I have nearly 30 years of experience in the design field. I possess strong skills in design, branding, illustration, conceptualizing and art/creative direction. The linking factor throughout my career has been that I specialize in managing complex projects and subjects by breaking them down into manageable components. This compartmentalized approach, along with a clear understanding of big picture goals, allows me to create highly effective solutions that are proven to both stimulate consumer awareness and increase retention. Below are samples of my work with Typography, Design, Illustration, and my internationally syndicated feature that you didn't know existed.

TYPOGRAPHY

I treat typography as a hybrid of design and illustration. Each letterform has its own voice, personality and space. Hmm. Maybe that’s why they call them characters?

DESIGN

My approach to visual design is to make sure that the proper tools of design (content, color, voice, etc…) are being used to communicate effectively with the target audience.

ILLUSTRATION

My philosophy for illustration is to “go big, or go home.” Since I love my home and family, it is always a win/win. I also adhere to “keep it simple, Stuart.” (I spend so much time writing for children that “stupid” has been largely purged from my vocabulary.)

SHORTCUTS

Shortcuts is a weekly newspaper feature that I have been creating for the past 14ish years. It currently is available to about 35 million weekly readers throughout the world.

Before Shortcuts, all children’s features used a compartmentalized approach using a dozen or so individual components. Newspapers could vary the size of the feature by eliminating or adding components. Shortcuts was the first children’s feature to be delivered in individualized layouts that were designed specifically for the various newspaper size formats.

Shortcuts’ innovative and visually focused design approach was very well received. When the Baltimore Sun was looking for an update to their “Just for Kids” section, they conducted a focus group consisting of parents, kids and educators who were shown a variety of popular kid's features.

“Shortcuts was found to be the most popular item for both content and format among all three groups. In fact, Shortcuts had the highest score (by parents) of any element in the section - 161 our of a possible 180.”

Tim Singleton
Assistant Marketing Manager/Research
The Baltimore Sun