For the past 17 years or so years, my roles in the graphic arts have varied greatly. As such, I have become a Jack of all trades. I started working on websites and designing for the web when it was still in it's infancy, and so many of the sites that I am most proud of - are for now-defunct businesses, or have moved in other directions and are no longer my creations. I still maintain a handful of sites, and design new ones frequently for my own personal use, but the bulk of client-based designs has dwindled and given way to my other talents such as graphic design, design for print, and sign making - which is what constitutes the bulk of my work these days. Included on this page are just a few samples from the massive collection that is my portfolio.

:: Complete Project Collateral - Witches Cup Bike Race 2009

Often I am called on to design multiple printed and digital collateral pieces for a company or an event. These pieces all need to incorporate same or similar elements, colors, shapes and overall design "feel" or theme. Below I have provided just one example of a multiple-piece campaign - this one for the 2009 Witches Cup Bike Race. Clicking on the image will launch a new window with an enlarged version.

2009 Poster	2009 Witches Cup T-Shirt

2009 Banner	2009 Hospitality Ticket	2009 Postcard

:: Business Cards

Front	Back
Salem Cycle is among my most successful and widely-recognized body of work. The witch-on-the-bike logo that I designed so many years ago has been seen all over the world, with testimonial after testimonial rolling in as to how much people enjoy it - as well as the outstanding service that Salem Cycle provides. I've always loved this card design because it puts the logo in a real-world context. The back is left with lots of blank space on purpose as that Dan, the owner, likes to be able to write notes to customers on his cards.
Marblehead Cycle was where the new owner, Dan Shuman, got his start in the world of bicycle sales. It was established 31 years ago, and just this year the original owner decided to sell it. Dan had purchased Salem Cycle from him years before, and therefore, Dan was the first person the previous owner asked. Dan, of course, said yes. Seeing as the Salem Cycle logo and design elements were so popular, we decided to mimic it with the new Marblehead Cycle layouts. This card was designed as a temporary card while we developed the new logo.
Aquarian Candles is a now-defunct candle-making company that specialized in making custom candles for it's customers. I particularly like the logo I designed for this company which employs the Zodiac symbol for Aqauarious, flipped on end, and made to look like the flame on a candle.
This card was made for a former, local franchisee for the well-known Domino's Pizza restaurant chain. The front design includes a custom photo (taken by me) of someone making a pizza.
Ferdie's Soccer Magic is an internationally known, soccer-skills training camp and program. For many years I was the designer and webmaster for his very comprehensive website, as well as the designer for all of his printed collateral such as his business cards, postcards, T-shirts, posters, flyers, stickers, etc. After he moved the program (and his family) to Texas, I stopped doing work for him as that he (and I) liked meeting in person.
Focus Power is a "Freelance Collective" that I helped to start about 12 years ago. Our goal was to draw from the vast pool of talent that was our circle of friends, co-workers and students (I was teaching at UMass Amherst at the time), and use that base to provide exceptional service and incredible prices for an massive and ever-expanding range of products and services. We each had business cards which I designed, that showcased our specific talents.

:: Logo Design

I am a firm believer in sticking with traditional techniques and convention, but manipulating it to achieve interesting and engaging results. This is especially true in my logo design. I design most of my logos in black and white line art first, and then add color as needed. The only exception is when I know that there will be no need for a single color design.

This is a logo that I reconceptualized and redesigned for Peak Performance Physical Therapy - where one of thier biggest selling points was their aquatic therapy tank. So I wanted to incorporate a water theme, along with the existing mountain theme from their previous logo. Unfortunately, they suffered interal issues shortly after I designed this and finished the website and had to reconfigure... and this logo was never used.	This "Aquatic Physical Therapy" logo was for a special section on the Peak Performance Physical Therapy website, where they were featuring their aquatic therapy tank - the only in the area - where they offer specialized treatment in a nearly weightless environment.
The newly imagined Marblehead Cycle logo, meant to emulate the style (and success) of the Salem Cycle logo, which features local iconography and ties it to the Salem lore. We cycled through several designs and heavily recognizable images before finally landing on the fish, meant to remind folks of the gilded ornaments above many people's doors in Marblehead - a traditional fishing town. Plus, we added the Marblehead lighthouse in the background as well.	I actually made this logo for one of my best friend's mother, who had been battling cancer. This was to bring awareness to the situation and hopefully raise a little money, and a lot of spirits. Tragically, she eventually lost the battle, and the world lost an amazing soul, but this image lives on as a reminder to us all to stay strong for her and in her stead.
This was designed for a cancer walk team, and while it was designed as the logo for the team, it was also designed to be a graphic on a T-shirt. It was later revised to be printed in 1 color to save on costs.	"Splendid Blends" is a fictional company, created by a friend for a college project. She had asked me if I could design a logo for them because they didn't have any artists on the team. This is what I came up with.
The VERY popular and widely recognized Salem Cycle bicycle shop logo. Though there is a "Salem" in every state, this one is in Salem, MA - a town steeped in a history of witchcraft and the famous witch trials. It seemed only fitting to have a witch on a bike!	This logo was, again, designed with the ultimate goal of printing it on a T-Shirt, though the plan was to create a logo for the organization in general.

