'02 - '22 Favorites
design Leslie
Click thumbnail to open ta PDF of my resume.
Click HERE to email for a plantable printed portfolio via USPS.
Printed on seeded wildflower paper. Click HERE for instructions.
PRINT, UI and UX
'21 - '22 Wix, Photoshop, Illustrator and Premiere
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Why would I choose Wix to develop and design my portfolio site? The answer is to teach a client how to make a Wix website. The WYSIWYG Premium version of Wix has a few styling issues. Just to name a few, the CSS styles don't uphold, SEO keywords keep reverting back to blank, most images and shapes are missing padding, opacity and gradient options and gallery text options are clunky and minimal. I like the image upload navigation and organization. I had to frequently repeat manual steps to achieve simple font and style. There were formatting issues between screen sizes too. Ask me for a full software review.
Gatehouse Media
PRINT, UI, and MOTION GRAPHICS
'03 - '07 Photoshop, MutliAd, PageMaker, Quark, and Dreamweaver
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I created thousands of ads for both print and web. I began in 2003, advertisers submitted ads in a variety of ways, from faxed over, handwritten, multiple page auctions to the large dealerships with very specific detailed design ideas. 2 years after I started as an ad designer I became the production manager and trainer. We also were the first publisher to introduce an online classified marketplace to the 4 state region.
Click ads to open a larger version.
Electric Art
PRINT, UI, UX and INSTRUCTIONAL
'05 - '08 Photoshop, Corel Paint, Dreamweaver and Excel
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This employer combined all my designing, instructing, fine arts and web development skills. Electric Art sells illuminated art pieces. I created 8 online shopping stores with an excel database and occasionally added HTML or newly learned Java. I was hired partially to start a new business, Canvas Art. We recreated photos as paintings and printed them on canvases. My coworker and I cut production time on each piece by 66%, with out quality reduction. We also trained an overseas design team with our new faster process.
Click image for Electric Art and Canvas Art's current websites.
L V Management
Click image for an old Facebook page and contact.
UI and UX
'05 - '07 PowerPoint, Photoshop and PowerSeek
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This was my first lead position for large scale website development. It was an interactive yellow pages for Las Vegas. The main market was targeting 21+ age group, focusing on tourists and the newly relocated. The completed site had tens of thousands of entries with rollovers and multiple external links. I also learned to use Linux and a better understanding of SEO before completing my project. In 2006, this website was wireframed on paper and in PowerPoint. We did reach #1 on Google in 2007 for our keywords. They have since become a real estate company.
Click flyers to open a larger version.
Catalytic Souls
'03 - '11 Illustrator and Photoshop
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8 years I freelanced for this group of musicians and audio visual technicians designing concert flyers from St. Louis to Miami. Most designs were 4 color full bleed printing. I occasionally made separated spot color designs for merchandise. In 2006, I began creating web sized versions for MySpace and FaceBook.
Cognitive Solutions
Click brochure pages to open a larger version.
'04 - '06 Illustrator and Photoshop
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This neuro science group was my first remote client. I was hired for a tri-fold brochure design. In my eyes, my final product was flawed and that inspired me to learn more about PageMaker, justification and hyphenating. Sometimes it isn't the best designs that we learn the most from. This project strengthened my email communication skills and improved my weaknesses.
Click images to open a larger version.
Sally's Lounge
'08 - '09 Illustrator
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Sally's Lounge was a neighborhood dive bar on the Northside of Chicago. This was a fun and colorful design for business cards and large format banners. During the few years these cards were distributed, I would frequently run across neighborhood folks in possession of them.
Fed Ex Office
Click thumbnail to open the 2010 presentation.
Some images have been omitted due to confidentiality.
UI and UX
'07 - '11 Photoshop and PowerPoint
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While managing retail and closed door facilities for this large shipping and print production company I was asked to join an internal software development team. My facilities Beta tested new order entry and point of sale software. Our team created user groups, surveys and data reports to evolve the final software. some of our teams input for the order entry software helped reduce intake mistakes, streamline file handing and lowered waste.
Northwestern University
The Graduate School
Click thumbnail to open the 2011 new website.
Click HERE for before designLeslie 2011 website.
