Custom type treatment.
I had the honor and privilege of working with Bruce Mau for a number of years, and he completely changed my understanding of the impact of design on the world. You can learn more about him and his work at: brucemaustudio.com
Personal work.
Custom type treatment.
Pieces for a few different group shows celebrating the You Are Beautiful campaign. More about YAB at: you-are-beautiful.com
Thinking about putting some extra effort into everything.
My very own eyeballs featured in the Washington Post! Thanks to Tristan Eaton for helping me out with the 3D effect!
Custom type treatment.
Photography, custom type, and design for my best bud goLab’s 2021 EP. Out now on our Pretend Record Label!
Reproductions of my eyes, commissioned and crafted in Toledo, Ohio by Miller Artificial Eye Laboratory.
Custom type treatment.
Photography, custom type, and design for my best bud goLab’s 2021 LP. Out now on our Pretend Record Label!
I designed the brand, packaging, and promo materials for Toledo Spirits’ hand sanitizer, created after they completely shifted their business model during the pandemic.
The art was inspired by a 100-year-old Toledo festival poster and the tag line is “Sanitize your hands for others as you would have them sanitize their hands for you.”
It was named the Spirit of Toledo in celebration of how giving the people of Toledo are and because of Samuel Milton "Golden Rule" Jones who was a Progressive Era Mayor of Toledo from 1897-1904.
A series created for the show “Consuming Culture”, at the 20 North Gallery in Toledo, Ohio, 2024 - made in response to the photography of, and in collaboration with James Dickerson - aka https://dirtykics.com
From my artist statement:
Grocery shopping is one of my single greatest pleasures. Ask my wife - if I’m not careful I can lose all track of time while walking up and down the aisles. The highlight of most of my trips out of the country comes from visiting the local supermarkets, and some of my most vivid memories of childhood are from my time spent at Kroger’s in Bowling Green Ohio with my mother.
As an artist, being surrounded by all the colors, textures, and brands is stimulus overload - And as a people watcher, you can’t find a more universal human experience than coexisting with the produce.
As I thought about what I wanted to make for this show, and I started to think about source material to work from, I gravitated towards the work of my friend James. His ability to capture the essence of the moment inspired me to go a little deeper, pulling elements out of his photos to illustrate, as though I was in the grocery store with him and his subjects.
Limited edition MTN DEW bottle design for 2009 series #3 of the Green Label project. Amazingly, these were available across the country. It was quite surreal to find this at my local gas station.
More about the series can be found here: https://mountaindew.fandom.com/wiki/Green_Label_Art
Custom type treatment.
An illustration I made of multi-disciplinary artist Jen Stark. This piece was produced in homage of Jen as an NFT on objkt.com and gifted to the subject. Reference photo was taken by Pat Martin.
Custom type treatment.
Light commentary on how social media has affected the output of creatives.
While it’s an understandably polarizing subject, as an internet-focused, digital-first artist, the NFT space feels oddly normal to me, even if it’s also super problematic.
This series of hands and eyes was created as my first NFT edition in 2021. You can check out my account on Foundation, but to be clear, I am not interested in creating any more NFTs.
In one of my previous lives, I was paid to draw myself. From illustrations of my hands holding products in magazines to self-portraits sold to collectors, I had a chance to bring personal elements into my professional life. These days, design and creativity look quite different to me, but I am still pouring myself into my work.
A custom type treatment, sharing my personal mantra.
Shoe for Converse & Product (Red). Part of the 1Hund(red) project. Released late 2008 to retailers across the country. Converse let me pick all of the colors and materials. It was a terrific project to be a part of.
Reinterpretation of Secret Incarnation by James Rosenquist / 1984, which is a part of the permanent collection of the Toledo Museum of Art.
A portrait of my friend, and comedian, Mike O'Brien. You can find him on his Instagram here: instagram.com/mikeobrien12345
I imagined what I might look like if I were an NFT - which as a concept (NFTs) was something I struggled with quite a bit in 2022.
A custom type treatment, encouraging you to try a little harder.
An ongoing theme in my work is exploring how I interact with abstract objects in a digital space. As you’ll see as you flip through my portfolio, hands are a constant focus as I try to humanize my approach to design & creative.
I directed this music video for my good pal goLab’s song titled “In Public” off of his 2021 released “Why Try.” It was created using footage I shot in 1999.
Founded in 2020, Meander Club is a design exploration, focusing on motivational phrases, and exclusively using free fonts, graphics & color palettes from Creative Market & Adobe. You can follow along here: http://Meander.Club
Custom type treatment.
Sometimes you need to step away from what is right in front of you to see it.
I’ve found a long walk really helps rearrange all of these seemingly disconnected pieces floating around in my head into something I can understand.
What do YOU do, to help make sense of it all?
Custom type treatment.
I have several designs available on a variety of products including t-shirts, home goods, and masks! Check out the link for more info: upso.threadless.com
Custom type treatment.
2021 created real some REAL analysis paralysis for me. When it came to balancing the different personal and professional projects I took on, NFTs started dominating the digital art landscape and affecting the way I thought about making everything. Related: this self-portrait was created AS an NFT, which is available here.
My piece for the 2022 "Access For All" T-shirt art show/fundraiser with over 80 contributing artists, and with 100% of proceeds going to organizations providing abortion care to people in restricted access states.
A piece I created to mourn the passing of the brilliant designer, Virgil Abloh. Not only was his work next level, but he lifted up the creatives and designers around him and approached work with the understanding everything around us is designed. More designers should aspire to his genre & platform-agnostic approach.
