How social media has affected branding design
Updated June 14, 2026 Social media has been with us long enough now that you’d think every brand would have figured this out. And yet — I still see logos squeezed into profile image spaces where they become an unreadable blob, or brand marks that look great on a business card but fall completely apart […]
Industry jargon vs plain speech
Updated June 14, 2026 I’ve been working in the design industry for a long time — most of it directly with clients, small business owners who have no idea what a “brand ecosystem” is and frankly shouldn’t have to. Because I’ve spent more time in client relationships than in agency hallways, I sometimes lose track […]
Color matching across mediums
Updated June 14, 2026 I once finished a particularly involved branding project — the kind where you cross the finish line with a quiet sense of relief — only to get a call shortly after from the client asking why the logo colors on his printed materials didn’t match what he was seeing on screen. […]
Award Winning Annual Report
I worked on retainer with Vivent Health (formerly the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin) for about a year as they were rebuilding their in house marketing department after pandemic lockdown. Excellent company, wonderful people to work with, a great mission – I was truly inspired by them every day. I also got to work on […]
Falling in love and the benefit of perspective
I think I’m in love. I can’t stop staring. I may turn away from the object of my affection for a moment or two but my eyes are inevitably drawn back to gaze upon my love. It’s hard not to want to show everyone this thing of beauty, this wonderful thing, this thing I just […]
Don’t let the shark die.
A brand is a living thing. Like a shark, it needs to keep moving to stay vital. Small businesses, maybe even more than big ones, need to keep fresh. Fresh visuals are an outward sign of the vitality of your business. It shows that your business is quick to evolve with changing times. For a […]
Milwaukee Bucks permanent art collection at the Fiserv Forum
I don’t usually post about my other life as a painter within this site, but I wanted to announce something I am very excited about. On Friday, August 24, 2018, the Milwaukee Bucks permanent art collection at the Fiserv Forum was unveiled. I was lucky enough to be one of the 32 artists chosen from nearly 1300 […]
Give me the tools of the master
Updated June 14, 2026 The biggest complaint I get from clients who switch to my services after working with another designer is “can you get the file sizes smaller?” The problem usually lies in someone using the wrong tools. In this case, the tools refer to software choices and how they are used. It seems […]
Design and puzzles – my favorite things
I’ve always loved puzzles – jigsaw, crossword, word games, whatever you’ve got. I think that’s one of the things that makes me passionate about design. Every design project is a puzzle – a problem-solving exercise. The pursuit of the answer is fun – and finding the right answer can be incredibly satisfying. Design and puzzles […]
Branding bands, a case study
Updated June 14, 2026 One of my clients is the new Milwaukee-based band, The Hungry Williams. (Ok, full disclosure, this is John’s band – John is my hubby.) Being that I’m a branding and digital designer, and John has played with dozens of bands over the years, we bring unique perspectives to the endeavor of […]