Representative Graphic Design/Production Projects


So, how can you use my graphic design and production skills?

I've had 40+ years of experience designing anything and everything - anything in print, websites, videos for commericals, product demos, or instructional tutorials, flyers, brochures, catalogs, signs, mouse pads, billboards, promotional items - anything - the list has been, and continues to be, endless.


The examples here are for printed pieces - brochures, flyers, instruction manuals, and signage type projects. Video and web-based design examples are provided in other sections of this website.

Manuals are examples of the full production package - research, writing, design, and production. In some cases, links are provided to pdfs of the completed manuals themselves.

Full disclosure: the conceptual designs for a bit less than half of these projects were done either by my graphic artist, Roberta DeWaters, or were arrived at as part of a group design effort with design, production, and myself. The remainder were completedly done by me.


Graphic Design/Production Example: Print Advertisement

This is one of many print ads I created for this long-term packaging system manufacturer client. Unfortunately, I no longer have the images of the individual parts of the final composite image - these component parts include photographs I shot of the machines on the production floor in their plant, a box gift-wrapped by me, super-imposed logos on the gift-wrap paper, and a bunch of image-editing tricks.


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Graphic Design/Production Example: Billboard

This is half of a 10'x40' billboard in Englewood, FL that I produced for The Open Studio (TOS) located there. The idea was to provide a simple map showing the relative location of both TOS and the flooring installation company who are cost-sharing the billboard. Since both locations were within walking distance of the billboard itself, using the streets to "frame" and divide the billboard halves seemed to be the simple solution.

This example is here because it is a large-scale print project; the actual content suffers from "design by committee" syndrome, and is something I personally would never approve
for production.

Top: TOS half of billboard
Bottom: Overall billboard


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Graphic Design/Production Example: Direct Mail Postcard

The client needed an inexpensive way to get the word out relative to their new solid-state viscosity sensor - long enough ago that a postcard was the preferred method - the internet wasn't the option for promotion it is today.


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Graphic Design/Production Example: Informational Sign

Mid-coast Maine is home to an amazing estuarine system with a river, salt bay, and lake. It is one of the most unusual systems on the East Coast north of the Carolinas. It is a very popular place when the alewives (herring family fish) do their annual run from the ocean, up the river, into the bay and up the fish ladder to the lake to spawn. The client needed an informational sign to educate the public about the overall ecosystem. The sign is roughly 60"x30", mounted under a Plexigas® cover, on a custom-built aluminum bracket attached to a 4"x4" post.


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Graphic Design/Production Example: Technical Sales Brochure (4 page)

This is an example of translating a product's function and application into a simple conceptual graphic. The product - an optical scanner - responds to electrical signals to move a laser beam in a defined movement pattern. Actual product photos were used along with screen shots to help tie the physical product and software application together.


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Graphic Design/Production Example: Restaurant Entrance Signage

One of the most enjoyable clients and projects - I experienced first-hand the seafood and steak buffet that made Custy's International famous. I didn't draw the original of this particular caricature of the restaurant owner - that was done by a very talented artist, Roberta DeWaters, who worked with me; I did do the final illustration itself from the draft caricature. The final sign was 48"x48" and hung in the lobby, welcoming dining guests to a one-of-a-kind dining experience.


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Graphic Design/Production Example: High-Dollar Equipment/Company Spin-Off Introduction
and Capabilities Brochure

A multi-billion dollar international company was spinning off a division to bring a new semiconductor test technology to their marketplace. They needed a high-level brochure that would have the feel of a corporate annual report, but provide a broad overview of the new division and product offerings. This is an example of a full project - writing, design, graphics, layout, and production. The final piece was printed on a heavy, high-gloss paper stock.


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Graphic Design/Production Example: High-Dollar Equipment Data/Sales Sheet

This is one of the data sheets designed for the client in the above example. The design of the Capabilities Brochure was used as a basis for the "look and feel" of the product data sheets. These simple two-page data sheets provided high-level equipment capabilities and technical specifications.


