My wife Katie and I raise dairy goats. As our herd grew, so did our need for a website (and a logo). Katie wrote and gathered much of the content, I helped shoot and edit photographs. I then built the website using Squarespace, adding in some custom CSS for web fonts (particularly Matthew Butterick’s Concourse). I designed the logo with a milkweed blossom, a common plant in our neck of the woods and our herd’s namesake.
During my time with the Hastings Star Gazette it became apparent that the current layout system lacked many professional standards. While gradually improving minor elements I realized a complete redesign was necessary.
I rebuilt the type palette with larger, more versatile families, and created a grid to establish a cleaner typographic style. The flag was redesigned to be stronger and more straightforward. Hastings’ iconic city hall dome was made prominent to strengthen community ties. Color was kept to a minimum to maintain the paper’s fairly conservative look, and avoid the problems caused by bad registration.
I also created infographics. For Hastings' new bridge I researched and created maps to show how traffic would be affected, and how the finished structure would look. For a feature on an old downtown building that had undergone many renovations and additions, I mapped out the parts of the building shown in photos.
New flag
Old design on left, new design on right
Old design on left, new design on right
Old design on left, new design on right
Old design on left, new design on right
Full-spread info graphic
Feature page
My wife Katie and I raise dairy goats. In 2011, Katie and I volunteered to deliver a goat from Minnesota to Iowa for a woman named Jen. As we chatted with Jen, we found out she was planning to start a National Goat Expo. Similar events existed for horses and cows, but not for goats. So Jen organized it. This massive undertaking required a lot of diverse expertise, and when she heard I was a designer, she asked for my help. The National Goat Expo features shows and seminars for all goat breeds.
In addition to news layout, I also designed advertising materials and special publications. With flyers and other ads I worked within the brand guidelines with direction from the ad rep and client. With special publications I collaborated with writers and photographers.
Two-sided flyer
My personal Etsy shop is Weizen. I can sell my posters there, and develop and maintain a brand identity. My 50 States and Literal Posters began as projects for Weizen.
This local grocery store specializes in locally-produced and organic foods. I redesigned their Local List, a collection of fact sheets about local food suppliers, to have a consistent layout featuring a map location and other key points to engage customers.
For a small formal dinner event, which showcased Ferndale’s products and honored chef Ron Huff’s cooking, I created an intimate, elegant menu.
This is a series of self-aware and smart-alecky posters, designed to be plain and blunt. I sell them through Weizen.
This is the project that I launched Weizen with. I wanted to design something simple and inexpensive for people to hang on their wall. It even helps fight homesickness. Most sales are to people living away from home.
This category is for a variety of small projects.
Created branding materials for hobby shop specializing in board and tabletop games.
After experiencing the 2011 Japanese earthquake, Laura Kressin held a ShelterBox fundraiser.
Photography and design was created for a local metal band.
Celtic motifs are used to honor the couple's heritage.