:: Various Items

Below are a few items that I have created for various clients and purposes (as noted).

The Witches Cup is a bicycle race held in Salem, MA every year (for the past 6). I have been the designer for all of the printed and web-based marketing collateral since the beginning. This is the 2012 poster.	This is the "Hospitality Ticket" - a postcard-sized piece which acts as an admission ticket to the Witches Cup Hospitality Tent (beer tent)
This is a poster I made for "Transformations" - a show I helped to produce at UMass Amherst which combined live music and interpretive dance, with projected animation in the background, and set to 5 of Grimm's fairytales, as read by Anne Sexton. It was wild!	I made this simple, but striking band photo for Davinchi & The Wrong Crowd for the band's press kit.
This was a piece I made while at Positronic Design, for Immerman, Daniel & Fontaine. This was the cover ad for the Pioneer Valley Yellow Pages. Virtually none of the background elements are real - everything was made in Photoshop.	This was an insert-ad for shopping carts, for The Motion Doctor, a Chiropractor in Illinois who I did some work for a few years back - including this, a sign for his office, a 5' high window cling and some postcards.

I dont consider myself a die-hard photographer, but I love taking pictures and know a good one when I get it. Here are a few of those 'good ones'.

For 6 years, I was the Director of the final animations for a graduate-level 3D modeling and animation class at UMass Amherst. The final animation was an 8-week long intensive class project in which students were assigned various tasks based on their skills and ambition. As a result, I was able to direct to completion 11, 5-17 minute long animated stories, as well as hone my personal skills in regards to storyboarding, modeling, surfacing/texturing, animation, and post-production such as sound and special effects compositing. During and since that time, I have also used those skills to create several animated pieces for clients and have been working on an animated short that will accompany a children's book that I am writing.

Below is one of my more favorite animations - the 1-page chapter from Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, visualized by one of his biggest fans! It was too late for him to see it, but I wanted to make it as a tribute to him and his works.

:: Focus Power: A Freelance Collective

The Witches Cup Bike Race	Pedipress The Nations Leading Asthma Experts

:: Positronic Design

Polar Focus

PhotographicAnalysis.com - Resource Management Systems, Inc.

MyFlexResource - Flexible Spending Accounts

Viva! Fresh Pasta Bistro - Northampton, MA

:: Personal Use

NickSteglich.com

Nicks Knax

Basically, I am a universal artist. I thoroughly enjoy art in all of its forms and am constantly adding to my bag of tricks in regards to my creative output. Of the more prominent loves of my life are Sign Painting, Sewing, Carpentry, Building and Refinishing Furniture, Sculpting, and Gardening. I have made a number of signs for clients through my business, Focus Power, some of which can be seen below.

I made this Domino's Pizza arch sign entirely out of wood due to the town ordinances not allowing for the standard, back-lit signs that can be obtained from the corporate supply store.	Revolve was a hip little used/vintage clothing store in Amherst, MA. I made the sign which eventually got stolen...
This was the first sign I ever made - a big, 4'x5', double-sided and entirely hand-painted sign for Salem Cycle. A friend and associate of mine did some airbrush work on the moon(s).	A custom-made/custom-sized sandwich board sign for Domino's Pizza. The owner wanted a larger area than the standard Signcade signs, so I made this large, wooden one with swappable inserts for the deals.

I am a traditional artist by nature. I love drawing, and what I love most is capturing people's emotions and passion. I feel that it's important to have an understanding of traditional art forms to be able to fully achieve what is desired from a computer. So from time to time, I like to put down the mouse and draw something by hand. Below are just a few of my more favorite pieces, though hundreds more exist.

Self-Portrait	Splatter Girl - The beginnings of my love of splatter-painting...
Venom - a painting	Koki-ahh! Drawn from a photo.
The Rents - Yup, those are my parents... on their wedding day! Had to draw that!!!	Matt - My best mate!