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Graphic Design/Production Example: Tradeshow Booth Graphic

The intent was to graphically depict the concept of a quick drawing-to-physical prototype process. The client needed an eye-catching graphic for the back wall of their tradeshow booth, large enough, and simple enough, to grab tradeshow attendees' attention quickly, and draw them into the booth to explore the benefits of the client's service.


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Graphic Design/Production Example: Short Form Catalog (8 pages)

This was an 8-page, self-cover brochure that provided an overview of an extensive instrumentation product line. This was a fun, all-encompassing project - product photography, writing, graphics, layout design, production, and press run attendence.


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Graphic Design/Production Example: Equipment Operator's Manual

This was one of a series of Operator and Service Manuals for a product line of portable welding equipment. The design started by defining a document template, so all of the manuals would be similar in appearance. The welders were drop-shipped to my office. My tasks were to take photos, illustrate them, describe all controls, write the operating procedures, and produce the complete manuals.

The client did apologize for the ridiculously short amount of time they gave me to complete ten sets of these Operator and Service manuals...


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Graphic Design/Production Example: Product Characteristics Graphic

This client provided custom cable assemblies for very harsh environments - the ocean floor, outer space, nasty industrial processes - places like that. They needed a graphical way to indicate how well each cable assembly technology would be suited to the primary problems associated with a given environment. This graphic depicts a cable well-suited to all of the environmental stressors. The "bumps" would be smaller and closer to the center of the circles as the appropriateness was reduced for a particular stressor.


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Graphic Design/Production Example: Computer User Manual

This 50-page(±) manual provided an overview and operating instructions for a ruggedized touch-based PC-compatible computer. This is an example of a full project: writing, support graphic design, illustration, photography, layout, and production. This particular manual was set up to be spiral-bound for ease of revision.


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Graphic Design/Production Example: Electronic Component Technical Data Sheet

The client designed image processing chips for laser printers. There's probably one in your laser printer; these chips were used by most of the large laser printer manufacturers, regardless of the brand printed on the front. I worked with the design and applications engineering teams as well as sales and marketing folks to create a document template, gather information on the chip, then write, create support graphics, and produce the final document.


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Graphic Design/Production Example: Operator's Manual for hardware/software combination

This client provided automated water treatment control systems for municipalities. This manual project included interviews with client personnel, writing, creating support graphics, designing the layout, and production.


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Graphic Design/Production Example: Print Advertisement

This is an ad for the seafood and steak buffet restaurant that appeared in a restaurant book published by a local newspaper publisher. Straight design, nothing fancy - just "give 'em the facts!"


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Graphic Design/Production Example: High-Level, High-Dollar Equipment Capabilities Manual

This is another 100-plus page, highly complex project that required ingesting large quantities of information, organizing it, and writing it back out plus creating the support graphics, and designing a clean document layout to put it all in.


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Graphic Design/Production Example: Computer Mouse Pad

This mouse pad was designed for an integrated circuit (IC) manufacturer as a promotional give-away. This was designed and produced in 1998; My sample is still on my desk and in use every day...


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Graphic Design/Production Example: Product Application Photo for Press Release

This image is a bit different in that it shows how the bits and pieces that are contained in the IC are used in a typical application; killing two birds with one stone so to speak. The yellow-highlighted parts of the schematic are those contained in the IC itself. This example is a combination of techincal illustration, 3D modeling, and image editing and compositing.


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Graphic Design/Production Example: Vinyl on Aluminum Sign Graphic

This is one of several signs to help direct area visitors to the viewing platforms and fish ladder during the annual alewife (herring-family fish) fish run in mid-coast Maine. The fish come in from the ocean and make their way up the ladder to the freshwater lake to spawn.


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Graphic Design/Production Example: Natural Beauty Products Fundraising Flyer

This small business needed a professional image to present to the large box retailers. This piece and the one that follows were created to provide the "feel" they wanted to convey, yet provide something suitable for presentation to retail corporate buyers. With the typical company contact information removed, this particular piece was geared toward using the products as fundraising items.


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Graphic Design/Production Example: Natural Beauty Products Sales Flyer

This small business needed a professional image to present to the large box retailers. This piece and the one above were created to provide the "feel" they wanted to convey, yet provide something suitable for presentation to retail corporate buyers.


