Man with white hair and beard holding a glowing wand in a magical setting.

A design wizard

After years in large advertising agencies surrounded by creative talent and comprehensive services, I noticed something: many clients simply needed smart, strategic design without the overhead of a full agency team.

My favorite professional experience came at a small agency housed in a charming carriage house. Working directly with clients—hearing their needs firsthand and delivering results personally—proved immensely satisfying.

In 2000, I left agency life behind to establish my own design studio. My mission: provide intelligent creative solutions for businesses, non-profits, and startups that need agency-quality work without agency-level fees.

With more than 30 years of advertising and marketing design experience, modern AI tools, and a network of talented collaborators, I deliver fast, strategic projects tailored to your brand and messaging. From brochures and banners to websites and social media, I help organizations build their brands without breaking their budgets.

What could we create together?

  • Concept, meticulous design development, and comprehensive project management for a wide range of print advertising materials are essential components of our approach. This includes crafting distinctive logos, innovative packaging solutions, engaging exhibition graphics, and various types of promotional collateral, all intended to effectively promote and enhance your brand's visibility in the marketplace.

    • 100 Club of Buffalo

    • Allentown Art Festival, Inc.

    • Alliance Animal Hospital

    • Avery Dennison

    • Bertholon-Rowland

    • Buffalo & Erie County Workforce Investment Bureau

    • Buffalo Center for Arts and Technology

    • BioEconomy Partners

    • Buffalo Emergency Associates

    • Buffalo Heritage Unlimited

    • Buffalo Niagara Business Ethics Association

    • Buffalo Olmsted

    • Parks Conservancy

    • Buffalo Museum of Science

    • The Buffalo News

    • Buffalo Niagara Business Ethics Association

    • Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra

    • Buffalo Seminary

    • The Burchfield Penny Art Center

    • Buffalo Public Schools

    • TimeCruiser Computing

    • Constellation Brands

    • Canopy of Neighbors

    • Castellani Art Museum

    • Challendon Vineyards, England

    • Chamber of Commerce of the Tonawandas

    • Chason Development

    • Child & Family Services

    • Childrens Guild Foundation

    • Cliffstar Corporation

    • The Cofeld Judaic Museum of Temple Beth Zion

    • Columbus McKinnon Corporation

    • Coordinated Care

    • Delaware North

    • ECIDA

    • EcoVerde Compost

    • Eye Care ad Vision Associates

    • ElderWood Senior Care

    • Electronic Management Services

    • The Empire Grill

    • First Niagara Bank

    • Fisher-Price

    • Frank Lloyd Wright’s Graycliff

    • Forest Lawn Cemetery

    • Ford Dealers of WNY

    • The Foundation for Jewish Philanthropies

    • Gardens Buffalo Niagara

    • Garden Walk Buffalo

    • Girls Inc. of Houston

    • The Gow School

    • Hispanics United of Buffalo

    • Horizon Health Services

    • Hospice Buffalo

    • HSBC Bank

    • Keenan Communications

    • Joy Kuebler, Landscape Architect

    • Kodak

    • Lumsden McCormick CPAs

    • Maid of the Mist

    • Marrano Homes

    • Masiello, Martucci, Calabrese & Assoc.

