Residential design
One of the most significant spaces I've had the privilege to work on is my own home. My wife and I collaborated closely with architects to renovate a 1950s mid-century modern home in Detroit. Our vision was to create a modern living space while preserving and paying tribute to the original textures and design elements of that era. My passion lies in striking the right balance between modernizing these mid-century modern homes to make them functional for contemporary living while retaining the charm and original materials that make them true masterpieces of their time.
Design for events and spaces
One of my greatest passions is designing spaces. I enjoy contemplating how people interact with elements such as lighting, functional layouts, textures, and technology within those spaces. Let me illustrate this with the CRAFT Studio at McCann Birmingham as an example. My goal was to craft a versatile environment suitable for both editing and sound production, infused with a Rock 'N' Roll theme to resonate with the creative individuals within the group, many of whom are musicians themselves.
Below is a custom neon sign that I designed for the space. Lighting and custom designs and configurations are a speciality of mine as I started my career in Las Vegas doing lighting design for casinos like Circus Circus, Luxor, Hilton, and MGM Grand.
These pieces are displayed outside the studio space, serving as a visual representation of the fusion between analog and digital. To create them, I used real instruments that were laser-cut and transformed into pixelated 3D visualizations. I initially created/rendered these designs in C4D (Cinema 4D) before bringing them to life as physical objects.
All the graphics were designed and printed on large format wallpaper then we overlaid with gold spray paint and hand done lettering by Alex Sheldon.
TV NEXT—Show and theater design
I was responsible for designing the show and creating its branded graphics. My vision for the show was to immerse viewers in a futuristic digital world, drawing inspiration from the 80s with a blend of vibrant colors, textures, and patterns—a fusion of retro and futuristic aesthetics.
We achieved a theatrical impact by incorporating six-foot-tall illuminated baubles that synchronized with the video content, serving as a seamless link between the digital and physical elements. These baubles also functioned as lighting fixtures for the event, adding both scale and creativity, elements that were intrinsic to the show's DNA.
The sculpture was custom-made as functional art for the show to encourage interaction. It featured a humanoid figure with a television for a head, watching an iPad, both screens playing synchronized footage of nature. A small bird sculpture perched atop the figure's head served as a subtle call to action, encouraging people to post content. The setup was surrounded by color-blocked triangles and was rendered in 3D before being manufactured by an artist.
Chevy and baseball
We wanted to create connections within Comerica Park that celebrated Chevy's passion for the game. We identified a space where we could install a mural, and the team decided that using baseballs to construct the mural would be the perfect choice. The goal was to create a space that would inspire a sense of wonder and become a popular spot for taking selfies.