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Graphic Design/Production Example: Design Magazine Space (Print) Advertisement

This client supplied optical scanners - electronically controlled mirror systems - for a variety of OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturers) applications. Next time you go to the grocery store, look (only briefly!) at the red laser scanner used at the checkout to scan package bar codes - this is one application for their type of product. This optical scanner was a significant breakthrough is size and speed (and a bunch of other tech issues). The approach to this ad reflects these competitive advantages. It speaks directly to the design engineers who would use the product in the systems they were designing.


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Graphic Design/Production Example: Tradeshow Information Placard

A TCO - Thermal Cut-Off - is used to stop the flow of electricity when the environment the component is in gets too hot, thereby preventing further heating, damage, or fire. There is one of these in virtually every coffeemaker in existence that has a UL approval in the US. Each TCO is made to react at different ambient temperatures. Once it "trips" it has to be replaced. It's good to know if you leave the house in a hurry in the morning and forget to turn the coffeemaker off - although I'd still do it, just to be safe. I suspect a lot of perfectly good coffeemakers have been junked because this $0.50 component did its job...

This poster/placard was used at a tradeshow to introduce the producd line to the tradeshow attendees. This poster combines a 3D-model/illustration, writing, and design.


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Graphic Design/Production Example: Banner


A local musical duo needed a new banner to be hung behind them as they performed at various clubs and tiki bars. The design concept came out of their name, "LM Acoustics", and the fact that there are two guitars. I shot the photograph of the guitar multiple times - it can be difficult to get a good shot, even with years of experience. The rest of it came together quickly, followed by just the right tweaking of the effect on the name over the fretboard.




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Multi-page Direct Mail Catalog; 8 pages; self-cover

This direct mail piece was done for my client to be used by one of their largest distributors. It was dual-branded and had to conform to the requirements of both my client and theirs, as well as US Postal Service regulations. Since my client and I had a very long-term relationship at this

point, they gave me some basic requirements and "turned me loose".
This was a very successful promotion campaign for the distributor, seeing a sharp rise in product sales as a result.
The end distributor actually thanked me directly later. Kudos... always nice!

VIEW PDF...

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Full Product Catalog; 632 pages, including cover

This project has the distinction of having the largest number of individual components of any project I have ever been involved with - spec tables, performance graphs, product descriptions, application information, ordering information, and more.

As the technical person on our 4-person design and production team, my job was to

write all the text needed, come up with a master design "comp" that would allow total consistency regardless of the product, format all spec tables, and create/draw all of the performance graphs from engineering data supplied by the client - over 1,800 of them! We had roughly 90 days to complete the entire project.

Did I mention I love this stuff?

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Electronic Product Brochure; 25 pages, including cover

This was one of the first documents I wrote, created graphics for, designed, and produced that never went to print - it was made available to my client's customers on-line only as a pdf download. The files

were set up so it could be printed if they decided to do so later. This doesn't sound like much today, but at the time, this was a leading-edge concept.

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Condominium Sales Packet; 9 pages plus folder design

One of my agency clients was involved in some extra-curricular activities. He asked me to assist him with putting a sales package together for a condo development.

I took this on as a personal favor to him; he was a good client... I worked with him to design and produce the entire package. I don't know the outcome of the project...

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Telephone Headset Quick-Start Guide; 4 pages

This quick-start guide provided new users of a line of telephone headsets with just

enough information to get their new product connected and working quickly.

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Multi-Language Instruction Booklet; 8 pages

This is the non-English version of the instructions for an industrial calibrator product. The English version was separated from this non-English version since the product distribution channels were very different. I wrote, designed, illustrated

and produced the English version. This version was then translated by a third-party translation service into the eight target languages contained in this document. This is one of many similar projects for this, and other, tech clients.

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User Guide; 1 page; oversized, "Z-fold"

This is literally one of a hundred similar user guides that I wrote and designed for a telephone headset manufacturer client

over a 15 year span. The finished 17"x22" document is folded to 4"x5-1/4" to fit in the product packaging.

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New Product Release Bulletin; 12 pages

This is a new product release document styled after the data sheets and catalog layouts for this client. It contains competitive and design engineering

information. The project included all writing, graphic design, layout, and production.

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