    • Medaille College

    • Mercedes Benz of Buffalo

    • Michigan Street African American Heritage Corridor Commission

    • Katherine Mohney, Morgan Stanley

    • Mt. Calvary Cemeteries

    • NCCC

    • National Fuel

    • Nektar Martini Bar

    • Nichols School

    • Niagara Falls Bridge Commission

    • Niagara Frontier Veterinary Society

    • Niagara University

    • NOCO BioProducts

    • North Shore Country Day School, Chicago, IL

    • Open Air Autobus

    • Paper Earth Company

    • The Park School

    • Progressive Direct Marketing

    • Read to Succeed

    • Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center

    • Three Chords Bourbon

    • The Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site

    • Tipton Mills Beverages

    • Toro Tapas Bar

    • Trinity Episcopal Church

    • Uncle Jumbo Vodka

    • UB Art Galleries

    • UB Engineering

    • UB Information Technology

    • UB Family Medicine

    • UB Law

    • UB Baldy Center

    • UB Research

    • UB School of Social Work

    • UNYTS

    • Urban Roots Cooperative Garden Market

    • Verdi & Company

    • Visit Buffalo Niagara

    • Westminster Presbyterian Church

    • World Trade Center Buffalo Niagara

    • Xerox

    • Young Audiences of WNY

    • American Advertising Federation's Buffalo Chapter's David I. Levy Award for outstanding achievement and service in the communications industry

    • Recipient of the Frank Lloyd Wright Graycliff Diamond Award for the that has had a dedication, contributions and impact on the mission of the Graycliff Conservancy, stewards of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home and house museum.

    • International Garden Tourism Promotion Award for work on Buffalo’s National Garden Festival from Toronto’s International Garden Tourism Conference.

    • The Buffalo News Creative Advertising Awards various awards (including Best of Show)

    • Inclusion in LogoLounge 2, 2,000 International Identities by Leading Designers representing the best logo designs of the year as judged by a panel of top international designers.

    • Two logos featured in Logo Lounge’s Master Library Series, Typography & Enclosures (Fall 2011)

    • Logo featured in Logo Lounge’s Master Library Series, Shapes & Symbols (July 2011)

    • Inclusion in PRINT Magazine Design Annual

    • Brainstorm/Ad Club of Buffalo Awards, various awards

    • Financial Institute Marketing Awards, various awards

    • Art Directors/Communicators of Buffalo (ADCB) various awards

    • Print House Craftsman, various awards

    • Professional Communicators of WNY, various awards

    • WNY Awards for Creative Excellence, various awards

    • ADCB Special Service Award

    • Awards show judging: Binghamton Ad Club Genesis Awards and the Albany Ad Club Nori Awards

  • Creative Supervisor, Mower, Buffalo, NY

    Sr. Art Director, Mitchell DeTine & Neiler, Buffalo, NY

    Sr. Art Director, Eric Mower and Associates, Buffalo, NY

    Sr. Art Director, Eric Mower and Associates, Rochester, NY

    Art Director, Eric Mower and Associates, Buffalo, NY

    Art Director, Levy King & White, Buffalo, NY

    Assistant Art Director, Ellis Singer Advertising, NY

    Graphic Designer, EZ Graphics

    State University College at Buffalo, B.S. Graphic and Advertising Design

My books

Cover of the "Herbology Magic" book featuring terrariums and botanical projects inspired by the Harry Potter films.

My most recent book is Harry Potter, Herbology Magic: Botanical Projects, Terrariums, and Gardens Inspired by the Wizarding World (2023) with Jodi Revenson for Warner Brothers Entertainment. Inc. and published by Insight Editions. It’s packed with gardening tips, wizarding-world inspired terrariums, and enchanting uses for a wide range of plants. It’s an indispensable guide that would make Professor Sprout proud.

Cover of the book 'Buffalo-Style Gardens' by Sally Cunningham and Jim Charlier, featuring a lush garden scene with eclectic decor.

My first book was Buffalo Style Gardens: Create a Quirky, One-of-a-Kind Private Garden with Eye-Catching Designs (2019) written with garden writer Sally Cunningham, for St. Lynn’s Press of Pittsburgh, PA. It’s a garden design book featuring the funky, quirky and fun gardens created the gardeners of Buffalo.

In addition, my garden photography has been featured prominently in a variety of renowned national magazine publications, as well as in several notable and acclaimed books including Cultivating Garden Style (Timber Press, 2014), Garden Up! (Cool Springs Press, 2011), Edible Spots & Pots (Rodale, 2014), and The Urban Garden (Cool Springs Press, 2022).