about me

A short biography:

I am a graphic designer and communications consultant with almost 20 years experience creating exceptional brand identities, marketing communications collateral, consumer packaging, and B2B & B2C web sites.

James Eaton Design was founded in 1995 with the mission of providing companies with creative communications design services of the highest caliber. I’ve worked for clients in a broad range of industries, including real estate, food service, e-commerce, entertainment, healthcare & wellness, and technology consulting.

My client work includes: 360Facility, Arthur Andersen, Baker & McKenzie, Brunswick Billiards, Burwood Group, Caroline Myss, Chicago White Sox, GNC Consulting, Grubb & Ellis, InfoLink Communications, Kernel Season's, Lease Harbor, Millennium Custom Foods, Northrop Grumman, Oracle, Restaurant.com, and TicketsNow.com

Prior to launching my own practice, I was a senior designer at Bagby Design, where I managed the creative development of corporate communications, brand identities, and annual reports for clients such as Abbott Labs, Dean Foods, McDonald’s Corporation, and Spiegal. I have a BFA in Graphic Design from the University of Illinois, Urbana/Champaign.

My Professional Values:

Service – I take the time to get to know my clients and understand their business goals. I meet deadlines, answer your questions, and deal with unexpected situations promptly.

Fun – This doesn’t mean I don’t take my work seriously - I do. But I do my best work when I’m enjoying what I’m doing. I love it when my clients get excited by their new logo, or web site. My passion is taking what could be mundane – business communications – and making it beautiful.

Honesty –I won’t try to sell you something you don’t need (like a fancy flash site, when the money would be better spent on  another marketing initiative). I’m not afraid to say it’s my fault when something goes wrong (actually, I am afraid, but I’ll tell you anyway). I’ll let you know if a competitor does excellent work. I’ll also let you know if I disagree with you, and why. I may not be right, but the dialog is always worthwhile.

It starts with typography – Sound, proven typographic practices, structure, legibility, and beauty are the foundation of my design solutions. Your audience may not know what it is, but they will notice the quality.

Simplicity – I’m always looking for ways to remove clutter. By eliminating the unnecessary, your message rises to the surface, and we can make something that at first seems complicated easy to understand.

Personal:

I share a beautiful home with my wife Kristin, our 4 children ages one, four, seven and nine, 2 cats, 2 geckos, and other assorted critters. When I’m not designing I enjoy working in the yard, building Lego spaceships with my son, watching my girls grow up, and pondering the nature of reality.  

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