A scientist wearing glasses, a hairnet, and blue gloves inspects a transparent plastic tray in a laboratory filled with equipment, charts, and bright lighting.

Daily Grind

Vertical text in a brown font on a dark background that reads from top to bottom: "401k, IRA, Roth IRA, 457, 403b, Mutual Funds, Stocks, Bonds, Savings".

Brand

Central.

Close-up of an eye with orange-brown iris and detailed iris patterns.

Brand

Central.

Rebrands, product launches and side-hustles, oh my!

They can’t all be career-defining, globe-trotting, budget-busting blockbusters. Outside of Caterpillar, I’ve done about a million other projects that have kept me up at night, and excited in the morning.

The other half of my career has been spent in-house and working with other clients. Sometimes for entire campaigns, and sometimes just to provide a fresh set of eyes on a hot project. 

Beyond the design, photography and direction lies countless hours of concepting, pitching, pre-production planning and strategic execution. Giving me a chance to stretch my wings, play with some alternate color pallets and bring back new ideas to my main gig.

A digital photo of a black background with red lines.

INDEPENDENT HEALTH CAMPAIGNS

Age Appropriate

Close-up of a dark brown Starbucks logo on a black background.
A partially colored cartoon image of a cityscape with tall buildings in the background. In the foreground, there is a small child with a red cape flying through the air, smiling. The child is colored while the background buildings are in black and white outline.
Black background with a circular greenish-blue play button in the center.
A cartoon child peeks out from behind a silver laptop, with a red website interface visible on the screen showing options related to Medicare, small groups, and individual plans.

The healthy choice.

I've worked on a number of Independent Health campaigns over the years, but the ones that really stuck with me most were targeted at the old and young respectively.

  • Age-in is a yearly campaign that aims to help seniors bridge the gap as they enter the market for Medicare.

  • From kid-friendly, expert presentations to district-wide, school exercise programs, Fitness For Kids is all about getting kids moving.

A smiling woman in a red shirt with a headset, sitting at a desk with a laptop, promoting Medicare plans for Independent Health.
A close-up view of a chocolate bar with a smooth surface.

THRED LAUNCH

No Loose Ends

Black and yellow text on a black background.
Logo with the text 'thRed', 'thRed', and 'tHred' in different styles and colors.

A direct line to your healthcare.

Launching a new healthcare product into an already growing telehealth market in the midst of a pandemic? Smart.

Bringing me in to concept, direct and execute. Well, I think it went pretty good.

At the height of COVID, Independent Health wanted a fresh take to help them launch a fresh brand. The problem? I was in NC, and they were in NY. And travel wasn't happening anytime soon. But we landed on a killer concept that exceeded the client's expectations. So I got to work with our producer and a killer production team to bring it all to life — mostly over FaceTime.

Even with a lean team, we built the entire brand from the ground up in a matter of months.

A close-up of a black car with red accents.
Three different logo designs for the text 'theRed' with varying fonts and styles.
A solid brown background with no discernible objects or features.
A woman and a young girl doing yoga in a room with fitness equipment. The woman is in a Warrior pose on a pink yoga mat, and the girl is in a similar pose on a purple mat with a kettlebell nearby. There is a large speedometer graphic and a digital display showing dollar amounts on the wall behind them.
A large teal play button icon with a white outline on a black background.

MEDBIO REFRESH

A Clean Start

A website header for AllGoodVapes, featuring a yellow background and black text that reads 'AllGoodVapes'.
A scientist in protective gear holding a small laboratory component with holographic medical icons and digital overlays in the background.
A person holding an open umbrella with a cityscape in the background.
A dark brown rectangular shape with no distinguishable objects or details.

A less sterile environment.

When their parent company, Caplugs asked us to bring Medbio’s marketing communications into the 21st century - little did we know that their service and production models were already few centuries ahead. While well-known in the medical manufacturing industry, communicating the breadth of their capabilities presented a unique challenge. They’re one of the only custom medical manufacturing companies in the world with the expertise, scope and footprint to support a global industry at, essentially any scale.

But their audience often had no clue.

And to top it all off, they had a bit of an image deficit. Being on the cutting edge demands a bit more elegance, after all. But rather than a full rebrand, they asked us help them cash in on their existing brand-recognition without undermining their perception in the market.

