1987

I went to New York meeting and worked with, at the time, some of the world’s most intriguing designers at Vignelli Associates. My collaboration with the legendary Massimo and Lella Vignelli associates Michael Bierut, David Law, Yoshimi Kono, and Rebecca Rose was a grand introduction to the interdisciplinary design philosophy model, where graphics, interiors, and product design solutions were executed under one roof.

From clients such as Aetna Life & Casualty, The Macklowe Organization, to the Great North Eastern Railway in the UK, I received “rapid-fire” experience working on some fairly high-profile design problems. Of particular interest to me was the collaboration between Vignelli Associates and well-respected architectural firms such as Kohn Pedersen Fox, Richard Meier and Skidmore Owings, and Merrill on architectural graphics solutions. Most other projects were uniquely varied from within the financial, travel, real estate, and civic categories and often provided a glimpse into the impact of classical modernist design on a worldwide stage.

I also accompanied and assisted Massimo and Lella on countless professional events, such as galas for The Architectural League of New York, The Drawing Center, and lectures at the Museum of Modern Art. In addition, I helped to organize and operationally produce a traveling Vignelli exhibit which involved frequent travel around the world.

My tenure at Vignelli Associates has meant a lot to me over my career. It has rewarded me with lifelong professional friendships as well as instilled within me the classical design sense that I still embody to this day.

1990

My first foray into advertising and marketing was at the Leo Burnett Company in Chicago. There I was installed as an Art Director on the United Airlines account working on design and marketing projects. I acted as a liaison between in-house creative groups at United Airlines and the agency. I managed identity and branding design programs that impacted advertising executions at Leo Burnett while taking on assignments as an art director.

While on the United Airlines account, I crafted an International Baggage Tag campaign that won a CLIO award for press advertising within the travel and hospitality category. I directed the design and look of both the baggage tag for operations within United Airlines as well as the press ads utilizing imagery dispatched from photographers around the world.

1993

I joined Hal Riney & Partners helping them to set up their marketing agency outpost in Chicago. As a Design Director and Art Director, I was instrumental in creating a design department within the agency and began to manage a team of three creatives.

We worked on marketing and advertising solutions within specific industries from heavy equipment manufacturer John Deere to the health clubs of Bally Total Fitness, to bond investment company Nuveen. I was also a key creative advisor in implementing the first internet digital strategies with initial web marketplace executions for Kinko’s Copies.

1996

I moved back to the east coast. On the heels of working on the Nuveen Investments account in Chicago, I joined the ad agency Hill, Holliday, Connors & Cosmopoulos in Boston, recruited with my experience within the financial marketing category. There at Hill, Holliday, my team created, executed, and maintained the first advertising graphic guidelines for Fidelity Investments, a comprehensive design and marketing program that covered typography, color palette and photography. Many of the elements prescribed, such as the typography, are still used by Fidelity today and are essential details of their consumer-facing visual identity.

One of my signature achievements at Hill, Holliday, was a tv spot advertisement for John Hancock’s sponsorship of the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympiad. Through a foundation set up to aid the people of Sarajevo, called “The Sarajevo Olympic Children’s Fund”, donations were collected during the winter games. In fact on the night of the first broadcast, during the Opening Ceremonies, over $400,000 was donated or pledged by individuals calling an 800 number through the American Refugee Committee.

One of the greatest new business coups of my stint at Hill Holiday came at the end of 1996. British Airways, on the heels of creating its new World Images identity through London’s Newell and Sorrell, called on agencies to represent their below-the-line marketing programs in North America. I and a team of three designers and art directors led an effort to install the first airline account at Hill, Holliday, and we were successful, starting off with a comprehensive sales kit that finally put sales presentation materials under one cover for North American representatives.