The document is a resume and portfolio for Michael A. McCann, a graphic designer with over 20 years of experience in creative direction, branding, logo design, and marketing communications. It provides examples of logo designs and branding projects completed for various clients across different industries. The designs showcase McCann's emphasis on simplicity, memorability, timelessness, flexibility, and relevance for the intended audience.

1. ¿who am i?

3. I am that powerful combination of left-brain detail and
right-brain creativity: An organized, deadline-driven, de-tail-
oriented and highly-motivated problem solver. For
me Design is a constantly evolving and ever-changing
ephemera.
As a classically trained typographer, I have developed
a keen sense of communicating with type. It is not
enough to simply put text on a page. The manner in
which it is done should be intriguing, inviting, powerful
and captivating. I am highly influenced by the Bauhaus
and Swiss schools, and I consciously try to counterbal-ance
form and function, with the desire to liberate the
page by pushing the boundaries of conventional and
formal considerations—taking from what works and
discarding what does not.
Designs are best when they are the fruit of inspirational
team collaborations: copywriters, image-makers, strat-egists,
developers, clients and audiences. Young, raw
talent and old, sage wisdom, are equally capable of
asking, “Why?”—As well as deciding, “Why not?” Rules
certainly have their place, but “No Left Turn”, does not
exclude additional options!
As a 20-plus year industry veteran, I have broad-range
of experiences in Creative Direction of Marketing Com-munications,
Branding Identity, Brand Management,
Design and Illustration in corporate and agency envi-ronments.
Independently and collaboratively, I have developed
Logos, Brand Identities and Corporate Branding Stan-dards
for large, multinational concerns, start-up and
established, small and mid-sized business.
Branding is the most valuable asset in any organization,
making it one of the wisest areas for a business to in-vest.
Positioning a brand to resonate myriad audiences,
creating a memorable experience is what I do. I am pas-sionate
about helping corporate decision-makers better
understand the value of their brand and the power of a
well-executed visual communication strategy.
Think. Plan. Execute.

4. There are two times in the life-cycle
of any company when it
considers the importance of
its logo:
1. In the beginning,
Some years ago, I came upon a quote concerning the importance of logo design.
I can neither remember its exact wording, nor its authorship.
I keep it mind when I design logos…
when it has everything
to gain
2. In the end,
when it has nothing
to lose.
I recognize the business truths in these statements.

5. From concept, through
development—until
the public unveiling…
to these measures I
do abide!
Logo design is the most important element in building brand
recognition. A logo conveys a message about a company
and its product to an intended audience. It should do so
without additional explanation or context.
simplicity
Less is more. Incorporate as many messages about a company
and what it does, in as few elements as possible. Overly ornate
logos generally have limited versatility because they try to say
too much and cover too much territory.
memorability
Create a unique concept, strip it down to a basic level—and the
logo will have more impact.
The design should be simple, easy to recall and use imagery or
typography that resonates with the intended audience.
timelessness
Rebranding should not be considered a normal part of busi-ness.
To insure brand equity, a logo should withstand the test
of time. When designing a logo, I avoid trends, unnecessary
effects and gimmicks.
flexibility
A logo should be scalable to different sizes without losing qual-ity.
It should also work in one color and against a dark back-ground
without losing integrity. A logo should work across vari-ous
media and within different contexts.
relevance
An integral component of creating an effect logo is understand-ing
your target audience. Knowing what is appropriate for a
target audience will typically dictate font, color and associated
imagery.

6. client: artisan medical devices, inc.
Cosmetic dentistry tools
Each tool has a soft, interchangeable, translucent shaping-tip
that is used to apply dental bonding material to the surface of the
tooth. The handle is fitted with a UV light source that illuminates
the shaping-tip, while hardening the material.
In the logo, the tittle has been replaced with a triangular “tip”
that alludes to the tip shape. Blue is used to imply the UV light
source—with the font, Rotis Semi-serif, suggesting the sculpting
technique by which the material is manipulated.

