Jeff has always been drawn to creativity and exploration. At an early age, he gravitated towards all things creative. Early interests included technical illustration, architecture, painting, typography and the culinary arts. His early education included additional interests such as child psychology, business management and radio broadcast production.
Jeff studied modular/structural design and architectural rendering under an early associate of Buckminster Fuller at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Later education at Columbia College included a wide range of studies that eventually focused on graphic design and advertising- graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree.
The late 80's brought on the advent of desktop computer technology and digital art. Jeff immediately knew this was the direction he sought. Jeff's determination brought him to master this early technology, quickly becoming one of the top digital artists in the Chicago area. He soon was teaching beginning-to-advanced graphics applications and design to many of the top Chicago ad agency art directors and designers.
Jeff moved on to work at several of the top advertising and promotional marketing agencies, developing creative content for a variety of accounts. He's passionately delivered well-crafted creative work as Senior Digital Artist, Art Director and Creative Director in the 25+ years of his career.
He's been honored to work on many iconic brands, including SC Johnson, Kraft, Coors, John Deere, Quaker Oats, Hoover, ADM, Applebee's, Illinois Lottery and others.
His interests beyond his career include cooking and fine cuisine, alpine mountaineering, long distance wilderness exploration, international travel, scuba diving, skydiving and cycling.
Recent adventures include deep dives in the Red Sea off Eilat Israel, Shipwreck diving off Cozumel, underground cavern diving and jungle exploration in the Yucatan Peninsula and diving with migrating Whale Sharks off the Baja Coast of California.
Jeff's Mountaineering experience includes years of high altitude mountain exploration and wilderness training throughout North and South America and guiding/mentoring with Big City Mountaineers (Denver, Colorado). Jeff has a long history with the Colorado and Pacific Crest Outward Bound Schools where he learned technics in alpine mountaineering and river navigation/orienteering skills.
Art Direction, Graphic Design, Digital Illustration and Production.
My extensive experience in general advertising, promotional/direct marketing and digital art & design brings a wide range of creative capabilities. I offer strong conceptual art direction with an emphasis on compelling design, efficient production workflow and a deadline-driven work ethic.
“Jeff has taken great care in maintaining the equity of the tradeMONSTER brand, developing compelling marketing and advertising that makes our monster roar! Thanks, Jeff for making us all look great over the years!”
“Jeff is a lively and thorough creative professional. Going beyond the aesthetics — the inspiration — of this craft, he addresses the business needs and reliably delivers top tier creative product.”
“I’ve worked with Jeff many times and have a great amount of respect for his design aesthetic and creative intuition. He’s been great fun to work with and has an excellent work ethic. I’d recommend him any time and hope to work with him again.”
“I worked with Jeff for years in the Creative Department at Foote, Cone & Belding. He’s a great visual communicator and talented Art Director and Designer. I’ve always loved his playful but focused demeanor.”
“What can you say about Jeff. I’ve never seen a Designer more committed to the client and those incredible deadlines. It was a pleasure to seek out his talents on several occasions. We were so happy to have worked with Jeff.”
“Jeff was my Instructor when the industry went digital. His creative capabilities progressed beyond his vast technical knowledge, surpassing many. Jeff is certainly a creative powerhouse. Thanks for all your help and creative spirit!”
“I met Jeff during a review of creative talent for a packaging and branding project in 2008. His branding vision and creativity was perfect. We’ve worked together on subsequent projects. I appreciate and highly recommend this man.”
“Jeff was part of my group doing creative work on SCJ and Coors. His creative determination was key on several accounts. He’s always been so great to work with. Jeff was my “go-to-man” for all things digital.”
“Jeff and I worked together for over two years. Not only does he posses the most focused work ethic i’ve ever encountered, he’s one hell of a designer. His creative work is polished and thoughtful. Always on-message and on time.”
“Salem has depended on Jeff for several years for his fast turnaround on creative work, all delivered with a great attitude. Thanks Jeff, for all you’ve done to make Salem, Inc. look great!”
