Sheridan WYO rodeo Magazine
Creative Director, The Sheridan press
western grit
The Sheridan WYO Rodeo doesn't apologize for what it is — rough stock, hard ground, eight seconds that can wreck you or make you. The magazine needed to feel the same way.
Working with the rodeo board, I designed a magazine as substantial as the event itself. Distressed typography that looks arena-worn. Photography that captures bone-jarring buck-offs and the tense quiet behind the chutes before the gate swings open.
Each event gets its space — bareback, saddle bronc, bulls — with results, payouts, and enough context that first-timers understand what they're watching. But the stories go deeper. How dirt gets engineered for safe landings. What stock contractors look for in a bucking horse. The split-second calls emergency crews make when weather rolls in.
Local sponsors throughout — designed like they belong, not like interruptions.
The result: Something rodeo fans keep. Gritty enough to feel honest. Professional enough to match the caliber of rough stock Sheridan brings in. Proof you don't have to soften Western to make it worth reading.
Destination Sheridan
Creative Director, The Sheridan press
where mountains meet main street
The annual guide for Sheridan County, Wyoming — where the Bighorn Mountains meet a main street that's held this community together for generations.
Most destination guides are all highlights and no substance. This one tells the truth.
Destination Sheridan is a publication that doesn't choose between attracting visitors and honoring locals — it does both. Each annual edition digs into a different theme. "Resilience on the Range" followed multi-generational ranching families navigating land prices, succession and whether the next generation will stay. "Sharing Spaces" got into the tension between recreation and agriculture on public lands — the permits, the politics, the people trying to make it work.
Real photography. Real people. The work behind working land.
Local businesses get ad space designed to feel like part of the story — because they are.
The ad-supported model funds the kind of editorial depth that makes this worth keeping.
The result: A guide that is authentic without being cute. Substantive enough that both locals and visitors see themselves in it.
Black Hills Adventure Guide
adventures beyond monuments
The Black Hills has a problem most destinations would envy — it's almost too well-known for one thing. Everyone knows Mount Rushmore. But what about the burro that'll walk right up to your car window in Custer State Park? The farm where children can bottle-feed baby goats? The scenic byway that makes grown adults pull over just to stare at the granite spires?
The design became an adventure journal. Hand-drawn typography like trail markers. Topographic patterns running quietly in the background. Bold orange accents against Black Hills granite and pine. Photography showing real moments—not stock images of models pretending to explore.
The scrapbook-style cover sets the tone immediately: layered snapshots with hand-lettered captions, like someone collecting favorite moments from a trip.
Throughout, advertiser integration honors both editorial integrity and business needs. Local restaurants, outfitters, real estate agents—they're woven into the Black Hills story because they are part of that story.
The result: a guide that works as hard as the Black Hills deserves—inviting visitors beyond the expected while giving every business and attraction a chance to show what makes it worth the stop.
CLIENT: Custer County Chronicle, Custer, SD
DESIGN Black Hills Adventure Guide design
Black Hills Institute
fifty years of dirt, bones + patience
Fifty years of digging up dinosaurs — from finding SUE (the most famous T. rex ever sold) to preparing thousands of fossils for museums worldwide. The Black Hills Institute needed a publication that could tell that story without dumbing it down or making it dry.
Working with the Institute, I designed a 68-page commemorative magazine organized around three sections: History (how they got here), Behind the Curtain (the painstaking work most people never see) and The Future (what's next).
The challenge was making paleontology accessible without talking down to the science. How do you explain fossil preparation in a way that's actually interesting? How do you capture both the explosive moment of finding a T. rex skull in South Dakota Badlands and the tedious reality of removing matrix grain by grain?
The design moves between bold editorial spreads and detailed infographic-style process breakdowns. Historical photography from 1970s-era dig sites. Contemporary lab work showing the nitty-gritty of restoration. Scientific illustrations showing DUFFY (their latest T. rex) reconstructed muscle by muscle. Pull quotes from founder Pete Larson about the unpredictability of a business built on "yes."
Advertiser integration throughout — fossil suppliers, museum partners, tourism boards — designed to support rather than interrupt the narrative.
The result: A publication that works for multiple audiences. Paleontology enthusiasts who want the technical details. Museum professionals evaluating their work. Casual readers curious about what it actually takes to turn bones into displays. Proof that scientific content doesn't have to choose between accuracy and readability.
from stock photos
to authentic stories
Client: Custer County Chronicle
Scope: Ongoing Bi-monthly cover design
Before Redesign
Transformed the magazine's cover approach from generic stock photography to featuring compelling images from the issue's stories. Clean, minimal layouts let the photography connect readers to real rural moments and invite them inside.
After Redesign
Down Country Roads Cover Design
Bold editorial design inspired by the book's cover and National Geographic's visual approach. Featured stunning Badlands vistas, Black Hills wildlife, and trail photography with color blocking that guided readers through South Dakota's hiking story.
when great photography
meets thoughtful layout
Hiking in South Dakota Feature Spread
CLIENT: Down Country Roads Magazine (Custer County Chronicle, Custer, SD)
DESIGN Editorial feature layout
strategic ad design
for small town businesses
Effective advertising starts with strategy—understanding what needs to be communicated and how to capture attention. Working with minimal client content, I developed messaging concepts and visual approaches that resonated: concept-driven headlines, editorial-style photography, and dynamic layouts that balanced information with impact.
design that tells a story
Every project is a story—about a place, a business, or a community worth celebrating. Here are a few that captured something special.