7. client: hero house, inc.
Artists on the Edge
HERO House is a place where people recovering from severe
mental illness, come to rebuild their lives and rejoin their commu-nity.
Artists on the Edge, is a program offered by HERO House,
to facilitate self-therapeutic recovery through artistic expression
in various media.
The name, Artists on the Edge, and the logo design are intended
to convey a deliberately cheeky ambiguity as to the purposes,
products and participants of the program.

8. client: cannuflow, inc.
Flexible arthroscopic cannulas
Cannuflow, fabricates flexible arthroscopic cannulas that facil-itate
minimally-invasive knee-surgery, while reducing recovery
periods.
The organic shape, replacing the crossbar, along with the color
combination­,
are meant to invoke the fluidity with which the can-nulas
are manipulated, their flexible construction—as well as to
reflect the blue color of the silicone device.

9. client: hitachi data systems, inc.
Channel One Reseller Marketing
The logo incorporates Hitachi Red, to provide a direct tie-in to
the established, brand identity standards of both Hitachi, Ltd.,
and Hitachi Data Systems—its wholly-owned subsidiary. The
split-complement, violet color has substituted for the secondary
Hitachi Grey, to establish the program as separate from, but sup-ported
by, both parent-organizations.
This logo is featured in the book, Bullet-Proof Logos, by David E.
Carter and James R. Higgins.

10. client: hitachi data systems, inc.
Customer Service and Support Annual Kick-Off
Theme logo for Hitachi Data Systems annual Customer Service
and Support Kick-Off meeting: One Team. One Target. Part sem-inar
and part-training session he “target” of the meeting was to
proffer team-building with an emphasis on singularity and co-hesion.
The color scheme was built upon the violet tone, with
yellow as the direct-complement and Hitachi Red incorporated
as the split complement.

11. client: the company theatre
Performing Arts Troupe
Letterforms, are utilized to create the visual metaphor for the-atre:
with the audience in burgundy-velvet, loge seating, and the
stage offset with a neutral-platinum tone.
This logo was accepted into the 1990 Print Design Annual.

12. client: donald pedersen, aia
Architecture
The initials of Architect Donald Pedersen, are interwoven in three-dimensionality,
and are anchored on an island of soft, neutral
green that mimics that of a draftsman’s surface.

13. client: the duncan group, inc.
High-technology Marketing Services
The logo is set in ITC Bodoni, to connote a tempered and tested
level of services. Colored in split-complements: orange, distin-guishes
the organization’s founder, Len Duncan, while violet rein-forces
the timbre of The Duncan Group brand. The ligature of the
lowercase “u” and “n” was incorporated to provide an additional
nuance of visual interest.

14. client: hero house, inc.
“A place where people recovering from severe mental illness,
come to rebuild their lives and rejoin their community.”
This logo redesign maintains the original concept and color-scheme
of its predecessor. It has simply been updated to in-crease
the sophistication of the original execution.

15. client: hitachi data systems, inc.
The effort was a collaboration between internal HDS Corporate
Marketing Communications group and Craig Frazier Design.
Hitachi Data Systems, Inc., is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hi-tachi,
Ltd., dedicated to the sale of mass-storage devices. The
company had originally commissioned the design of its own
unique identifying logo. In rebranding analysis, it was determined
efficacious to capitalize on the significant brand equity of Hitachi,
Ltd.­,
by using its existing logo and corporate colors—fitting it
with Data Systems to establish the company as a subsidiary.

16. client: hot shots
A Children’s Hair Salon
Big shapes and bold color are meant to be bright, attractive and
easily interpreted by adults and children alike.

17. client: marketbound
Product-launch services
Different weights of ITC Futura, and a stark color combination
accentuate the purpose, direction and active, imperative nature
of this Time-to-Market service organization.

