Strategy/Writing/Design | Connecting your message with your markets
The Indiana Dental Association’s Annual Session brings together practitioners from around the state for continuing education and social events. When the Association used a thematic tag line (“Beyond Tomorrow, Beyond Ourselves”) to tie together one year’s activities, I created a signature image for use on printed pieces that signed up exhibitors, registered participants, provided a … Continued…
Girl Scouts of Central Indiana provides organizational leadership for girls and adults in a large number of Hoosier counties: 35, at the time GSCI embarked on a capital campaign to replace its longtime office space with a building more suited to its mission and its people. I researched, wrote, designed, laid out, typeset, and produced … Continued…
Madam C. J. Walker became America’s first self-made female millionaire. This dynamic entrepreneur founded a cosmetics empire with a product she created to treat her own hair loss. She built her company in Indianapolis, Indiana, along with an architectural gem of a facility that combined a theatre with spaces devoted to community use. This building … Continued…
A publishing executive who attended the 1963 March on Washington was moved by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech to create an organization designed to increase the representation of people of color in influential positions within American corporations. He established INROADS as a non-profit network of locally incorporated non-profits serving … Continued…
Naming a new company means creating an identity that’s not already registered for online use, which explains some of the (in my humble opinion) downright goofy names you see. For a tech-tutorial website concept focused on graphics software, I suggested the name “Undon’t” as the opposite of “Undo,” and created this logo to highlight the … Continued…
Indiana/World Skating Academy provides a place to learn and have fun, providing elite coaching for world-class ice-skating competitors from around the work and family togetherness for local residents. Since it opened its doors in 1987, I/WSA has nurtured talent, added ongoing revenue to the City of Indianapolis, and donated ice time to other community organizations. … Continued…
Automotive Sales Training Systems teaches vehicle salespeople to understand the needs and psychology of prospective buyers, creating the kind of trust that can guide transactions—and careers—to success. Less-effective but more-common training methods lead to sales-staff turnover, a widespread problem in the industry. After one year, ASTS graduates remain on the job at more than twice … Continued…
This product photograph accompanied an article in the quarterly magazine published by the Indiana Dental Association. The original image cropped off part of the top and one end of the sealed package, which set at an odd angle against a gradient background. I removed all four components of the image from the background, rebuilt the … Continued…
[Please note: I’m only allowed to share the scripts of these spots and can’t identify the client’s location.] ——————– Lake Shore Community College attracts non-traditional students including single parents, 30- to 40-somethings who find their career prospects blunted by the lack of a degree, and recent high school graduates who want to complete general education … Continued…
Networking, IT, and civic-surveillance experts AllThingsIT wanted a set of sell sheets that presented the essence of some of its core services, establishing a personality for what otherwise might seem like an impersonal, intimidating part of business technology and infrastructure. I created a series of pieces that my client could print either in house or … Continued…
Financial consultants Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak wanted a brochure for use in presentations to prospective clients. I researched, wrote, designed, laid out, typeset, and produced a piece that met two specific visual requirements: Incorporate the look of their conference room’s frosted-glass wall, and show the view from the windows of their north-suburban Indianapolis … Continued…
My client Thurston Springer’s logo printed using either four or five spot-color inks, including light gold, dark gold, dark blue, black, and an opaque white ink behind it when it appeared on dark backgrounds. I knew that reducing the number of inks required to render the logo would reduce my client’s printing costs, but the … Continued…
An audio electronics guru wanted a logo for his consulting business, named after an old-school cookie product. I created a design that plays off the fact that the same letter ends the first and begins the second word of the name. The look also captures the two-sided nature of the client’s business, including both component … Continued…
How do you set yourself apart in a crowded field? As B Plus C Communications, I wrestled with that question until I realized that my cat’s successful bids for attention achieved the same results as a successful marketing campaign. Solution to the capabilities brochure problem: Showcase the cat and tell his authentic story. Use his … Continued…
On Your Level Youth Project uses broadcast media, online resources, and face-to-face interactions to encourage teens to explore and accept diversity, communicate honestly and openly, and seek out productive life paths as they forge their way into adulthood. The project is the brainchild of teacher, media personality, and spoken word artist Blair Karsch, a multi-decade … Continued…
For Orthopaedics Indianapolis and its Eastern-Indiana practice, I wrote a pair of ads that used allover background images to showcase its clinicians’ expertise with routine injuries and those resulting from athletic competition. The athletic-themed ad targeted families. The more-general ad equated orthopaedic excellence with the artistic performance of a symphony orchestra. View or download the … Continued…
Orthopaedics Indianapolis wanted to promote its services directly to employers and parents. I wrote two ads that used original illustrations based on the character of Humpty Dumpty, the fallen egg in need of rescue. One message promoted the need for expert orthopaedic care to resolve workplace injuries. The other, addressing families with athletic youngsters, pointed … Continued…
This 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization serving persons with disabilities needed a headquarters building that could bring all its staff together within the community they serve. To assist with fundraising efforts targeting the costs of designing and building the facility, I researched, wrote, designed, laid out, typeset, and produced a brochure that told the organization’s unique story … Continued…
The Phoenix Theatre, an Actors’ Equity member institution, presents diverse plays, including recent Broadway hits (which it’s often the first Midwest theatre to stage) and new works by Hoosier playwrights. It mounts its productions on two stages in a renovated church that’s been its home since 1988. Faced with ongoing needs for updates to its … Continued…
For the orthopaedic specialists at SCORE, I wrote a series of ads that focused on individual sports, including baseball, basketball, football, and soccer. Each ad used an exaggerated statistic to emphasize the difficulty of competing while injured: a 700-foot distance to hit a home run, a 20-foot high basketball rim, an opposing football team with … Continued…