About

PaleBird is the design studio of graphic designer & web developer Evan Leake. PaleBird was founded in 2003 and has provided design and web development services for over 150 clients in a wide variety of industries seen on this clients list.

Evan Leake lives in western Illinois with his wife Betsy, two children Nora and Ronan, and dogs Emery and Leo.

With a combination of grit and luck, Evan has been able to work from his home office for over 15 years as a freelance graphic designer. Currently Evan is the Art & Marketing Director for PureButtons and StandOut Stickers located just outside Cleveland, Ohio.

Résumé

Since 2003, I have worked with a number of clients as a freelance designer and web developer. More recently I have pared down focus to one or two main clients at a time. More details about my work with any of the clients below or on my clients list is available upon request.

Currently available for consultation work only. Contact me with any questions.

Experience

PureButtons, StandOut Stickers

Art & Marketing DirectorMAY 2011 - Present, Medina, OH

Complete brand identity, marketing, copy writing, web design, website programming, product photography for StandOut Stickers and PureButtons. I also manage the social media accounts, blogs and everything customer-facing for these companies.

I took the lead to design and develop an art tool that lets customers create designs on any device, in-browser. The tool uses our print templates along with our digital proof layers to allow the customer to layout their design and preview a realistic mockup before purchase- something that I identified as a hurdle for more casual non-professional customers. The launch of this tool has seen a drastic improvement in sales and conversion rates.

Utilizing my designs and business ideas, these companies have realized daily conversion rates of up to 12.75% and an unprecedented annual growth, recognized by local business awards.

As part of my work for these printed merchandise companies, I have been responsible for educational materials including screencapture tutorials and blog entries explaining new tools and features. My documents on best practices in art preparation are consulted by customers and our own customer service representatives daily.

Experience

Western Illinois University

ARTS416 Visiting ArtistSpring Semester 2018, Macomb, IL

Invited to Western Illinois University to work with students in Arts416, a senior-level graphic design portfolio course. A limited set of meetings will guide students through creating their own online portfolio as they prepare to enter the job market.

We will also discuss experiences learned in my freelance design career: how to deal with various types of clients, billing, self promotion and more.

Experience

Verse Media

Lead Web DeveloperJan 2010 - Dec 2017, Manchester, NH

I began working with Verse Media on various freelance jobs and quickly became their lead web developer, designing and programming websites for clients in the New England area.

Notable recent clients include Wilson Stevens, one of Boston’s largest wedding band companies, and Centra-larm, a national home and business security company.

In addition to website design, Verse Media offers fantastic tradeshow booth design and construction for companies like Vistaprint. As part of a tradeshow booth design, I was responsible for coding an interactive multimedia presentation displayed on a 60″ touch screen.

Experience

Baboo

Art DirectorJuly 2010 - July 2013

Baboo was an interactive social engine giving brands a new way to collect market research while building trust and intimacy with consumers.

Our patented process was designed around the “nesting doll” principle and collected low cost market intelligence driven by emotional engagement through each moment of think, feel and act. Users could access real and digital rewards by interacting with ads, answering questions, providing personal information, watching videos and more across multiple platforms.

We were seed funded and Incubated @ The Wharton School SF.

I served as the Art Director for Baboo during the company’s entire operation from 2010 – 2013. During our brief run Baboo served nested ads for clients like Janis Joplin, Darren Criss, Thomas Gold, and Swedish House Mafia.

As we pushed into mobile app integration we failed to secure proper VC funding and the company dissolved.

Experience

PaleBird

Graphic Design, Web DesignJan 2003 - Present, Macomb IL

Since 2003 I have worked with a variety of clients. In the beginning of my freelance career I quickly began working for independent and major record labels designing CD album layouts, but as MP3 took over and physical album releases slowed, my workload shifted to mostly web design and programming.

Initially, on website projects I worked with a handful of talented programmers to integrate a custom content management system we called The Nest (well before the thermostat existed). Eventually I felt the need to improve turnaround time and personal understanding of the projects I was creating for clients, and learned how to code WordPress templates by creating and launching an art and culture blog called FlightPattern. For the past 10 years I have worked exclusively with the WordPress system, designing and coding custom websites.

Education

Western Illinois University

Bachelor of Fine ArtsGRAPHIC DESIGN / SERIGRAPHY / CUM LAUDE

Dean’s List

Frequent scholarship and talent grant recipient; graduated Cum Laude December 2006.

Participated in student art shows and won a University Union purchase award. My screen print entitled “The Way to Have a Good Day” hangs near the street level entrance.

Spring 2006 Student art show merit award “Crocodile” stump sculpture.

Participated in and promoted Student Art League activities and department fundraisers like Art Rocks, a live music fundraiser at a local bar featuring art student performers.

Presented work at the University Union for Undergraduate Research Day with a presentation titled “Graphic Design in the Music Industry”.

Served as Peer mentor in Design 101 after graduation.

Skills

Graphic Design
HTML5 / CSS3
Wordpress
Responsive Web Design
Mobile Web Design
Mobile UI
SEO Coding and Strategy
Web Hosting & Domain Management
Print-Ready Graphics – Digital or Silkscreen
Logo Design
Illustration
Identity & Branding
Marketing
Product Photography
Social Media Management

Adobe CC, Mac OS & Windows, More software details upon request

Trusted by hundreds. Over 15 years experience.

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