered dream of Derek Skapes — who prior to attending college did nothing but hug trees. He then went on to learn a great deal more about the natural world, traveling coast to coast, amassing a few degrees along the way. The fever for this company stuck with him though, and like anyone who's friends with a graphic designer, you're wont to lean on them for...ideas.

Here's a sampling of the "ideas" we've kicked around. Visit his website to see all the rest. And hell, buy something — lord knows I'm not making a dime off this shit. (Just kidding Skapes)

...No seriously go buy something. The only way I get paid is through royalties... 

** Since getting them setup, the company has become an animal all its own, hiring its down design team. In the end, I was happy to hand the reigns over to a trusted fellow creative. Godspeed to them all.

graphic design

Despite the constraints on the DVD, our crew was given a little more wiggle room when we were producing the soundtrack.

Deferring back to my original concept of “unearthing” all this material from dusty boxes, I brought back that dingy worn-out aesthetic.

graphic design ; illustration

The “powers that be” met us head-on when it came to the posters and published covers for the documentary. What lives below is a small menagerie of what was “once approved / now declined “ and all those iterations in between.

The top concept is more or less where we started in the process. The second image is where we ended up. The posters below was me being pushed to the limit of using as little of GB imagery as made sense.

While frustrating, it was certainly an interesting challenge to figure out ways to create the feel of Ghostbusters without being able to really show it.

lettering; design; illustration; photography; packaging

Old Flame is a thematic project that is a reaction to antagonists we cannot battle alone. Please click thru to learn all about it.

design; illustration

Waterloo Arts in conjunction with artist Angela Oster hosts a yearly show centered all around work incorporating DayGlo paint. The show itself is lit entirely in black lights to boot — so a pretty cool happening all around.

I was invited to do the poster for this year (as well as contribute a piece) with the theme centering around “old magic show”. This gave me the idea of a slightly macabre, almost -mail-order look for promotion; a vibe where the viewer would be interested but also slightly uncertain. Amidst the small details, it was really fun trying to strike a balance in making the rabbit figure feel just “off” enough…

illustration ; design

Always a trip, always fun. My only direction on this was “maybe something retro? mad scientist?” So…I got into a pink-finned time machine and blasted off to Planet DayGlo in search of the weird and fluorescent.

illustration ; design

Part of the CUTT Documentary incentives, I wanted to create a shirt that embodied the process of the movie as well as the nature of the documentary. The result I settled on was the terror dog — who often gets shunted aside for Slimer of Stay Puft. My hope was that by showing the steps of development coupled with an “inside reveal” of the mechanics.

Too often, shirts when printed don’t live up to the hype of the mockup. Thankfully in this case they looked even better.

sculpture; wood, glue, gauze, paint
36” x 24” x 30”

This piece was created for a show that displayed every submission under black light. Drawing from vintage spirit photography and the notion that what that emotions can harm us from the inside out, Clearance sought to explore what happens if we purge too late.

I had hoped to push the duality of seeing the piece in normal light versus the UV. It could live on its own without any revelation, but when subjected to the alternate waves it displayed a more intense depth.

The piece was built almost entirely out of wooden twigs and branches, supplementing wood pulp for additional detailed areas. The use of wood lent itself to the idea that the body would be kindling in this proposed scenario.

design; writing ; drumming?

Once upon a time, I had a band with my cousin. We weren’t bad at our best times. However, our second record proved that while you can do an entire album in afternoon (track and mix) …you probably shouldn’t

Nonetheless, as a gift, I had this opus pressed onto clear vinyl for a deluxe anniversary package.

The original “design” was put together on computer freeware. This time out, I opted to really drill down on the idea of ‘teaser’ and selected suggestive images that were worse than they seemed by selective cropping and hyper coloration.

illustration ; design

The good folks at Pressure threw yet another bone in my direction and let me illustrate their cover for “State of the City”. I had pretty much carte-blanche as long as the image contained a mouth and an eye. So… why not a mayoral eyeball?

Also, one again, their decision to simplify my background ‘noise’ proved the better move. I just can’t help giving too much! Better they have something to cut, right?

event design/planning; illustration; sculpture

Some years ago, AIGA hosted a charity event that encouraged local artists and designers to make an ornament for a silent auction. The event always felt like a hit, and moreso a genuine respite from the manic holiday blitz.