18. client: artists’ open studios: san josé, california
The icon is derived from the AIGA sign-symbol for access—or
ingress. It has been simply, and uniquely modified to serve as
a quickly identifiable logoform for each piece of marketing col-lateral,
as well as a sign marker for each stop, on the annual
tour event.

19. client: sancastle technologies, inc.
Storage-area network solutions
The logoform and its ocher color, establish and solidify the
metaphor invoked by the company name. The SAN acronym is
emphasized by boldface, all-capped and then, set in x-height to
ensure that the company name and its product services, main-tain
an integral hierarchy.

20. client: worlds, inc.
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game
The classic engravers display face, Serlio, in a muted earth-tone—
with a dual-orb iconography inset, in bright yellow—
evoke the anachronism of fantasies-future and fantasies-past.

22. Curriculum Vitae
Michael A. McCann
425.830.6390
tristanztt@live.com
portfolio:
education
1987 BS Graphic Design
Illustration and Art Direction
Minor in Humanities and Literature
San José State University
certifications
2009 University Tutor
Bellevue College, Bellevue, Washington
The College Reading and Learning Association
1992
Project Management
The Boeing Company
1989 System Administration
Macintosh, Windows and UNIX environments.
Apple, Inc.

23. Curriculum Vitae
achievements
awards
Communication Arts
How
International Association of Business Communicators
Print
Printing Industries of America
Western Art Directors Club
collections
American Corporate Identity
Bullet Proof Logos
Creativity
Graphic Design USA
Logos 2000
Print Casebooks
Average savings on vended print collateral of $1 mil­lion
annually for Amdahl and Hitachi Data Systems.
Effective management of creative staff, vendors and
clients.
Trained, supervised and evaluated staff, coached im­provement
project management skills, resulting in
successful time-to-market campaigns product launches,
under tight deadlines.
Experienced Copywriter: Advertising and marketing
copy, and in-house newsletters and corporate organs.
Accomplished Presenter and Public-speaker: Design
presentations, public advocacy and peer training
Acceptance by portfolio review into Bachelor of Sci­ence
Design program. Graduated with distinction.

24. Curriculum Vitae
clients
Any Mountain
Artist Publications
Bendixen-Redding
Café de Flore
Cannuflow
Cognigine
Elemental Records
EXAC Corporation
The Fine Art of Feelings
The Goethe Institute
International Association of
Business Communicators
The Insider
HCM
Hewlett-Packard
KUSF College Radio
Mervyn’s California
Muccino Design Group
Pagliaro-Kuhlman Advertising
RV Parts Outlet
Ralph Records
Randall Crandall
Reckless Records
SANcastle Technologies
San José Institute of Contempo-rary
Art
San José Art League
Tandem Computers
The William and Flora Hewlett
Foundation
Yukon Inflatables

25. Curriculum Vitae
employment
2008-2014 Marketing Communications Volunteer | Board Member Representative
HERO House, Bellevue, WA
Specializing in Brand Identity development, General Art Direction and
Marketing Communications.
2000-2005 Creative Director
Red Circle Communications, Los Gatos/San Francisco, CA
Full-spectrum Design, Creative/Art direction; specializing in Brand Identity and
Marketing Communications.
1995-2000 Associate Creative Director
Hitachi Data Systems, Santa Clara, CA
In-house creative overseeing design and development of a broad range of Marketing
Communications Collateral, including: product brochures and specification sheets,
special-event collateral, posters, Branding Identity and branding standards, packaging
and web-media direction.
1990-1995 Senior Art Director
Amdahl Corporation, Sunnyvale, CA
In-House creative overseeing development of identity standards and implementation, and
maintaining integrity over all levels of Corporate Communications media. Design and
development of a broad range of Marketing Communications Collateral, including: product
brochures and specification sheets, special-events collateral and posters.
1985-1995 Freelance Creative
Design: Extremis, Los Gatos and San Francisco, CA
Freelance consultant: Art Direction, Design and Illustration for design firms, small studios,
corporations, art galleries and arts organizations, and small-business.

