"We are thrilled, overjoyed, excited and overall just plain giddy with the work. The copywriting is so spot on."
Sharon Martin, Vice President of University Relations // West Virginia University
Experience
Baas Creative
Associate Creative Director
2021–Present
I lead our team and our clients through the creative process of defining a brand. We start with strategy, and we don't stop until we utter the phrase, "That's it!" Once we've captured the big idea, it's my job to make sure every TV commercial, billboard, webpage, and internal email is brilliantly on brand. This includes creating 100+ page brand guidelines, leading brand trainings, and continuing to concept large-scale brand campaigns for the public to "Ohh!" and "Ahh!" at.

Freelance
Creative Director, Writer, Designer
2008–Present
Most of my freelance work is for small businesses who can't afford big agencies, but still need big ideas. I'm ideally suited for this work because I have a disease that compels me to do my very best work no matter how big or small the job is.

Lake Michigan Credit Union
Senior Writer and Art Director
2018–Present | Grand Rapids, Michigan
You're probably wondering why I worked at a credit union? An industry not exactly known for their creative culture. To be honest, there were practical benefits like family-time and insurance. But I didn't let the culture stop me from making a big impact. When I first arrived, LMCU had a massive disconnect between what they believed and what they advertised. They don't see their members as numbers on a spreadsheet, but prior to my arrival, all of their marketing materials featured numbers and spreadsheets. I redefined the seven billion dollar financial institution from the inside out — connecting their external brand to their internal values. Along the way, I lead a massive cultural shift in the way LMCU thinks about their brand, from a logo and color palette to a deeply-rooted purpose that drives everything they do. 

The Distillery Project, Meijer Team
Senior Writer and Art Director
2016–2018 | Grand Rapids, Michigan
The Distillery Project is Meijer's creative agency of record (not to mention Chicago's three-time small agency of the year). It was my job to push product while pushing the creative envelope across radio, in-store, social media, web, and print for Meijer's multi-million dollar brand campaigns. I crafted the big ideas. Pitched them to very important people. And lead our team through the process of making it real. All of this while artfully juggling business priorities and the political landscape of corporate America (that's code for navigating around people's egos). 

Ologie
Writer and Designer
2013–2016 | Columbus, Ohio
Among other things, Ologie is the nation's premier higher ed branding agency, so living up to high expectations was an every day thing. There were no off days. No easy days. And most of all, no B-work ... ever. My main job was coming up with ideas so big they could define an entire institution, from their English department to their Athletics department, for years to come. If it exists in branding, I did it — including master brand campaigns, capital campaigns, brand guidelines, brand videos, tv commercials, websites, and environmental branding. I led brand trainings for groups as large as 50 people and conducted interviews with everyone from college freshman to multi-millionaires.

Spring Arbor University
Designer and Writer
2010–2013 | Spring Arbor, Michigan
Like most designers and writers on an internal marketing team, I worked on anything and everything needed to market a university. Then, one day, I told my boss that our brand wasn't good enough. I pitched him a new brand concept. He loved it. We won a bunch of awards. SAU set a new record for enrollment. And the rest, as they say, is history.
"You’re always coming to the table with ideas. The insight you provide as a Writer and Designer is invaluable."
Laura Rees and Shelly Coe, Former Associate Creative Directors // Ologie
Awards and Recognition
Winner of double-digit Addy awards spanning integrated campaigns, radio, print, environmental, social, video, and cinematography.

Featured in HOW International for my environmental brand work on Susan G. Komen's 
world headquarters.
"We didn’t even need to put anyone else on the team. You nailed it!"
Kelly Ruoff, Former Partner and Chief Creative Officer // Ologie
My Approach
Leadership and Teamwork
Everybody claims to lead by example. But whose example are they following? Yes, I come in early, stay late, and refuse to deliver work that I'm not intensely proud of. But it's who I follow—Jesus Christ—that makes me different. Everyday I strive to live with the compassion, humility, and honesty he expects. Transfer that into the work place and co-workers become friends, respect becomes contagious, and criticism always comes out constructive.

Branding
A brand isn't something an agency can create. Every business already has a brand. It's who they are. What they value. And what they don't. It's their product and their people. It's the common thread running throughout. My job is to uncover it, and then bring it to life.

Writing and Designing
One person doing two jobs seems advantageous enough. But when those two jobs are intrinsically linked, the benefits extend beyond efficiency. As a designer and writer, I’m able to direct both sides of the creative process with equal knowledge and experience. So instead of predetermining whether a project needs a headline or a look, I’m focused on the most critical job of all: finding the smartest solution to our client’s problem.
"When the President read your concept statement, she literally cried."
Kevin Tyler, Former Senior Account Manager // Ologie
Education
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo, Michigan
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design, 2008

Graduated Cum Laude (Western Michigan University)
President's List every semester (Lansing Community College)
Transfer Student Scholarship (Western Michigan University)
Board of Trustee Scholarship (Lansing Community College)
"You're probably the best writer I've ever worked with."
Lydia VanHoven, Former Creative Team Lead at The Distillery Project
Senior Copywriter // Grey Matter Group 
Proficiencies
Adobe Creative Suite
Indesign / Illustrator / Photoshop / Dreamweaver / Acrobat

Microsoft Office
PowerPoint / Word
"You take your work seriously without taking yourself too seriously."
Mark Baas, Owner and Chief Creative Officer // Baas Creative
Clients
Meijer
Susan G. Komen
Food Network
West Virginia University
Cardinal Health
Vanderbilt University
Gonzaga University
Bentley University
Denison University
Southeast Missouri State University
Spring Arbor University
Lake Michigan Credit Union
"Aaron really listens to my ideas and helps me get them to a great place conceptually. He creates a great work environment where ideas can be free."

Will Robertson, Copywriter // The Distillery Project
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