Principal Designer
Bill Grill Design LLC | 2007 – Present

Associate Art Director, Graphic Design
Rush University Medical Center | 2017 – 2023

• Led strategy for organizational rebrand. Served as a core team member in the development of RUSH’s “Excellence” branding. Planned brand strategy across system communications, including brand standards, collateral, signage, web and advertising campaign, as well facilitating work on the ongoing brand evolution.

• Leverages brand positioning. Ensures that programs, partnerships and joint ventures utilize branding solutions that both maximize the visibility of the RUSH brand and provide clarity around service offerings as part of ongoing business development efforts.

• Creative lead for philanthropy brand extension. Aligns key brand connections between marketing and donor efforts at every possible audience touch-point: focusing on digital, print and environmental graphics designed to encourage and persuade. Resulting philanthropic dollars raised have far exceeded campaign target goals for six consecutive years.

• Design production team management. Supervises an internal team of writers and designers to ensure production schedule is met. Created processes to efficiently manage high volume of project requests from across the health system.

• Graphic design and communication strategy. Guides the team in service line marketing support, including consumer, provider and donor communications. Assists in system-wide communication strategy and planning sessions to ensure tactics (developed in-house or by outside vendors) effectively drive traffic, increase conversions and engagement, or meet other objectives.

• Comprehensive creative for high profile donor events. Responsible for driving the creative strategy for key fundraising efforts on behalf of the health system, including: art direction, motion graphics, video, invitations, social media, event wayfinding and large format environmental graphics.

• Web strategy and design. UX strategy and brand implementation for the university web page, as well as the philanthropy campaign microsite planning (including site map, wireframing and design in Ceros platform).

• Brand identity design. Created a completely new brand identity for the Institute for Translational Medicine’s (ITM) The New Normal™ Campaign. This influential campaign was tied to a strategic partnership between the major Chicago market health systems, including RUSH, the University of Chicago, Advocate Health Care, Illinois Tech, Loyola University Chicago, NorthShore University Health System, Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute and the University of Illinois at Chicago Center for Clinical and Translational Science.

Graphic Designer
Photogenic Inc. | 2013 – 2017

• Art direction and design. Served as the art director and lead in-house designer for a nation-wide photography company with more than 30 locations.
• Proposal writing and design. Created client presentations for all levels of leadership, including proposals and presentations in print and digital formats.
• Graphic design and communication strategy. Developed style guides, motion graphics for video postcards, environmental renderings for new venues, proposals created in multiple mediums, and original infographics for use in presentations.
• Environmental graphic design. Designed large format graphics for trade shows and venues throughout a vast array of industries, including aquariums, museums and other iconic tourist destinations.

Graphic Designer
Southwestern Michigan College | 2008 – 2012

• Design standards and brand management. Contributed to the marketing team goals by creating and maintaining company branding within all advertising.
• Creative strategy and design. Created artwork for billboards, college publications, campus signage, and numerous other projects.
• Video storyboarding, editing and art direction. Coordinated video shoots and video/sound coordination for commercials and special events.
• Frontend web design. Assisted the college Webmaster with website planning and development, including site map, wireframes and site design in Drupal.

Senior Airman
U.S. Air Force | 1998 – 2003

• Managed a team of physical trainers. Ran a department of 12 people coordinating schedules and department needs.