THE BRAND TOUR

A collection of branding, graphic design, and marketing materials for MedBio, including logos, color palettes, font samples, and promotional brochures related to medical and biotech manufacturing.
Close-up image of a wooden sign with the engraved text "Welcome to the Pumpkin Patch!"
A blue fish with a yellow tail and fins swimming in the water.

MEDBIO REFRESH

A Clean Start

Close-up of a vintage pocket watch with a leather strap, showing the time 10:09.
A scientist in a lab coat, gloves, face mask, and hair cover holds a small laboratory instrument while using augmented reality technology with hexagonal icons related to medical and scientific topics displayed around her.
Page showing different logos and descriptions for MedBio branding and flow processes.
A close-up image of a person holding a black electric guitar.

A less sterile environment.

When their parent company, Caplugs asked us to bring Medbio’s marketing communications into the 21st century - little did we know that their service and production models were already few centuries ahead. While well-known in the medical manufacturing industry, communicating the breadth of their capabilities presented a unique challenge. They’re one of the only custom medical manufacturing companies in the world with the expertise, scope and footprint to support a global industry at, essentially any scale.

But their audience often had no clue.

And to top it all off, they had a bit of an image deficit. Being on the cutting edge demands a bit more elegance, after all. But rather than a full rebrand, they asked us help them cash in on their existing brand-recognition without undermining their perception in the market.

A black rectangular bar with yellow text that reads "The North Face".
A digital infographic explaining the stages of a manufacturing process, with color palettes, icon styles, and background patterns related to technology and science.
A multi-page medical brochure with the title 'Medbio', featuring an image of a female scientist in protective eyewear working in a lab, and sections discussing medical and biotech manufacturing, custom solutions, and company information with icons and graphics.
a dark brown horizontal banner

THE BRAND TOUR

CAPLUGS CLEANUP

Put A Cap On It

Text on a dark background: "Designed and Developed by ChatGPT".
A collage of various advertisements and catalogs for Caplugs, featuring products related to masking and protection caps, plugs, and automotive accessories. The layout includes product images, promotional messages, and ordering information.

All plugged up.

Caplugs is a curious client. A global leader in their industry, but a bit hesitant to shake things up. And notably literal in their marketing materials.

But they had a consistency problem, and I love a challenge.

With hundreds of thousands of SKUs, a multitude of applications, dozens of of product lines and too many cooks — their brand identity was being muddied up. So they brought me in to lead the cleaning crew — solidifying an unwieldy array of constantly updating marketing materials, and sometimes, just to make the client a bit uncomfortable.

Collage of hose protection products with text 'Get High-Quality Hose Protection' and orders options from Caplugs.
A nighttime cityscape with bright billboards and skyscrapers.
A landscape view of mountains and a cloudy sky.

CAPLUGS CLEANUP

Put A Cap On It

View of a candies display with various colorful candies
Red and white graphic design with overlapping circles and text, including a bold red exclamation mark and the phrase 'Flexibly Consistent'.
A collage of various advertisements for Caplugs, showcasing products like caps, plugs, masking, and hose protection, with images of colorful caps, containers, and an automotive car.
Dark brown solid background

All plugged up.

Caplugs is a curious client. A global leader in their industry, but a bit hesitant to shake things up. And notably literal in their marketing materials.

But they had a consistency problem, and I love a challenge.

With hundreds of thousands of SKUs, a multitude of applications, dozens of of product lines and too many cooks — their brand identity was being muddied up. So they brought me in to lead the cleaning crew — solidifying an unwieldy array of constantly updating marketing materials, and sometimes, just to make the client a bit uncomfortable.

Multiple advertisements for high-quality hose protection from Caplugs, featuring interlocking plastic hose protectors in various colors like red, yellow, blue, and black, with calls to action to order now.
A black and red automotive engine component on display in a glass case.
Close-up of a crack in a dark surface, possibly a floor or wall.
A person holding a smartphone in their hand.
A plane in flight against a cloudy sky.

