The assignment was to create a logo and packaging for the launch of a new beer from the Oregon Brewing Company, Portland Oregon.

The mark came to me between wake and sleep as I had a vision of a rooster made of sun rays leading to its eye.

I sought to avoid trendy connotations of red beers in the package design and decided to go with a clean extension of the logo.

The challenge was to draw a random word from a hat and then design a tape dispenser based on this word. My word was Circus.

To call on the spirit of the circus I was inspired by the amazing performers of the Cirque du Soleil. I sought to capture the incredible flexibility, balance and strength of these performers and channel that energy into my tape dispenser.

The assignment was to design a logo, cover and story spread for a lifestyle magazine about the fashion of seduction. Any topic was open to be featured as the cover story.

This issue deals with violent video games as a form of seduction. I am concerned that games like Grand Theft Auto may be affecting the psychology of young adults. I shot the photography myself and processed it in a style that resembles video game graphics in order to suggest a blurred line between fantasy and reality.

The assignment was to design a lamp that communicates a concept of my choosing.

Inspired by the Hindu god, Shiva (the master of dance) the Dancing Lamp captures a moment of suspension and grace, as if a dancer frozen at the height of movement. There is a sense of kinetic energy, tension and a need for resolution.

This is a typeface I designed for use in the Dandy Warhols logo and album packaging design.

The assignment was to design an eight foot by eight foot popup gallery to display the works of surrealist painter and sculptor, Joan Miro.

The exhibit reflects the style of Miro, utilizing cubist and surrealist abstraction. With very few straight lines, the walls provide a fluid feel and suggest a melted form.

The challenge was to design a calendar around a concept of my choosing. There could be no use of photography and the majority of the elements must be hand produced.

After much exploration, I decided on a theme of the game of chess, as I am fascinated by the artistry of the masters. I discovered that by drawing the lines of all the moves in a game the artistry and unique fingerprint of each game was revealed in the strokes.

Orange represents white and black of course is black. These games are notable, historical matches in the world of chess and are a joy to play through.

The assignment was to choose a design period at random and develop a chair using the values and principals of this style. Give a modern interpretation of the style and combine it with a personal story to endow it with an emotional quality. I was given Basel.

To honor the basel approach to design I first chose a simple form, an arc, and worked with it to activate the space on the page. This simple form, over time, became the complex profile of the chair.

I connected a personal story about my sister’s untimely passing as a child and the recent birth of my son, and how these events have shaped my beliefs. I believe that death and birth are merely transitions from place to place and I wanted to represent that idea by making my chair a rocker. The colors of the arm rests are the colors of my sister’s red hair and my son’s blond hair.