Then they inexplicably stopped doing it.

In an effort to revive the event along with my own dwindling holiday spirit, I sought out Waterloo Arts Gallery and started organizing.

After an arduous week leading up, the night was ultimately a success with over 40 local artists participating, raising thousands for the community. I must admit that my Grobin ornament (pictured left) did not get the highest bid of the night. And while it would have been a title worth claiming, it does speak volumes to the fervor of bidding that night.

illustration ; design ; writing

The intent behind the work on WMC8 was to create juxtaposed visuals that depicted an organization who sought to suppress creative endeavors while also having a rally and rebellion against it. Even on the “bureaucratic side” of the design, I aimed to be subversive in how the elements formed, almost to suggest an earnest beginning that became corrupted or perhaps a rebellion from within all along.

design; illustration ; photography

Orca was a great band and it pains me to say “was” as they promptly released this album and called it quits.

However, I got to work on their final album and that was a true honor. The concept meetings were lofty with plenty of various ideas going around. We all managed to agree on the ambiguous direction where the human form is distorted by constructs in part, but moreso by itself. It seemed best to fit the themes of the album which dealt with poetically harsh introspection.

I included an alternate take on the cover because even though it didn’t make the final cut, I really enjoyed the subtlety.

*side note - it was a real telling gauge of my drawing accuracy when I laid the portrait illustrations over their original photos. Proud to say, I got fairly damn close on most of them. I fucked up poor Brett’s ear though…

illustration ; design

Such sad times. What was going to be the fifth installment of this earnest punk reunion show just couldn’t get off the ground. The biggest problem was that I already had the idea for the poster, and fuck me if I was going to sit on it for another year.

design; re-branding; motion graphics

Talk about your dream projects. Being a rabid Ghostbusters fan since I was a kid, I carried my passion for the film into adulthood. Who knew I would be "redsigning" the logo one day?! The job presented itself while conversing with some lovely British siblings, who as it happened, were developing a documentary on the two GB films. I threw my hat into the ring, offering to take on the task of giving them a cool poster... Fast forward more than a few years, a few stages of funding, interest from Sony/Columbia... and I have since done a few more things on this incredible documentary. Here are a few samples ( I can't show you everything yet.)

illustration

It’s been great having a long-running relationship with Pressure Magazine, and it was incredibly flattering to be presented with the opportunity to draw their cover for an issue concerning support programs for LGBTQ Clevelanders.

Finding a tasteful, fitting visual was a challenge as these things can veer quickly into cliché. The idea of a cold, daunting form reducing humanity into a series of boxes to tick made sense to me, but in the end, a stark, simple image depicting falling and catching/support seemed to be the best solution.

Edition 2 of 7

NOTE: this is an art piece. No actual music. Apologies.

This vinyl homage to Over the Garden Wall is a personal contribution to arguably one of the most impressive labor of loves produced in animation. Each 7” release tonally groups songs from the wildly diverse scenarios the show explores across it’s ten episodes, ideally capturing the mood of the selections while also extending the narrative. These editions seek to further acknowledge the many players involved in making the show as special as it was.

This project was developed as a means to challenge my skill-set both technically and conceptually.

They serve as a humble means to say “thank you” for creating something so beautiful.

Edition 1 of 7

NOTE: this is an art piece. No actual music. Apologies.

This vinyl homage to Over the Garden Wall is a personal contribution to arguably one of the most impressive labor of loves produced in animation. Each 7” release tonally groups songs from the wildly diverse scenarios the show explores across it’s ten episodes, ideally capturing the mood of the selections while also extending the narrative. These editions seek to further acknowledge the many players involved in making the show as special as it was.

This project was developed as a means to challenge my skill-set both technically and conceptually.

