A selection of deliverables for various organizations and initiatives.

INFOGRAPHICS

I don’t bill myself as a designer. But like most digital content strategists, understanding how to communicate to users requires familiarity with graphic conventions. This includes appreciating the nuance of visual narrative, content hierarchy, accessibility, contrast, color, imagery, white space, negative space, Photoshop, Canva, etc. Even in print materials, researchers have found that the graphic arrangement of words on a page contributes to readability. (“The medium is the message” still resonates.) Successful transactions and repeat customers result from emotionally satisfying relationships, which in turn are formed by the touch of image and text.

Two of my infographics won Aster Awards in 2017: Mindful Eating and Parenting Styles. The latter also earned a healthcare marketing merit award.

I love fat novels and thick sentences – the steak and whiskey of the written word. And in my own writing, I tend towards hyperbole and ornamental embellishment. But I’ve read enough Hemingway and studied enough usability research to know that good writing, no matter what medium its terrain, requires editing. In digital marketing, brevity begets clarity. That is, I always strive to answer the question: How much can I cut?

I love creating infographics. Doing so presents my writing muscles with a challenge beyond the usual editorial exercise. Is it possible to replace or supplement words with visual cues and augment meaning?

Infographics as singular pieces requiring download have mostly faded out of currency. We get our information in the form most useful for constant motion – travel-sized. The question persists: How much can an image replace a word?

While a critical piece to healthcare planning with relevance for most people, the details of the decisions that make up advance directives involve concepts and words not easily conveyed in a digital format for readers with low literacy.		This infographic on parenting styles accompanied a blog article in an effort to distill this emotionally charged subject with a ‘menu’ of clear options, empowering parents to choose behaviors from a place of rationality vs. reaction.
I attended a mindful eating class and conducted an interview with the instructor. This approach to healthy eating can smack of too much ‘woo’ for some folks, but the basic principles are pretty down to earth. This infographic won a healthcare marketing award.	I designed this infographic as part of business outreach on the Charlottesville downtown mall. We effectively increased participants in our discount program.	I interviewed a foot and ankle doctor about how to choose the right athletic shoe. Most infographics attempt to simplify complex ideas . This is an example of an infographic that takes what most people assume is a straightforward task and illustrates overlooked factors and the benefits of addressing them.

FLIERS & POSTCARDS

Most of my professional life has operated in a digital environment. As the president of a local nonprofit, and as a volunteer for the high school marching band and mountain bike team, I was afforded the opportunity to create fliers, postcards, banners, and other print materials to promote events and encourage community engagement.

SOCIAL POSTS

I started blogging and using social media when it still felt edgy and you didn’t have to pay to get your Facebook ads seen. For several years, I served as a consultant, helping small nonprofits and businesses create their own simple web platforms and social media strategies. Most recently, I used my facility with Facebook ads to help raise the funds needed for the Charlottesville High School Band to travel to Rome to march in the New Year’s Day Parade. (Yes: Both my kids were in the band. And yes: I went to Italy, too!)

Spoiler alert: We got the money we needed. We even had enough to buy jackets for all the students and chaperones on the trip. To do so, I led several impactful tactics:

• When our in-person fundraiser got rained out, I started a digital campaign to help us make the funds.
• I followed this with an online holiday gift auction, which coincided nicely with Giving Tuesday.
• Earned media helped highlight the campaign even further.
• All told, we more than doubled the average intake of the in-person event.