About Me

Hi! I'm Mike, a 27-year-old art director hailing from Wichita, KS. I graduated from Wichita State University in 2007 with a B.F.A. in Graphic Design, and I've been working as an art director at Sullivan Higdon & Sink since 2006. I was hired on 'for realsies' after a summer internship, while I finished up my last year of school. And they still can't get rid of me.

When I'm not at my agency, I'm nerding out on movies, tv and music.

Thanks so much for taking the time to check out my work.

Freelance

Walt's Boxing Gym: Posters

These posters promoted a series of matches at a boxing gym in Lawrence, KS. We wanted to show that spectators would be so close to the action, they'd practically feel it. We had zero budget on this, so our solution was to round up a few friends, strap some headgear on them and scan their melons into the computer. A few Photoshop layers of grit and grime later, and we had our full-color photography.

Nonprofit

Diversity Kansas: Walk for Unity Poster/Ambient

Every year, a local nonprofit, Diversity Kansas, holds an event called the Walk for Unity that promotes diversity in the workplace by raising funds with a big community walkathon. The concept for this poster is sweet and simple: a bunch of shoes of different shapes, styles and sizes, tied together by the laces to walk together. We supported the posters by tying actual shoes together and leaving them in high traffic areas, with sidewalk chalk messages scrawled alongside them.

This project means a lot to me because I initially concepted it when I was still in college and interning at my agency, and a few years later I was finally able to sell it through, get it produced and ultimately see it be published in Graphic Design USA's 2009 awards annual. Even cooler: Diversity Kansas saw an increase of 87 percent in attendance over the previous year, with more than 1,500 people participating.

Kansas Food Bank: Newspaper ads

Here's a series we did for our local food bank to encourage people to donate kid-friendly foods for the holidays. It's a time when many underprivileged children who are on break from school don't receive proper nutrition, since they're not getting the free breakfasts and lunches that they'd usually have at school.

Cereal, peanut butter and pudding were three particular items that the food bank really needed more of, since kids can eat them without any preparation. We played off of well-known brand names to illustrate the needed products and worked them into the headlines for extra impact.

Lose the Training Wheels: Brochure

Lose the Training Wheels is a program that teaches developmentally-challenged children how to ride bikes. They needed a brochure that explained to potential donors and participants how the program works, but in a way that told a bigger story about the impact they can make.

Our strategy centered on the idea that for these kids, learning how to ride a bike isn't just about having fun — it's about developing a sense of accomplishment and independence. From improved social interaction skills, to becoming more engaged in their schoolwork, to independence in their daily routines, these kids will be better prepared to move forward in life after they've gained the confidence that this program can give them.

Agency

Sullivan Higdon & Sink: Self promotion ad
This ad was done for an annual event in Wichita called Gridiron, where various big shots from the local media outlets get together for a weird variety show and drinks. Yes, it's every bit as cool as it sounds. Anyhow, it's a high-profile thing in our community, and our agency always runs a self promo ad in the program.

We usually just do a general branding ad, but this year we decided to take a stand and show that, as the world's consumption of media continues to move away from print, we're the agency that still knows how to reach a client's audience, no matter the channel.



(Bonus cool points on this one for the hidden discovery element: those readers who were savvy enough to look closely at the iPhone's screen saw a functioning number that they could text. When they did, they got a message back, rewarding them for being awesome with a free martini at the bar, compliments of SHS.)

Client

Angus Farms: Retail campaign

In the retail environment there's already a lot of informational clutter, so we decided to cut through all that jibba jabba in these posters featuring big, bold appetite shots, in-your-face headlines with lots of attitude and hunger-inducing warm colors.

The posters were also accompanied by an in-store video, which was awesome to have the opportunity to concept while considering space, time and pacing, as well as working with the added textures of music and voice-over. It was very different, very challenging and very fun.

Sterling Silver Meats: Trade campaign — Rare/Medium/Well Done

This trade campaign spoke to chefs and owners of four- and five-star restaurants. Sterling Silver is a premium beef brand, so we wanted to communicate that by giving the ads a high-end look and feel.

I'm particularly proud of these because the client originally came to us just requesting a one-off ad, and even suggested re-running something older to fill the spot because they didn't want to spend much money on it. By using existing library photography and applying a new graphic treatment, we were able to economically turn that request for a one-off into a cohesive, year-long campaign for them.

Sterling Silver Meats: Trade campaign — Raw/Cooked/Eaten

Here's another trade campaign, still aimed at chefs and restauranteurs — this time following a steak through its journey from the kitchen to the diner's table at a restaurant. From the raw cut prepped in the back of the house, to the cooked steak served by the wait staff, to the scraps left over after the steak has been devoured by a patron, Sterling Silver is with you every step of the way in your restaurant operations.

Prairie Grove Farms: Retail campaign

Prairie Grove Farms is an all-natural pork brand that isn't pumped full of any steroids, growth stimulants or unnatural junk. It's so pure, it's even better than what is typically certified as 'natural' food. We communicated that benefit by crafting the campaign theme, 'Purely Pork', in tandem with visuals showcasing a clean, simple look using lots of white space to reflect the product's pure sensibilities.

These P.O.P. signs were seen by consumers in the retail environment. We featured appetite-appeal shots on the posters, so on the nearby floor clings we were able to have messages and visuals that sold the pork without even having to show it.

We also created a microsite called purelypork.com, which retained the look and feel of the in-store campaign and featured an interactive kitchen island where you could explore the different objects in the space, all the while becoming more educated on and connected to the brand.

Click on the image below to check it out.

Thanks For Reading