Setting up a product arrangement for Lakeshore’s Back To School brochure cover. The photo studio’s C-clamps were a great go-to to help defy gravity! See where this landed here.
About Me
I’m a seasoned art director and graphic designer with 25+ years of experience turning good ideas into great visuals. For two decades at Lakeshore Learning, I helped shape everything from their flagship catalogs filled with hundreds of new products to digital campaigns that kept the brand fresh, fun, and consistent across channels.
I believe great design should make you feel something, even if it’s just “wow, that was easy to understand.” I’m a big fan of clean layouts, smart storytelling, and collaborating with good people. I’m passionate about the details, but also about pushing a project to another level, to delight and surprise. Whether I’m leading a project or jumping in to support the team, I bring creativity, calm, and a sense of humor–always!
But that’s the broad brush stroke of what I have to offer as a designer. What are some finer details of who I am and how I got here? I can divide my creative career into 3 parts: my advertising agency beginnings, my move to Lakeshore Learning, and my freelance gigs all along the way.
At AMR Advertising & Marketing I really cut my teeth as a designer, having had the good fortune of being mentored by a great art director there whose humor, craftsmanship, and sharp thinking shaped the way I approach creative problem-solving to this day. But there came a time to move on and I was lucky enough to land at Lakeshore Learning.
Moving to Lakeshore Learning marked a significant new chapter in my career. I brought solid design years with me, but working within such a dynamic creative team pushed my skills and perspective even further. A defining part of the role was collaborating directly with an owner who was deeply passionate about every product—whether early learning materials or innovative high-school furniture—and ensuring each one entered the world with a clear, compelling story.
That experience shaped my biggest takeaway: always make the product the hero. Bold motifs and adventurous color palettes were tempting, but they could easily overshadow the story we needed to tell. I learned to fully embrace the innovation behind each product—and let that narrative shine first.
Throughout my career, I’ve carried a consistent roster of freelance clients. The variety—everything from brand identities to large-scale trade show and vehicle graphics—has kept my skills sharp and adaptable. Freelance work has made me nimble, resourceful, and immersed in a wide spectrum of design needs.
Going forward, I’m extremely excited about where I might land next! Wherever that may be, I will bring a wealth of experience, wisdom and creativity to that new brand and its unique story that needs telling.