26. Curriculum Vitae
community involvement
Mental health advocacy
HERO House, Bellevue, WA
Homeless advocacy
Congregations for the Homeless, Bellevue, WA
affiliations
AIGA
IABC
WADC
SFADC
references
Roberta Lyon
Past Board Secretary: HERO House
425.898.9993
robertajlyon@comcast.net
Abe Kriger
Founder, Chair Emeritus: HERO House
425.868.7050
abekriger@aol.com
Phil Gerson
Past Board Member: HERO House
425.890.8685
pgerson_8@msn.com
Annie Holt
Public Affairs and Policy: Pfizer
206.920.6240
anna.k.holt@pfizer.com
Daya Astor
Arts Educator
425.652.9532
art.dba@comcast.net

28. Writing Samples
we are 1 in 4
The stigma attached to those of us challenged by
mental illness has lessened, but remains pervasive
and leaves us ostracized from our communities. Far
too many of us remain silent about our struggles.
Fewer than 25 percent of us with a diagnosable
mental disorder seek or receive help due to stigma,
lack of information, cost or lack of health insurance
coverage. Many of us are reluctant to ask for help
or do not know where to find it. Mental illness often
leave us unable to cope with the ordinary demands
of life, making it difficult or impossible to maintain
employment, pay bills or keep supportive social re-lationships.
Mental illness is real, common and treatable: 1 in
4 adults suffers from a diagnosable mental health dis-order
in any given year. Mental illness is the leading
cause of disability in the US. Mental illnesses com-prise
4 of the 10 leading causes of disability in the US
and other developed countries, and are among the 20
leading causes of disability. Mental illness is a more
significant contributor to the worldwide health burden
than heart disease and cancer. By 2020, Major De-pressive
Illness is expected to be the leading cause
of disability in the world among women and children.
Each business, school, government agency,
healthcare provider, organization and citizen shares
the burden of mental health problems and has a re-sponsibility
to promote mental wellness and support
prevention efforts. Commit to increased awareness
and understanding of mental health, the steps that
can be taken to protect mental health, and the need
for appropriate and accessible services for all people
with mental health conditions.
Mental illnesses can affect persons of any age,
race, religion or income. Illness management pro-grams
reduce symptom relapses and hospitaliza-tions.
With effective treatment—a combination of
pharmacological, therapeutic and psychosocial reha-bilitation
programs like Artists on the Edge and HERO
House, those of us with mental illness can recover to
lead full, productive lives.
Who is your 1 in 4?

29. Writing Samples
rogue monkey loose on the subway
My monkey was spotted hopping around by the auto-matic
ticket gates passed a line of passengers. Then
he ran downstairs to the entrance and into another
line of waiting passengers, climbed up and down a
pillar and ran around the ticketing machines before
taking refuge on top of an information board for
hours—winking and looking down at the crowd.
Officials soon cleared the area and surrounded
my monkey with green netting, but after a while,
he jumped off the information board and escaped
through the crowd. He always escapes! He is crafty
that way.
It is not as if my monkey does anything bad—he is
a monkey and he does make me a little dotty at times.
He often runs amok, creating all kinds of nuisance,
getting himself into mischief—bopping about and
mostly giving everyone around a bit of amusement.
This cheeky little monkey of mine is a real prankster
and I have to live with him.
I am my monkey and my monkey is I. My monkey
is my mind—my monkey-mind. That endless chatter-ing
in my head—jumping from thought to thought—
from daydreams and worries and back again. My
monkey-mind never lets up! When he is not pacifying
himself picking nits, he is taking a flight of fancy into
the twelfth of never. Eventually, I start to feel a little
queasy. My thoughts are spinning in circles. He is a
carnival sideshow attraction, my monkey-mind. It is
quite often I am left much more than confounded and
no less than completely confused.
I must tame the wild creature in my head by clear-ing
out all of his playthings and the distractions that
keep him focused on mischief making—although the
paradox is that when I clear my mind it is an open
invitation for my monkey-mind to play—and how
he does love to play! Thought, after thought, after
thought—I have too many scattered thoughts. One
thought followed by another thought... And then by
another... It is as he is swinging on a vine—my mon-key-
mind! The constant cravings and the incessant
ravings—while the eye can see, it cannot see itself.
That for which it looks is for that which is looking—the
seeker is the sought in the act of seeking.
Taming this mental pesterer means moving be-yond
my thoughts. If I give him my attention—he
settles right down and lets me concentrate. I am
aware of my monkey, instead of he being aware of
me. I become aware of a thought rather than thinking
a thought. My thoughts rise and float away instead
of pulling me in different directions. I can have my
thoughts rather than my thoughts having me!