AUSTIN HOSE REBRAND

The Pressure's On

Close-up of a dark water bottle with a flip-top lid, placed on a dark surface with a blurred, dark background.
AH Logo Evolution.png
Invitation for a customer appreciation lunch and tradeshow hosted by Acefin Hose on October 7th, with details about the event location in Odessa, TX, and mentioning a celebration of 50 years of service.
An advertisement for Austin Hose featuring a red hose and contact information, celebrating 50 years of service since 1966.
Close-up of a celebratory badge or sticker with the number '50' and the text 'Years of Service' in yellow.
A white coffee mug displaying a logo that commemorates 50 years of service with the Austin Hostel, set on a surface surrounded by many identical mugs, with a blurred background and black-and-white filter.
A dark brown wooden surface, possibly a table or a floor.

Crimping my style.

This is where I cut my teeth.

Not my first job, by any means, but the first one where I'm actually proud of the work I did. I got a ton of unique opportunities I wouldn’t have otherwise, and was able to really come to understand the industrial B2B space. And as luck would have it, I started in the company's 49th year — just in time to lead a complete rebrand.

Stack of business cards for Austin Distributing on a wooden surface. One card is partially visible with contact details for Ryan Stout, a multimedia designer, featuring a yellow, white, and gray color scheme and graphics of industrial pipes and tools.
A close-up image of a pink flower with a yellow center.
A baseball cap with a beige crown and dark brim, featuring an embroidered logo of a stylized animal face and the words 'Austin HOOSE' in yellow and black.
Open plastic toolbox with black O-rings organized in compartments, with an informational chart showing different sizes of hydraulic O-rings.
Close-up of a gray AET brand baseball cap with a black and yellow label on the inside, showing the name 'KUSTIN HOSF' and the size 'ONE SIZE 108g'.
Black T-shirt with Memphis-themed design celebrating the King of the Cramp Aughtin H.O.S.E. since 1966, featuring graphics and text in blue, white, yellow, and black.
Three promotional flyers for Austin Hose, a hose and industrial supply company, featuring product listings and discounts for spring 2018.
Black rectangular bar with a smaller brown rectangle on top, possibly part of a design or logo.

AUSTIN HOSE PRODUCTION

Anything Hose

Close-up of a black rectangular sign with gold lettering that reads 'Happy Holidays'.

PLANTING A SEED

A CUT ABOVE

  • Graphic designer

  • Motion designer

  • Product photographer

  • Web designer

  • Web developer

  • Layout designer

  • Packaging designer

  • Experiential designer

  • Signmaker

  • Concept artist

  • Illustrator

  • Accountant (just making sure you’re paying attention)

  • Videographer

  • Drone pilot

  • Producer

  • IT sometimes

  • Voiceover artist

  • Copywriter

  • Editor

  • Director

CLEAN FREAKS

A very dark and blurred image with no discernible details.

Finding my fitting.

This is also where I realized how much I love the process.

I wasn’t just the graphic designer. I was the marketing guy. Not that I had any clue what I was doing, mind you. That’s just how it is at small, family-owned business sometimes. It’s a great way to learn though. And I certainly learned. I had to. Like how to manage a brand. How to identify and target untapped markets. Or how to how to set up a tripod.

I did it all — often to middling results, maybe. But I did it.

  • Graphic designer

  • Motion designer

  • Product photographer

  • Web designer

  • Web developer

  • Layout designer

  • Packaging designer

  • Experiential designer

  • Signmaker

  • Concept artist

  • Illustrator

  • Accountant (just making sure you’re still paying attention)

  • Videographer

  • Drone pilot

  • Producer

  • IT sometimes

  • Voiceover artist

  • Copywriter

  • Editor

  • Director

The image contains a close-up of macaron cookies stacked on top of each other with a black background.
Collection of colorful hydraulic quick-connect fittings with different colored caps on a cracked concrete floor.
Two paper bags labeled 'FLOUR' with a green alligator logo, one of which is torn open and spilling flour onto the floor.
A black and white speckled dog lying on green grass next to several coiled garden hoses of different colors.
Coiled red pneumatic hose with brass fittings on a concrete surface.
A red hard hat on top of a large white ceramic bowl filled with various fresh vegetables.

AUSTIN HOSE OIL & GAS DIVISION

Rig Something Up

The image features the logo of Adams State University, with a black background and text in white and maroon colors.

