about

mostly graphic design

but also brand development, art direction, storytelling, web design, process analysis, marketing strategy, leadership, and creative collaboration

about me

I believe graphic design is about communicating in an efficient and aesthetically-pleasing manner, so I always want the audience to immediately grasp the information being conveyed. Brand consistency and strategic purpose are hallmarks of my work, and I try to reflect the unique character of the subject in the visual elements I pull together to create each piece.

I grew up in a small town between Kalamazoo and Lake Michigan, where I played clarinet in the marching band, excelled at Quiz Bowl, and considered a herd of cows as my closest neighbors. After a unique college experience (see below), I lived in southern New England for awhile, then relocated to the metro Detroit area with my husband in 2021 to be closer to family.

My personal interests include travel (and helping friends and colleagues plan their trips), books (nonfiction or Agatha Christie), tennis, music (from classical to ABBA), the Olympics, IKEA, and good food and wine. As for design, I'm drawn toward old maps and atlases, license plates, mid-century logos, Olympic branding, vintage travel advertisements, and the iconography of transportation wayfinding.

Photo of John on a sunny day with a lake and mountains in the background.

SKILLS + ATTRIBUTES

Proficient in Adobe Creative Cloud (InDesign, Illustrator, Acrobat Pro, Photoshop), MS Office (PowerPoint, Word, Excel) and Google applications.
Website design and maintenance using various platforms, including AEM, WordPress, Weebly, and ChamberMaster, as well as HTML and CSS coding
Event planning, social media, and email marketing experience
Exceptional attention to detail and efficiency
Unique ability to analyze complex issues, solve problems creatively, and learn new applications quickly
Honest, pragmatic, creative, collaborative, and a firm believer that "anything worth doing is worth doing well"

EDUCATION

University of Michigan | Ann Arbor, MI | Bachelor in General Studies, 2009

Interdisciplinary coursework in global studies and design
Graduated with University Honors
Member of the LGBT Commission of the Michigan Student Assembly
Prior to U-M, I studied architecture at Roger Williams University and journalism at the University of Rhode Island (where I was active in various musical ensembles)