Highground Industries

Clients are usually exited to share their vision & concept as well as what drives them. Tons of valuable information comes from that part of the conversation however the first bit of value that I provide is often provided before any commitment is made, before any money is spent in the early consultation phase. Many small business clients, start-ups & individuals have only a basic idea of what they actually need to lay a foundation for their vision. One of my strengths is to define & organize the steps required & the assets needed to produce the desired result according to time & money budgets defined by the client. A realistic & practical approach must be defined in order to build with minimal risk & waste to the clients valuable resources.

With graphic art such as logos, illustrations, custom text & lettering I almost always start with hand drawn and/or hand written roughs. Sometimes there are many many of these. Sometimes the hand drawing progresses to a highly developed state before any digital work is done. For layout & typographic work I tend to start by getting most of the logistical work like organizing, processing & optimization of assets out of the way first. I then, with client approval proceed into rough comps then on to the final layouts.

For almost any project, scope is the most fundamental concept. An identity package with logos, branding & collateral materials might be worth millions to a multinational corporation but only a few hundred dollars to small business owner. Once the customer knows what they want they should decide how much time & money they can afford to invest in the project.

I live to create. I have several long term projects of my own like my type foundry, my artwork, writing & websites but I really enjoy helping clients develop the tools and assets that they need to build their businesses & their vision.

I have always worked for myself. Yes, I've had jobs also. I worked as a machinist, I worked in a restaurant, I've filled long-term positions as art director & webmaster for a few companies but ever since I was a child I've always started businesses, gardening, garage sales, artwork... The one I started when I was about 18 is the one I still run now.

I have over 2 decades of real-world experience tackling projects for clients big & small from all around the world, across a multitude of different industries. I have both a depth of expertise in several areas & a wide array of experience which helps me understand graphics, branding & marketing, web, apps, printing & manufacturing all in the full context in which they need to function .