Drop me a line.
Joe Straus
Highland Park, Illinois
T 847 778 5858
E joe.straus@gmail.com
Don’t just take my word.
“Joe is a skilled and inspired senior-level designer, capable of production, design, art and creative direction. While at AbbVie, he has demonstrated superior attention to detail and the creative gumption required to execute several robust campaigns, including two recent corporate and product-branded campaigns launched in Madrid, Spain. Both included large-scale signage systems, video, and smaller-scale print collateral—all of which he was able to execute with little to no supervision from management on an abbreviated timeline. Joe is a gifted illustrator and production artist—skills that have come in handy during his time at AbbVie on projects including logo development, instruction manuals, iconography development, and campaigns like I mentioned previously. Lastly, Joe is fun! He is the social glue of our Agency and many would be sad to see him leave. Any creative team—corporate, studio, or otherwise—would benefit from having Joe join their ranks.”
“If Joe’s on your team, you’re going to get flawless, effective deliverables—and have fun working on them, too. Whether he’s using his rich imagination to build new designs from the ground up, or adapting his style to guide and fit an organization’s unique brand, Joe roots all his work in a commitment to excellence. As a copywriter who frequently collaborates with Joe, I always know I can trust his judgement, and I value the questions he asks and angles he suggests. That’s because Joe’s a skilled, insightful writer himself, and because he’s an experienced collaborator who’s only satisfied to deliver work when it’s perfect. I’ve learned a lot from Joe—a lot about branding, about design, about thinking outside the box to propose innovative new solutions—and I’m a better copywriter for having worked with him.”
“Joe is a unique combination of creative, detail-oriented, personable, and self-motivated. I had the pleasure of managing Joe in a marketing role at a quickly growing commercial real estate firm. He treated every assigned project, regardless of scope, as a unique challenge and an opportunity to demonstrate his skill set and eye for design. Joe’s personality and talents would be an asset to any team.”
“Ridiculously talented is the phrase that comes to mind when I think about Joe. I had the pleasure of working closely with Joe for over a year and as a creative and marketing director, he has shown me how to concept and execute campaigns flawlessly with little resources or time. I am so impressed with his ability to take on the vast amount of projects that came our way with full confidence in his ability to make each one important and perfect. But what I love most about Joe is that he makes everyone laugh the entire day. He’s an amazing designer, and an even better person!”
“Joe is a very talented, creative professional. While at Impact, Joe designed and produced projects that spanned a multitude of disciplines and media, including print, digital and exhibit. His thinking and design brought a fresh take on the Impact brand with great attention to detail. Joe is highly proficient with Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft Office and other software needed in an agency. He is dedicated, hard-working and detail-oriented. As a member of our internal marketing department, Joe was able to interact with team members and internal clients to get the information needed to complete projects successfully. During his time at Impact Joe focused on the Impact website re-design, on-site graphics and displays for our business summit at Navy Pier, and many smaller digital and print projects in between. Joe is passionate about design and fun to be around. He would be an asset to any creative team.”
“Joe provided great insight on how to utilize marketing techniques for recruitment in clinical research. Since marketing for clinical research is highly sensitive and requires input from multiple sources (e.g. sponsors, review boards, principal investigators) it is a process that involves creativity within the boundaries of specific design and information. Joe was great at being the point-man for this, he was able to use his background as a graphic designer and marketing manager to create clear and eye-catching ads that were able to disseminate the proper information while gaining the attention of the appropriate study populations we were targeting. Joe is a great team leader for any design project, and his eye for detail ensures work that is well executed and interesting.”
“Joe is a tremendous creative talent. He designed the logo for my first start-up company, The Edible Complex, which was very well-received. When I began thinking about a new start-up, The Bootleg Bâtard, Joe was one of the first people I thought of to help get things off the ground. Joe is very professional and a joy to work with. He immediately understood my needs and gave me some great ideas on how I could position my new company. We worked together to develop a strong logo and brand identity. I receive complements on our logo, packaging and other branding materials on a daily basis. I can’t say enough good things about him and his abilities.”
“Joe is a great guy and a highly skilled marketing professional. He’s a talented graphic artist and a creative, out-of-the-box thinker. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Joe on a number of marketing initiatives and he has my full endorsement. He brings great ideas to the table and he knows how to make things happen!”
“I have known Joe since he was about 10 years old. He and my son were & still are great friends. It was apparent very early on just how artistic Joe was. Twenty years later, it’s no surprise that he has blossomed into a gifted graphic artist. Joe has helped me numerous times with logos, business cards, letterhead and Powerpoint presentations. Every time I’ve enlisted his help, Joe’s work has exceeded my expectations.”
“Joe has been a great asset to our company. He has helped re-brand a number of our clients with some great original logos. Joe has also designed some wonderful marketing collateral for our clients. His work has allowed us to expand the array of creative services we offer. You could say Joe is our secret weapon.”