They serve as a humble means to say “thank you” for creating something so beautiful.

design

Alas, some projects never see the light of day. Myself and photographer friends Scott Meivogel and Tim Logan has grand plans for an analog photography festival. As it was, plans were about as far we got before a "bigger kid in the sandbox" ran away with our idea. Even in their richer hands, the concept still died. Que cera cera.

illustration, procreate

This comic was a nice little toe-out into the waters of the graphic narrative. After using these characters in a kids book format, I immediately hatched upon the idea of a simple “before they were ghosts” story. While slightly more mature in theme, the handling feels light enough, perhaps in league with the recurring demise of Wile E. Coyote in Looney Tunes.

branding; design

For fear of missing any untapped market, The Everarbor Company has started to hone in on the area of “naturally scented” candles. As with most requests by the owner (and life-long friend), it was a kitchen sink’s worth of info desired on a veritable postage stamp of real estate. Nonetheless, the goal was to have the labels reflect the rugged nature of the store, while still conveying the sense (scents?) of their intent.

design/illustration; real pen/ink; digital color

Every year a group of rapidly aging punk rockers reunite under the yuletide pull (guilt) of being home for xmas and channel that joy (irritation) into a show.

The theme this year played upon the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, subbing reindeer for horses... because ya know, xmas.

design; illustration; silk screen; cell phone photography and also real photography

What began as an escape from the typical work day grind quickly spun out of control into a t-shirt company. These are but a few examples of a 2-year investment of design.

Hello! This section is just a placeholder! Go to the main link above for all the fun stuff!

design; illustration

Every once in a while you get a project where someone says "We need posters, graphics, and t-shirt designs — in 10 days. Do whatever you want though." And if you're a glutton for punishment like me, you say "Sure!"

design; branding; illustration; photography

A sort-of subtask from the Everarbor set. Not content to landscape, and forge a clothing line, my buddy Skapes is also trying to revolutionize fertilizer. No bullshit. Literally. This stuff is made from local business' spent beer grains and coffee grounds. My garden was testing ground for Site Zero, and the pumpkin I grew from it last year took home the blue ribbon. This part is bullshit...Still. The product works wonders.

design, book design, photography

This book was produced to encapsulate a peer’s entire project efforts — from concept to completion. In addition to the "tell all" book, an actual "deck of cards" was produced, as it only seemed fitting given the projects origin in tarot.

design; branding

Theodore Crispino is a unique individual. A man bridging the gap between of a modern era and one long gone. He embodies a reverent proclivity for all things definitive of a "classic gentleman" — horseback riding, fine whiskeys, game hunting, and above all, crisply tailored suits.

The charge for developing his mark(s) was based on the question "how would this look embroidered on a shirt?"

product design ; illustration

Have you seen the movie, True Lies? if yes, you get this design gag. If “no"? Stop looking at my questionable work and go watch it. 

The whole film centers around this dramatized terrorist group named Crimson Jihad. Myself and a chef friend would quote the ringleader endlessly.

So why BBQ sauce bottles? This was a gift to my friend who I would no longer see after going on to college.

Running away with this concept was a blast (get it?) and I used a combination of influence from military weapon shipping and spec sheets to lend these labels — and packaging — a certain level of creative spice.

Perhaps this design is in poor taste, but that should say nothing of how truly bombastic the sauces were.

Hot sauces as implied as lethal or dangerous were not yet sooooo prevalent that this concept was at least, in its time, somewhat fresh.

design; illustration

The Impossible Project has a penchant for nostalgia, as do I. Well, they take the past a bit more seriously with that whole "revival of a dying medium" thing... Regardless, I was fortunate enough to be tasked with designing some retro packaging for various film/camera kits they were offering.

design; illustration

Collected posters from the past couple years.

design; illustration

Collected posters from the past couple years.

design

The Top Shelf Lickers are a band that try and push the envelope a bit, and when they do, they tend to leave a stain on the paper. Nonetheless, their penchant for double entendre opens the door for many concepts.

branding; publication design

Joint venture with my long-time photography chum, Scott Meivogel. Everybody else is 'zine-ing, so why can't we?

mixed media drawing

illustration; design

Truly a collaborative effort here. Saugatuck Center for the Arts wanted a film-centric label for their upcoming limited edition brew with Saugatuck Brewing Company. While I originally saw things a little differently for the final look, I am still more than pleased they let me run with this wild idea of projector people.