A poster for a 2023 Chicago-themed group show curated by the Chicago Graphic Design Club, and hosted at MNML.
2020 was strange, but I think I made the most of it.
A commissioned phone wallpaper for Skittles. You'd be amazed at how much work never sees the light of day!
Custom type treatment.
A piece I created for a Chicago Design Museum / Lost Arts curated show for 2016's Hong Kong Design Week.
Personal work exploring the concept of how hard it can be to hear yourself through all of the noise.
A commissioned illustration by the Toledo Blade, based on a black and white photo taken in 1972 by Lee Merkle at the Toledo Zoo.
Personal work sharing my love for Skullphone, an artist I’ve worked with in the past, and whose work I just absolutely love. More here: https://skullphone.com
Portrait of Mr. Arcurso, for a portrait swap show in Portland at Benjamin Benjamin Gallery
Cover art for the Portland Mercury, created in 2009. It was also used the same year for their sister paper, Seattle’s The Stranger.
I often hike in the Toledo Metroparks, and think of it as a truly safe space for everyone. In 2020 as I was strolling through the woods, I walked passed a known racist, and was overwhelmed with an awareness that while I was able to just walk on by or ignore his presence, there were many people in my community who would have felt completely unsafe. This piece of art, made in collaboration with Yusuf Lateef, depicts my sad realization that even if you go to great lengths to ignore it, racism in America is unescapable.
Toys released through Kid Robot and Circus Punks plus some customs for various shows. My glow-in-the-dark series #2 variant "dunny" is one of the rarest production Dunny's out there!
Custom type treatment.
A portrait of Bill Oakley, ‘famous’ food reviewing YouTuber, as well as a writer for the Simpsons.
Custom laser etched and hand finished deck for the We Are Contributors show.
Many moons ago, I was commissioned to make a graphic "Hat" for MTV.com. The art in the background randomly cycled between a bunch of different great artists. My art was also used on MTV's Facebook page.
A poster created for the Toledo AIGA’s 2018 “The Design of Protest” show. Hopefully it’s clear what I am referring to in the messaging.
Bed design for the short-lived Hachi Supply dog accessory line, which featured art from me, Tristan Eaton, Dalek, SEEN, and Tado.
This “Bacon vs Eggs” themed poster was created as part of a series for the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo and the Toledo AIGA, celebrating the 2019 game between the Toledo Mud Hens and the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.
Sadly the game was rained out and I got the date wrong on the poster, so while it was printed and sold, it clearly wasn’t meant to be. Regardless, it was awesome collaborating with two great Minor League teams!
Custom type treatment.
Portrait for Institutional Investor Magazine.
Art representing the beginning and end of a bar fight...
A video I directed for a song I wrote the words to, and my best friend Joel Roberts (aka goLab) scored & performed. The footage of Joel was shot July 12, 2006, around Toledo, Ohio.
Custom type treatment & illustration.
A commercial I created in 2009 for the now-defunct Fuel TV action sports network. Music by my best bud goLab. Production by Justin Harder.
This illustration shows what I'd do if I had more free time.
Piece for a group show at the Double Punch gallery in SF.
Dedicated to one of my favorite illustrators, Milton Glaser.
I've done a boat load of illustrations for XLR8R over the years, and this spread about Remix DJs is one of my favorite contributions.
A music video I directed for my long-time best bud and collaborator goLab. I used a Chinese spycam for most of the footage.
Custom type treatment.
Commissioned by Scion for a traveling art show that went from New York City, to Culver City.
Featuring the work of myself, Dalek, Sage Vaughn, Maya Hayuk, Matzu & Kelsey Brookes! All of the art for the show was "box head" themed and quite ridiculous…. and yes, those last two photos are of DEVO’s own Mark Mothersbaugh who came to the LA opening.
Portraits and cover art for the now defunct super left wing radio network's Air America's book, "The Playbook".
A series of images created for a one-man show in 2011 at the now-defunct Bozarts gallery in Toledo, Ohio.
This depicts the before and after effect of coffee. Made for Men's Health Magazine. The model is my buddy Joel who is a super rad musician. Check him out here: golab.bandcamp.com
I tried to make a pair of jeans as interesting as I could.
A music video I glitched out for my long time best buddy and pal GOLAB.
Cover art for the now defunct LA hip-hop group U-N-I.
Design for Aloha's 2010 tour promoting their record - Home Acres. I never got a sample, and I don't think I got paid but that's ok because Aloha is a rad band. Check them out here: https://www.polyvinylrecords.com/artist/aloha
Limited edition G-Shock watch for the MTN DEW Green Label Gear's 2009 line.
Limited edition Laser Etched wall clock made in collaboration with thefoxisblack.com. There is also a super ridiculous yellow version. It's always mustache o'clock in my house.
Profits from the sale of this tee and tote went to charity. Take a look at partofit.org for more information on the project.
A production skateboard for MyPlasticHeart.
I worked with my friend Josh Hassin on a line of Artist designed homegoods. Unfortunately the project never saw the light of day. But i'm lucky enough to have these tray samples as a momento! :)
Illustration of Mr. Oliver Platt for Flaunt Magazine, circa 2005(ish).
An illustration of LA-based rapper THURZ as Rodney King and a custom logo for THURZ's #92Crew.
Tee shirt for Threadless.
I wish I had an interesting story to tell you about this, but I don't.
A Brazil-inspired private commission.
Personal work.
Created for a Katamari Damacy tribute show. Katamari, by the way, is my absolute favorite video game of all time.
New interpretation of an old idea.