DELIVERING THE GOODS

Gray T-shirt with logo featuring a stylized oil drop and the text "Oil and Gas" with "Austin HOSE" branding.
A dark brown background.
A truck with advertising for Austin Hose, a company that provides mobile crimping services for hoses, featuring the company logo, phone number, website, and graphics of a hose and a crimping tool.

The pipeline to success.

I mentioned unique opportunities, right?

Well, Austin Hose went all-in — expanding their territory and expertise into the burgeoning Oil & Gas market. And creative budgets kept stretching right alongside our frequent flyer miles. From shooting on active rigs to developing and marketing an exclusive suite of industry-focused services, this was the first true taste I had of leading a massively successful campaign.

Open and closed catalogs for oil and gas equipment, including hose assemblies, hose connections, valves, clamps, and accessories, with technical illustrations.
A dark background with a thin red horizontal line near the top.
Brochure featuring oil and gas industry imagery, including a rig with red support structures and the text "Oil and Gas Austin in Hose, the RIG PACKAGE."
A close-up of a dark brown wooden surface with a horizontal grain pattern.
A magazine booklet open to a page about pressure testing, showing a pressure gauge and a person using a tool on a hose in a rocky outdoor environment.
A black and white running shoe with textured sole and laces.

GELIA COVID MATERIALS

Masked Up With Nowhere To Go

Black horizontal banner with gold text reading 'Golden State Wealth Management'
A dark brown chocolate bar with a smooth surface.
A collage of safety and COVID-19 health guidelines from Gelia, including images of a person in an astronaut helmet, a hallway sign, cats riding bicycles, and a blue background with people in masks cleaning and disinfecting the workplace, with instructions on social distancing, cleanliness, and hygiene practices.
A screenshot of a computer screen displaying a code editor with HTML code.

We’re all mad here.

We were all losing our minds, and it certainly shows in Gelia's "Welcome Back from Quarantine" materials.

From the start, our goal was to make a real mish-mash that satisfied the buttoned-down account services types and the weirdo creatives.

I think we struck the balance.

For the basis, we searched high and low for the most obscure, strange and unusual public domain illustrations we could find, so we could ham-fistedly justify them thematically. Then we knocked 'em into the background, got overly verbose and put a nice corporate bow on it all with some fun animated icons.

A black banner with orange text that reads 'Happy Halloween!'

GELIA COVID MATERIALS

Masked Up

Close-up of a black Pennsylvania license plate with white characters 'XGV 118'.
A collage of four images related to health and safety during COVID-19. The first image shows a woman’s face with a cartoon astronaut helmet filter in front of a mirror. The second image has a vintage illustration of a woman in wide-brimmed hat and text saying, "This hallway ain't wide enough for the both of us." The third image contains a casual person at a desk with text encouraging social distancing and reading, "Hi Gelia if you can read this, you're social distancing pretty well done." The fourth image is a welcome sign from Gelia about maintaining distance during COVID-19, with illustrations of cats and a person on a bicycle.
A blue infographic emphasizing the importance of cleanliness and sanitation. It includes text about germs, hygiene, and cleaning practices, withgraphics of cleaning supplies and a cross symbol.
Play button icon over black background with white text saying 'Click here to start'.
A close-up of a dark chocolate bar with a smooth surface.
Group of firefighters in gear holding fire hoses.

We’re all mad here.

We were all losing our minds, and it certainly shows in Gelia's "Welcome Back from Quarantine" materials.

From the start, our goal was to make a real mish-mash that satisfied the buttoned-down account services types and the weirdo creatives.

I think we struck the balance.

For the basis, we searched high and low for the most obscure, strange and unusual public domain illustrations we could find, so we could ham-fistedly justify them thematically. Then we knocked 'em into the background, got overly verbose and put a nice corporate bow on it all with some fun animated icons.

A person holding a garden rake in a large pile of leaves.
Close-up of a dark brown coffee cup on a matching brown saucer.

Can’t get enough?

Get a load of these jobs.

A car with a sleek white body, black roof, and black rims parked on a city street at night.
A black signed sports jersey with white and red accents, hanging on a wall with a display of other jerseys.