30. Writing Samples
Within its natural order and by its very nature, my
monkey-mind will not be still or silent. He is actively
going over the past. Recreating the past in this, the
present moment as a figment of imagination based
on reconstruction of a spotty recollection. If he can
relax, I can relax. My thought process slows and I can
focus on observing my thoughts—one thought at a
time! My monkey-mind can breathe instead of pant.
By focusing on my breath, I can concentrate.
Whenever my monkey-mind starts acting up, I ob-serve
my thoughts and then return my focus to
my breath. Sometimes I focus on the rise and fall.
Sometimes I just concentrate on the sound. The
monkey-mind of mine responds to taste and smell
and color—and the resonance of sound. My mon-key-
mind is the feeling and the knowing—emotive
and expressive—where the resonance of sound that
makes up the whispering sounds of soundlessness.
Fire can burn, but it cannot burn itself. A flame
will mesmerize my monkey-mind. I focus on a flame
to harness him—my monkey-mind. Keeping my
gaze soft and unfocused while he watches the color,
shape, and movement of the flame, and I try not to
blink. Entranced is he—that monkey-mind of mine.
Closing my eyes when I feel the need—I continue
watching the flame in my mind and so does that mon-key-
mind of mine!
However I choose to tame my monkey-mind, I do
so with firm and loving-kindness. The taming is about
becoming aware of the seen and the unseen, the con-scious,
the unconscious and the subconscious—the
sources of programs, patterns and beliefs that govern
my life and my thinking as I strive in moving beyond
them. I can resume to living this life instead of given
to a life lived by proxy. The next time this chattering
arises, I will notice it and then allow it to go away.
With patience, I practice this with my monkey-mind—
until it becomes quiet and eventually so do I.

31. Writing Samples
the abe kriger visionary award
We are proud to announce the creation of an award
to recognize an individual for his or her service and
involvement in the Mental Health community.
The Abe Kriger Visionary Award, is named in honor
of Abe Kriger, whose passion, insight and dauntless
commitment have gone into creating a safe and
non-threatening haven–with the mission to foster a
sense of community support for those in East King
County, living with the effects of serious mental illness.
After many hours of dedicated effort by a com-mittee
of NAMI-Eastside members, the NAMI-East-side
Clubhouse Initiative was born. This combined
with generous financial and in-kind contributions
from a number of individuals, corporate entities and
Foundations–and the shared vision of an Eastside
clubhouse, originally conceived as Project HEROES,
was officially underway.
The Committee, under Abe’s direction, prepared
the business plan, raised funds, hired Executive Di-rector,
Erica horn, enrolled charter members and
began the task of building the HERO House infra-structure.
What began as the culmination of a shared
vision became reality, with the HERO House doors
officially opening in December 2005. HERO House
is a place where those with mental illness can learn
and practice work skills, meet new friends and build
meaningful, supportive relationships. In an environ-ment
of support, empowerment and with programs
designed to imbue a sense of belonging in a sur-rounding
that helps to build self-worth, renewing a
sense of purpose and bolstering confidence in indi-viduals
who may otherwise be preoccupied with ill-ness,
the emphasis is on ability–not disability. HERO
House offers assistance in achieving educational,
employment, life-fulfilling goals. Whether they are re-ferred
by hospitals, psychiatric professionals, church-es,
community-based organizations–or self-referred
walk-ins–members receive vocational training and
job placement, assistance in securing housing and
medical care and a social network aimed at elimi-nating
the isolation experienced by those living with
mental illness.
The Abe Kriger Visionary Award, is in recognition
of the invaluable contributions made by individuals
whose actions embody this same spirit, energy, char-acter
and dedication to enhance the quality of life for
those suffering the effects of mental illness. Abe will
personally present the award to the recipient, at our
annual Harvest Luncheon fund raiser.
The formation of a nominating committee and the
development of nomination guidelines are in process.
If you are interested in becoming part of HERO House
history by lending your services as a committee
member, please let us know. For more information,
send us an e-mail at visionary@herohouse.org and
include “Award” in the subject line, or contact Erica
Horn at 425.614.1282.
Erica Levine, President Board of Directors

