WELCOME TO MY SITE!
I have had the great fortune of working on a variety of different design and artistic projects for a variety of clients in a variety of different disciplines. From theatre set design to major corporate events and tradeshow exhibits to fine art and photography, my artistic life has covered the gamut of creative experiences. Please feel free to explore the many creative avenues I have traveled...
THE BRAND ENVIRONMENT
EXHIBITS, EVENTS & TRADE SHOWS
I have been designing brand environments for nearly 20 years. I started off designing small modular exhibits for tradeshows, which then progressed over the years to designing entire major events.
CORPORATE EVENT STAGES & KEYNOTES
WHERE THEATRE AND THE CORPORATE DESIGN WORLD MEET
My theatrical education and training laid the foundation for a logical transistion to designing corporate stage environments. Working with big clients like Old Navy, Banana Republic, GAP, NALC (National Association of Letter Carriers) and others was a tremendous experience which opened the door for me to begin designing brand environments "outside of the ballroom."
THEATRE SET DESIGN
WHEN I BECAME A DESIGNER
Theatre is where I first realized that designing physical environments for people to interact within was something I really had a passion for. There is something magical in collaborating with highly creative people- actors, directors, costume designers, lighting designers and sound designers- to conjure up worlds whether anchored in realism or set aloft in whimsy. One standout highlight of my theatre set design career was winning the Broadway World "Best Set Design for a Drama (Denver Area)" Award in 2014 for the Thingamajig Theatre Company's production of "Red."
GRAPHICS, BRANDING & LOGO DESIGN
THE SKIN ON THE BONES
When I'm designing environments, I can't NOT think about the graphics that skin the bones of that environment. The graphics are such are integral part of the visual aethetic and the primary vehicle for telling the story. I have seen so many environmental designs fail because the graphics were not given the attention they deserve.
I really love graphic design... I find it challenging. I've designed everything from branding a new business with brand guidelines, logos and business cards to designing every graphic for an entire event, from the miniscule to the mighty.
BIO
My Story
Born and raised in Denver, I migrated to Las Vegas in 1998 where I obtained my Master’s degree in Theatre Set Design from UNLV in 2001. From there I began my career in the tradeshow exhibit and corporate events industry, first as a graphic designer and then later as a 3D environmental/experiential designer and creative director. Most recently I was part of a small team whose efforts focused on design process and technology as well as digital and virtual applications for the live event space. Over the last 20 years I have worked on a wide array of projects ranging from stage sets to tradeshow exhibits to permanent installation designs for clients such as McDonald’s, Walgreen’s, Autodesk, Old Navy, Allstate, Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) and the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). In 2015, I was awarded a coveted “Best In Show” from the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) for the design of Autodesk’s annual tradeshow event “Autodesk University” in Las Vegas. I have also recently been bestowed “Best Set Design for a Drama, Denver Area” from Broadway World association for my work on the theatre production of “Red.”
CREATIVE JOURNEY
Experience
Currently
VICE PRESIDENT OF CREATIVE/LEAD DESIGNER
PLUS STUDIOS
I'm back in the thick of the trade show exhibit world with my new role at Plus Studios. Focusing almost exclusively on exhibits, I am finding much joy in working for a smaller company again and the potential for it to grow and expand is as exciting as the work we are doing.
Recently
OWNER, DIRECTOR OF VIRTUAL EXPERIENCES & DIGITAL
TAURION MEDIA, LLC./MYLOCAL360.COM
Sometimes life throws a curveball, as COVID has for many of us in the live events industry. So, I have decided to take my knowledge of virtual tour building to the real estate industry and have since started up a new company- Taurion Media. And in addition to creating virtual tours for home sellers, we have produced a great virtual tour for the DISCOVERY Children's Museum here in Las Vegas which was a big hit. Our current big project is to turn the entire city of Las Vegas into a 360° online virtual tour and provide a platform that everyone can experience it from!
