Bascule Bridges of the Chicago River

My experience of living in Chicago has given me a profound love for architecture. I am awed by the magnificence of the trunnion bascule bridges along the Chicago River, which have become iconic in the backdrop of Chicago architecture. Chicago is home to more of these riveted masterpieces than anywhere in the world.

These 4" x 6" cards showcase the bridges along the main branch of the Chicago River. They provide the reader with a bit of historical information for each bridge and show the location of the bridge on the backside map. My process for this project can be viewed here.

Pickup Lines for Designers

Pickup Lines for Designers was first conceived in December of 2009. I wanted to create something fun that related to design. Too often, my love for design gets obscured by project briefs and deadlines. So I did something fun with design as a reminder that design is fun and what we (the design community) enjoy. Whether one is educated in design or not, these pickup lines for designers can be enjoyed by all. I hope something as small as this project can do its part in helping the design community grow and mesh with the practitioners of other disciplines.
Each matchbox is handmade.

Fuller O'Brien

Today's "Do It Yourself" trend has Americans ready to roll their sleeves up and get their hands dirty. Home improvements are a fun and active way to create a better living environment and increase a home's value.

The Fuller O'Brien "Do It Yourself" series embraces this trend and encourage consumers to approach home improvements optimistically, and with enthusiasm.

URBANEAST Realty International

In a high-end Chicago market for real estate, it is important to be contemporary yet approachable. URBANEAST Realty International believes in the allure of white space and strong typography.

In order to capture clients a bold black and white, clean design was embraced. URBANEAST is the definition of first-class modernity when it comes to buying and selling property.

URBANEAST Property Flyers

These flyers for URBANEAST Realty show individual luxuries of a variety of condos while emphasizing the clean and modern design of UE. While most condos share very similar floorplans and layouts, these flyers highlight the custom features of each unit. The owners who are selling are pleased to know that the attention to detail invested in creating their home is also invested in marketing their home. Additionally, it is a buyer's delight to be able to quickly identify the qualities of a property.

GungHo!

I am continually inpsired by the people who surround me on a daily basis. Many of my friends and classmates are very talented people whom I admire for their hard work, dedication, and devotion.

GungHo! features these people who deserve the spotlight I’ve put on them. It is a compilation of feature stories highlighting creative individuals and their work.

A Prelude to Time & Places

The design of Adam Keaton's A Prelude to Time & Places is completely typographic, paying homage to 19 and 20th century typesetting. The contemporary approach echoes the style in which the story was written. While displaying traditional literary techniques and devices, the story is written in a contemporary manner that speaks to a matured adolescent audience.

By working very closely with the author in this project I was able to capture the mindset of Keaton and show it through the design and layout of the book. This first edition of the book was designed, edited, printed, and bound by Spencer Rysman.

Green Energy

The average American produces 56 tons of solid waste every year. When a landfill is capped methane gas is generated as the waste decomposes. This gas has the possibility of being harvested and being used as a source of energy.

This Green Energy booklet was created to educate about the possibilites of creating energy from landfill gases through the process of anaerobic digestion. Symbols lead the reader through a four step process that is easy to understand.

Sketchbook

Process is very important to me. It is a means for growth in the project and growth as a designer. Carrying a sketchbook is a must for me. It is a place where I give birth to new ideas, collect inspiration, incubate creative thoughts and develop projects. It is also a place of discovery.

I often jot down ideas and refer back to them later. It is a way to journal my creative thinking and review my process. Sometimes a blank page in my sketchbook is all I need to find the solution to a problem.