I created this cd cover art for a Christian Rock band based in Texas. The cover concept is- when all else is falling apart and destruction surrounds you- one thing stands amidst the wreckage. This band at first just wanted me to design the cd cover art but once they saw the cover design they decided to have me create the rest of the cd packaging including the inside panels, traycard, and disc art.

I created this logo for a new pub and grill restaurant located in downtown Aurora, IL. This client wanted a logo graphic design that conveyed class, a welcoming atmosphere, and something that just felt “home town”. I started by sketching a few ideas and presenting him with some options- once he saw the logo design concept sketches he instantly gravitated to the logo design seen above- it was a hole in one. The building sketch in the logo design is the historic Leland Tower in Aurora, IL. Midtown pub is located on the first floor of this building. He now has the logo on all his employee t-shirts, window decals, menus, and other promotional material. I also created the logo design below that wasn’t used but I thought it was pretty nice.
The food is great, I recommend the Hawaiian pineapple burger- actually I think I’ll go there for lunch today. You can view their facebook page here

These are a series of label packaging designs I created for a Chocolate by Mail product. The product is a high end chocolate. The client wanted to maintain a simple vintage style to the label design.

This is the cd packaging design I created for a Christian rock band based in Kansas City. They wanted a cd design that conveyed it was a live recorded concert. I designed the d7 logo on the cover and added several textures to give it a rich depth and I made the colors dark but rich. D7 didn’t want a band photo on the cover so I created a lively crowd in an abstract environment as if they where attending a concert in another dimension.
D7 also wanted to incorporate their song lyrics, thank you’s, and production notes- so they went with a 6 panel design to fit all the text. I carried the cover design theme throughout the packaging to give it a cohesive look. The band is now very happily promoting their new cd release on tour.

The Aurora, Illinois paddlesports committee approached me with the goal of revamping their 2010 promotional graphics. They host an annual paddle sports weekend in Illinois, and this year they were holding it in my home town Aurora, IL. They wanted a graphic that could work in various facets including poster art, logo, t-shirt graphic, favicon, and more. They needed this design finished fast and within a budget, so I dedicated a weekend to completing the art in time for them to send to the local newspapers and I constructed the best fitting project parameters to fit their budget. Another difficulty was that they wanted the design to be simplistic but they also wanted it to embody multiple concepts: fun, educational, and both canoes and kayaks had to be incorporated. That’s a lot of concept to fit into a simplistic graphic. I started by sketching out a few ideas and presenting them various ideas- once they narrowed it down to their favorite designs- I polished them up by adding color and sharpening the lines. Once I created a final draft the client fell in love with the design- then it was just a matter of refining it and making a few minor revisions. The paddlesports graphics received rave reviews and the event was a great success. Below is an additional design concept I created that wasn’t used but I thought came out pretty nice.

“Nobody’s guaranteed tomorrow” is the caption that goes along with this poster art. I drew this piece using an 18×24 Strathmore drawing sheet and a few graphite pencils. Walter Payton is my favorite football player of all time, not only because he played for Chicago, but because he played with so much heart- you have to admire that. Unfortunately his life ended prematurely, but his legacy will live on forever. When I was a teenager I met him while working as a busboy at the Walter Payton Roundhouse restaurant in Aurora, IL- he didn’t approach me with the traditional “how you doing?” and a handshake, no- he started rough housing and boxing with me. As it was happening I was thinking, I’m boxing with a football legend- I better take a dive!

The illustration depicts Walter Payton looking down upon the Walter Payton’s Roundhouse Complex - back when it used to be a train station.

I illustrated this poster art to commemorate the greatest rap group of all time coming to the Chicago House of Blues, the one and only ROOTS! I created a concept that illustrates the bands “realness” by inserting the mic chord into the wrist veins. The four corner designs represent the 4 elements of hip hop: turntable dj’s, break-dancing, graffiti, and rhyming.

I designed the graphics for this Spanish Rock cd cover art a few weeks ago. This heavy metal band from Spain hired me to create the art for their newest album release titled “Teoria De Cuerdas” which in english means “String Theory”.
They had a specific idea for the art direction of their cd art, they just didn’t now how to visualize it- so they gave me a collection of band photos and adjectives that described what they wanted in the art and then I went to the drawing board.I came up with the concept of blending their individual band photos with intricate fractal designs- and it worked out great because it incorporated the “string theory” concept- visible in all the fractal threads and strings. The cd package included a 12 page booklet, I created individual fractal/photo designs for each band member and added their name and instrument. The art panels were placed adjacent to song lyric panels.They’re currently on tour in Spain promoting this album and they’ve been receiving a lot of praise and positive response to the cd design as well as their music.

These are a collection of custom illustrations I created for a theater production company called R.E.di Foundation, directed by Kimberly Farah and Diana Martinez. The illustrations depict American youths and the risks they face in today’s world. The art was used to compliment the stage play and used as backdrops during the performance. The illustrations process was started by hand drawing the concepts in pencil, I then transferred the sketches into my computer with a scanner and touched up the line work. Before adding any color, texture or details, I sent preliminary proofs to the client for them to review and approve- there were a few minor revisions- but for the most part the art was just as they wanted it. I then brought the sketches into adobe Photoshop started to add color, I used a muted pallet on all the illustrations to maintain consistency throughout, I then overlaid some textures of old weathered paper and coffee stains to give it a rich depth. I also added a grunge black border around the illustrations to isolate the image and to ground the action/characters within the frame. The stage play was a huge success and is now being performed throughout the Midwest at middle schools and highschools.

The name of this band is Lunno which means beauty. This band from Indonesia wanted a cd cover with a photo of the band combined with a steam punk styled design. I gave it a vintage look by overlaying aged textures and a yellow tint, however I kept the yellow tint bright and saturated in order to maintain a level of modernity. I superimposed several gears in the background and on the borders I overlaid blueprint drawings of a locomotive steam engine. The collection of design elements came together well to create this organized mess and most importantly the band was happy with the final design.