September 2018 - July 2020
DIRECTOR, DESIGN INNOVATION, STRATEGY & DIGITAL
FREEMAN
My most recent job involved working on a small team whose purpose was to analyze the entire design cycle at Freeman, from beginning to end, and from there recommend and develop improved work processes and tools to help elevate the quality of work that was delivered and improve the lives of the people in the creative department. I learned how to build bespoke apps using Microsoft Powerapps in order to collect, manage and report the data from all of our various initiatives.
January 2015 - September 2018
DIRECTOR, DESIGN TECHNOLOGY
FREEMAN XP
In this role my purpose was to help research and implement new technologies to support and advance the design process within Freeman XP as well as to build and maintain asset libraries for 3D environmental design. I also worked with the Freeman XP digital team (FXP Clik) to create (among other things) a virtual reality platform both for internal an external use. As a result, I developed a familiarity with Unreal, Unity and 3DS Max Interactive game engines.
December 2008 - January 2015
SENIOR EXPERIENCE DESIGNER & CREATIVE DIRECTOR
FREEMAN/FREEMAN XP
The bulk of my career at Freeman was in the role of an experience designer (a catchall for: events, exhibits and environments) and occasionally fulfilled the role of a creative director. I worked on many annual or bi-annual accounts such as McDonald's Worldwide Convention, Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) Americas Investors Leadership Conference, Allstate Insurance Leadership Forum and most notably, Autodesk University (Las Vegas) for which I won the IAEE "Best in Show" award for design in 2015.
December 2006 - May 2008
CORPORATE EVENT DESIGNER (GENERAL SESSION STAGE DESIGN)
FREEMAN
Hearkening back to my theatre stage design roots, my first area of focus at Freeman was around designing corporate event and general session stages for top tier companies like Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic and the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC).
November 2001 - December 2006
LEAD EXHIBIT DESIGNER/CREATIVE DIRECTOR
SKYLINE EXHIBITS, LAS VEGAS
In my first official role as an exhibit designer at Skyline Exhibits of Las Vegas, I spent several years designing modular exhibits for mostly small and medium-sized clients. It was a great way to learn the ropes of the exhibit design world. I was responsible not only for the structural design and CAD drawings of the exhibits, but also for the graphic design development and graphic production file creation as well. Towards the end of my run with Skyline I took on the role of creative director with a few designers working under my direction.
March 2001 - September 2001
GRAPHIC DESIGN & PRODUCTION
MC² EXHIBITS, LAS VEGAS
During my last semester at UNLV I started on with MC² Exhibits as a graphic production team member. At first my role was to prep graphics for production and then run them through the large format printers and laminators for application to the exhibit structures. When it was realized I had some graphic design talent, I soon became more involved with the graphic design, all the while being exposed to the projects that the exhibit designers were working and following their work... as I knew that one day I wanted to take on that role!
August 1998 - May 2001
MASTER OF FINE ARTS DEGREE (THEATRE DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY)
UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, LAS VEGAS
At UNLV, I pursued my Master's degree in Fine Arts for theatre set design. During my time there, I consistently worked in the scenery shop, honing my carpentry, welding and scenic painting skills, and often constructing the stage sets that I had designed for production. This was an invaluable experience as it fostered an empathy towards the people who had to build the crazy things that I designed and it pushed me to consider the most sensible and effective solutions for specifying the build methods and materials.
August 1992 - May 1996
BACHELOR OF FINE ARTS DEGREE (THEATRE & DANCE)
UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING
It was during my final semester at the University of Wyoming where I was encouraged to pursue a career in design (as opposed to acting) when the head of set design recognized the talent I had for it. Perhaps it was fate that locked in my decision when I entered a set design into a regional college set design contest and it won "First Place." I was the first student to use 3D rendering software for set design at UW... and never looked back!
My Philosophy
Where others ask “what” a problem is,
A designer asks “why” a problem is.
Where others endure complication,
A designer seeks out simplicity.
Where others merely iterate,
A designer strives to innovate.
Where others say, “It’s good enough.”
A designer says, “It can always be better.”
Where others simply see beauty in a thing,
A designer wants to understand what makes that thing beautiful.
Where others are apathetic,
A designer is empathetic.
While others ask, “How will this affect me?”,
A designers asks, “How will this affect ALL of us?”
Where others only hope for a better future,
A true designer creates that better future.
