Raised in the rural Midwestern town of Hamburg, Illinois, I was surrounded by orchards and fields, the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers, and the tradition of a strong work ethic.
MIDWEST TO MOUNTAINS
After growing up with either a fishing pole or paintbrush in hand, I studied fine art at Illinois State University. At the end of the second year, I transferred to the University of Utah and moved to the Intermountain West. I completed my Bachelor of Fine Arts with a double-emphasis in Graphic Design and Illustration, while studying a range of mediums—from photography to figure painting—all working together to form my own distinctive style.
In the final months of college, I developed my skills further while interning at Design of Today. This experience led to an in-house freelance opportunity with Blaine Olsen White Gurr Advertising (now Rare Method) immediately following graduation. When January rolled around, I was hired with Love Communications, one of the top full-service, integrated advertising agencies in Salt Lake City.
LOVE, AND BACK AGAIN
For the next seven years, I was fortunate to gain valuable Art Direction experience with the good, diverse group at Love. The environment was fast-paced and I was able to gain knowledge in many areas of advertising and design, including: concepting and collaborating TV; print and digital campaigns; designing for both print and digital mediums; branding new and existing companies and organizations; directing and creating professional photography and illustration; and comfort in communicating and presenting directly to the client.
With some experience under my belt, I was offered an opportunity in late 2012 to return to the St. Louis area as a Senior Art Director at We Are Alexander (Formerly GROUP360 Worldwide). Originally, I started on the non-retainer team working on a variety of projects from package design with Snyder’s-Lance to experiential ideation and execution for Bass Pro Shops. After a couple years, I moved to the AB-Inbev Value team and owned all creative for the Busch family of beers. The brand work included the everyday iconic campaign and additional programs for NASCAR, Fishing, Hunting and Rewards. I gained valuable experience developing strategic and conceptual creative for a variety of mediums, including: retail, outdoor, print, digital and experiential campaigns. I led brainstorms and projects; directed team members, web developers, photographers and video editors; helped plan, organize and present proposals; taken ownership of brands and assignments; and worked directly with the client, partnering agencies and members from all areas within our internal team.
ARCH TO ARCH
After nearly five years in the Gateway to the West, my family returned to Utah where I’m currently the Creative Director for the in-house creative team at IFA.
My wonderful wife (a nurse and fellow a Utah grad), our two children and I live in the Salt Lake City area. We love the outdoors, sports, good friends, legos, grilling, laughing and our visits around Utah and back to St. Louis.
EXPERIENCE
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