Graphic Design
I have had over 30 years of professional experience in Graphic Design. I am fluent in InDesign, Word as a Publisher, Photoshop, Illustrator, and After Effects.
I have written and designed websites, social media marketing ads, magazines, periodicals, flyers, print advertisements, public service ads, restaurant flyers, and animations.
I originally started my graphic design career back in the 1990’s producing newsletters for a well-known entertainer. At that time, I studied under a printing company, using PageMaker. I also designed websites with FrontPage. I have continued to work in Graphic Design ever since, producing thousands of products. Over the years, my software skills have evolved. PageMaker has become InDesign. WordPress is now my FrontPage. I’ve added skill in Photoshop and After Effects.
My work has been utilized on websites, on social media, in books, an Arby’s flyer, business publications, informational materials for businesses and non-profits, ads, and many other areas.
In the past, I’ve had employers that would only allow me to use Word, not wishing to pay for InDesign. In 2015, I began using Word as a Desk Top Publisher by inserting text boxes and shapes to allow me to move text the same way it can be positioned with InDesign. I have become extremely adept at using Word in this way.
I have included a small number of my works here in the portfolio, but more are available upon request.
Portfolio exhibit #2 – Tri-Fold Veterans Brochure: I created this Tri-Fold Veterans Brochure in 2019 for the Southern Maryland Consortium as part of my job duties as their Administrative Assistant. The only software that they would allow on their system capable of producing a brochure was Microsoft Word. Prior to that, I had generally used Adobe InDesign due to the control that it allows in Graphic Design. I quickly found that Word used in its organic state, even with templates, does not produce a quality product, and offers little design control. Being an avid InDesign user, I decided to create the same effect by placing everything in text boxes so I could move them at will. Since then, I have become proficient in using Word as a design tool.
Portfolio exhibit #3 – Newsletter Example: As part of my job duties with the Soil Conservation District, I produce an eight-page newsletter quarterly that goes out both digitally and in print. I create files to accommodate the needs of each. This was also produced on Microsoft Word using it as I would InDesign. Again, I use Word because the company does not have InDesign. This piece was created for email distribution and contains links throughout. I am including it as an example because websites often require print media items as well.
Portfolio exhibit #4 – Canva Social Media Ad: This ad was created in 2024 for the Soil Conservation District. I have included it to demonstrate my Graphic Design skills in Canva. For this one, I used a template and changed it to fit my needs. It is set to Facebook post size. I produced this ad to distribute by email, to post on the website, and to provide to Facebook entities throughout the area to post on their accounts.
Portfolio exhibit #5 – Canva Social Media Ad Original Design: I created this ad in 2024 for the University of Maryland Extension Office. For this one, I did not use a template. It is an original design. It was completed in Canva in Facebook post size. This one was also distributed by email, posted on the website, and posted on Facebook. I utilized the color wheel to find colors that would compliment each other and bring out the mood we were trying to create. Yellow was used as an attention grabbing color, as the eye will be drawn to yellow ahead of other colors.
Portfolio exhibit #6 – Tree Sale Flyer: I produced this piece at the request of the Soil Conservation District to advertise their tree sale in 2023. The marketing plan called for all of the advertising to include information about what made each tree or bush special. I used a large tree in a PNG to draw attention and move the eyes around the page. I also used bright yellow to draw attention. I used grouping to give the concept of like things. The project was completed in Microsoft Word used as a publisher tool.
Portfolio exhibit #7 – Tour Book: I was commissioned to create a tour book for the “Dukes of Hazzard Reunion Movie” tour. The cover design is mine. It was completed in 2000 on PageMaker. I used the red, white, and blue to give it a patriotic feel. I used the red in the center to draw attention, and items are positioned to create lines to move the eye around the piece. I used parallax to give the illusion of movement and depth. It should be noted that this was done before 3-D software from the Adobe line was available. In other words, I created all the effects from scratch.