UI, UX, PHOTOGRAPHY and INSTRUCTIONAL
'11 Dreamweaver, Cascade and PowerPoint
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I was hired to transfer HTML and images from Dreamweaver to Cascade. The site designer and leads were unable to finish this project. The Graduate School hired me as a temporary web specialist. I uncovered UX and UI issues, did some research and made the appropriate changes to structure and CSS. Before my position was over, I trained the department on Cascade designed and presented reference material, making them self-sufficient.
Click images to open a larger version.
Northwestern University
The Graduate School
PRINT and EMAIL
'11 Photoshop, Illustrator and Dreamweaver
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The President and The Graduate School Dean of Northwestern asked me to design the Presidential Fellowship Awards and invitations. It was a basic project but it demonstrates a tight timeline, under a week, that I still adhered to my design process. My print piece workflow usually begins with 50 rough ideas. We narrow to 5 tighter proofs and finalize a winner. The same process was used for the email invite too.
Northwestern University
The Institute for Policy Research
Click thumbnail to open the 2013 website or eNews.
Click HERE for before designLeslie 2013 website.
Click HERE for before designLeslie 2013 eNews.
LOGO, PRINT, UI, UX and EMAIL
'12 - '16 As a full-time employee, for years, I used all the software I knew and learned some.
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I designed lecture schedules, announcements for weekly events, directional signage, self promotion, gifts, photo editing and many other higher education requests. I also rebranded IPR's logo, Calendar, eNews and website. Upon taking the webmaster position, I knew it was no longer a necessary title. My final project converted their website to Cascade from Dreamweaver. I left the department supplied with templates, many instructional PDFs and my contact information. We still talk occasionally but only to catch up on life.
Northwestern University
The Graduate School
'13 Excel, Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator
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While working at the Institute for Policy Research, I designed the Strategic Plan for The Graduate School. It was a fun project. It combined photos I already took with new shots of campus. Multiple pages were data based charts. This was my introduction to print design with large data integration. I designed the template in Illustrator and layed out the pages in InDesign.
Click images to open a larger version.
Click HERE for an NU article with a PDF link.
Black Pearl
Click images to open a larger version.
LOGO and PRINT
'16 Illustrator
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I have been a member of the American Pool Association since 2011. Friends/opponents made it to the Las Vegas tournament and needed shirts designed for their run at the title. I have helped a few different teams but I enjoyed this more complicated print project of 1 and 2 color process printing.
Click covers to open a PDF on IPR's website.
Northwestern University
The Institute for Policy Research
'12 - '14 Acrobat, Photoshop and InDesign
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I designed 3 Year In Review books for IPR. The printing process changed with budgeting and directors. It was a multiple spread, full bleed, majority black and white, with spot color to full color. These books required a great relationship with the press representatives to ensure the best output on our chosen paper stock. It also required new file organization through the prior year to more efficiently layout.
Click images to open a larger version.
Pamilya
LOGO, PRINT and MIXED MEDIA
'19 Illustrator and Photoshop
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I love to recycle, especially something cool. This client started a catering side job and needed a logo with business cards. Pamilya also needed an outdoor menuthat they could update as needed. I made it from an old cork display case, a printer and paint. Go see it in person at Jefferson Park's Farmer's Market once it returns. The food is far more worth the visit than the sign.
Magna Legal Services
Click images to open a larger version.
PRESENTATION
'19 Excel, Word, Photoshop and PowerPoint
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In December of 2019, I signed a year contract making presentations for lawyers. Those PowerPoint files explained court cases to jurors. On my way to a full-time presentation specialist position when the world took an unexpected turn. The few cases I designed taught me a new PowerPoint features and advanced my animation skills. See my examples of unrelated subject matter because of confidentiality agreements.
Click images to open a larger version.
Liberty Lounge
LOGO, PRINT, SOCIAL MEDIA and INSTRUCTIONAL
'16 - '21 Illustrator, Photoshop and Spark
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It's a new surprise every time I open my emails from Linda Tidwell. This client has a wide variety of requests. A few items I designed have been a city of Chicago approved outdoor patio floorplan, car sales flyers, event social media posts and instructional packets for new hires.
Click images to open a larger version.
design Leslie
MIXED MEDIA
I have thousands of files I didn't publish here. Please contact me if you would like to hear a more in-depth synopsis of any project or client. Also, reach out with any questions or with a fantastic new full-time career offer. These personal pieces are a few of my favorite designs. Please enjoy!