Unfortunately, in the world of B2B, the vast majority of presentations are handled via Microsoft Powerpoint — not the world’s most intuitive or designer-friendly presentation software on the market. It also means that the content is dry and dull.

But whenever a new client opportunity arises, we try to show a lighter, more creative side to the company. And so I try to make some visually appealing title pages for these business pitches. I understand these are not the absolute best examples of graphic design, but I do the best that I can given certain time and creative constraints.

View the entire set here.
Originally uploaded by quartermane

MB&A brought me on board because they were impressed with my portfolio, especially the Wikipedia campaign. They said I had a fresh look at modern design — a good complement to my supervisor whose been doing this for 30 years.

They were having a hard time resonating with their new client, Armorsmith, a manufacturer of combat body armor. The look of the campaign was supposed to be grungy, hard-edged and focused toward a younger demographic. My supervisors believed that I had the ability to mesh well with the needs of this client.

Although my supervisor designed the logo for the company, I was given near-complete control over all the other visual marketing for the company. Below, you’ll see the majority of the marketing materials for the campaign.

While for a time, it looked like the Armorsmith was going to be awarded a contract with the US Marines, problems within the company arose and the brand is now defunct. Please keep in mind that all copyrights still hold.

Included in the campaign: A fully-functioning website, product datasheets, promotional t-shirts, caps & window decals, magazine adverts, and posters.

The “I [edit] Wikipedia” campaign was a school project for Holly Shields art direction 2 class in the Spring of 2008. In this campaign, Jacob Brubaker, Mark Decker and I came up with the concept to show how everyday people can be experts in their fields, thus making them qualified to edit Wikipedia entries.

Because Wiki entries rely entirely on public edits, Wikipedia has long been viewed as inaccurate or prone to abuse. With our campaign, we are showing that most entries have been edited by people well-versed in the that topic.

Happily, this project not only earned our group an A, but it has been selected for the 2008 Art Directors Club of Houston show, and the t-shirt design design was featured at the 2008 international design bienalle EXPERIMENTADESIGN in Amerstam. The entire project has received high praise, especially among the numerous Wikipedia contributors, and even the official Wikimedia Blog.

The campaign consists of two posters, one t-shirt and three print ads.

Art Direction by Jacob Brubaker, Mark Decker and Mike E. Perez
Photography by Mark Decker
Design by Mike E. Perez
Illustration by Mark Decker, Mike E. Perez and Jacob Brubaker
Models: Linsey Metcalf, Darryl Patrick, Nathaniel Arreola, Jacob Brubaker and Tom

Here is the first spread in my portfolio book. I’ve just thrown it together, and it’s in a very rudimentary stage. I would like to hear your thoughts and opinions. What can be improved? What is beautiful as-is? If you’d like to view the full image click on the image. My apologies for the image degradation on the illustration, but I’d like feedback on the actual design of the spread.

Well, I’ve decided to start this blog in order to update the world on my professional status as a designer and illustrator. Also, I wanted to start out by posting work that I’ve done so far in order to get some feedback. As I prepare for graduation, I’d like to know how my work can be improved. I appreciate any feedback. I’ll try to post as often as I can, and will gladly take any design advice into consideration. I hope to hear from you soon!