Idea Execution

This client need a business card-sized ad for a local chamber of commerce directory. Having an idea about what he wanted to say, he gave me a rough layout out. I had previously updated his brochure so I was familiar with his “brand.”

Reusing a photo from his brochure and matching colors and fonts, I created a small but effective ad that clearly stood out from many of the other small business ads in the chamber publication.

Group Effort

I’m privileged to know a couple of innovators who have created a new machine for the landscaping industry. They needed a basic info sheet to begin selling their machine. And while they already had a logo, the colors and fonts that will help define their brand going forward hadn’t been spec’d out.

Starting with some bullet points drawn up by their sales exec, we worked through seven drafts to get the message right. I made several copy suggestions and came up with the header “Turn your truck into a mulch-moving, etc.” line--the reason any landscaping company would be interested.  A high-quality CAD drawing provided by their engineer helped tell the story. This piece will no doubt continued to be tweaked but we all felt this was a good place to start.

In the News

During Annapolis Mayor Pantelides re-election campaign, I worked with a political consultant to create a series of oversized postcards mailed to voters. Sometimes working on a 24-hour turnaround, I would receive the message(s) to be presented, often flushing out the copy.

One of the postcards I created focused on his opponent’s plan for a Ferris wheel at Annapolis City Dock. The postcard featured Annapolis City Dock with a Ferris wheel I had Photoshopped in. The candidates’ very different views of development for the city made the local newspaper and mentioned my postcard.

While Pantelides lost his re-election bid, it's pretty cool when your work makes the news--even the local news.

Yes, This is the Same Information

A bit of “sell” copy was added but this product spec sheet contains essentially the same information as the original version created in MicroSoft Word.

As with most of my clients, they knew an update was needed but don’t have the in-house expertise to get the job done and had been put on the back burnner.

That’s where I come in. A multi-million dollar company should have materials that reflect who they really are.

Short & Sweet

Both these clients had upcoming events and wanted a "walk-away" piece. While there are certainly times you need a trifold brochure, I've become a big fan of rack cards--one sided or two. With the overwhelming number of messages we're exposed to every day, you need to get yours across quickly. Plus there's something about the heavier card stock that says "don't throw this away--it's important."  With images provided by the clients, I pulled copy from previous projects and website to create something short and sweet. Cost effective as well.