32. Writing Samples
announcing…
Enclosed with this issue of TheHerald you will find
time sensitive information concerning Abe Kriger Vi-sionary
Award nominations.
The Abe Kriger Visionary Award, is named in hon-or
of HERO House Founder, Abe Kriger, whose pas-sion,
insight and dauntless commitment have gone
into creating a safe and non-threatening haven, with
the mission of fostering a sense of community sup-port
for those in East King County, living with the ef-fects
of serious mental illness.
The Abe Kriger Visionary Award is in recognition
of the invaluable contributions made by an individual
whose actions embody this same spirit, energy, char-acter
and dedication to enhance the quality of life for
those suffering the effects of mental illness.
Abe will present this award personally to the win-ner
at this year’s Harvest Luncheon on Thursday, No-vember
8, 2012.
Please complete the enclosed nomination form
and return it to the HERO House Nomination Commit-tee
by Friday, September 14, 2012 for your nominee
to be considered for this prestigious award.
Sincerely,
Erica Levine,
President, Chair of Revenue Development

33. Writing Samples
sowing the seeds of recovery
Each year HERO House continues to grow as an or-ganization
and I am inviting you to grow with us! This
year we are Sowing Seeds of Recovery at our annu-al
Harvest Luncheon; emceed by Dennis Bounds,
co-anchor of KING 5 News.
I invite you to join HERO House, on November 8,
2012, from 11.30am–1pm, at Lake Sammamish Four-square
Church, in Bellevue. We will be celebrating our
accomplishments as an organization, showcasing the
employment success and artistic talents of our mem-bers
and looking to our future. Consider this your op-portunity
to help us sow the seeds of recovery for
the members whose lives are changed through HERO
House.
We will present our second Abe Kriger Visionary
Award in recognition of the invaluable contributions
made by individuals whose actions embody the spir-it,
energy, character and dedication to enhance the
quality of life for those suffering the effects of mental
illness.
Our recipient this year is Jean Robertson, Assistant
Division Director of the King County Mental Health,
Chemical Abuse and Dependency Services Division.
In that role she serves as the Regional Support Net-work
(RSN) Administrator and Chief Operations Offi-cer
of the publicly funded Mental Health Plan in King
County. Jean understands the special needs of—and
how to navigate the government programs to best
serve—the interests of the mental health community.
HERO House is the What Now? for individuals
who have become lost in the mental health system;
for individuals whose current treatment has become
stagnant; or for those who have found great success
in clinical treatment of their illness but are left iso-lated,
unemployed, and hopeless. We restore hope,
empowerment, relationships and opportunities that
people living with mental illness deserve, through
education, advocacy, pre-vocational skill building,
socialization, employment placement and support.
As President and a parent of a member, I look for-ward
to seeing you at the event.
Erica Levine,
President, Chair of Revenue Development