Practical Experience:
logos / icons / presentations / brochures / layout / posters / invitations / packaging layout / labels / html emails / website design / user experience / wireframes / mural design / meeting planning / training / typesetting / desktop publishing / proofreading / copywriting / public relations / event planning / budgeting / vendor relations / vendor sourcing / administrative duties

Specialties:
traditional & digital drawing and painting, vector illustration

Technical Skills:
Adobe Creative Cloud (Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Audition)
Microsoft PowerPoint, Excel, Word, Outlook
Balsamiq
HTML & CSS

Testimonials

Dave Muller – Cengage Learning
"Aaron was hired and tasked with developing a dashboard intended to help customers understand the value my function was providing to their business. The work entailed meeting with customers, interviewing members of my team and organizing and re-framing massive data sheets containing 10's of thousands of transactions - then using his expert level design skills to tell a compelling story. The result was game changing and in my 15+ years of recruiting, I have never had such an incredible resource like this dashboard at my disposal. Aaron's approach was methodical, flexible and most importantly, collaborative. Aaron worked very hard to ensure his work effectively told the story but his focus on making sure the content was framed in a way that matched my presentation style further ensured the effectiveness of the work.

Along the way, Aaron raised his hand to take on addition worked focused on building on-boarding resources for new recruiters, redesigned our job posting templates and numerous other presentations requiring a higher level of design expertise.

As a person, engaged team member and Graphic Designer you wont find someone better than Aaron and I would hire him again in a minute."

Rebecca Tobin – Cengage Learning
"Aaron was instrumental in helping me complete quite a few projects and presentations at Cengage. He was extremely detail-oriented and always had suggestions to improve upon our outlines and ideas. He always completed projects with plenty of time before a deadline and was proactive in taking on new tasks. Aaron was patient when teaching me advanced functions with Excel and PowerPoint and would go the extra mile for any project he was involved in. I highly recommend him as a valuable member of any team."

Paul Cashman – History in Motion
"Working with Aaron to design a logo and business card for History in Motion was a new type of collaboration for me. I had general ideas of the feelings and ideas I wanted to communicate. Aaron turned these into more choices, and more types of choices, than I could ever have conceived of, and worked with me to refine the logo until it conveyed exactly the feeling I wanted. He then translated this to the business card design, and came up with ideas that graphically expressed the idea of time travel into history. As a result, all the elements of his design work together to convey my message with precision, economy, and style."

Stephanie P. – The Playtime Players
"The Playtime Players have thoroughly enjoyed working with Aaron Ellerbee! We are Boston’s first theatre for the very young company, producing live theatre performances specially for children age 0-5. When seeking a local artist to create the poster for our debut production, Aaron was our first choice. He worked closely with us to determine the content and layout of the poster, carefully listening to our needs and preferences, and was always open to revisions and additions. As well as depicting the characters in the poster artwork, he used his graphic design skills to create lettering for the title. For a smaller project, he created drawings of the characters for the coloring page of our educational packet, which turned out simply adorable! He is skilled in formatting and altering images digitally but also has the personal touch of a fine artist. He was great to work with throughout the process, from an initial brainstorm meeting to the submission of the final design."

Design Project History

Technical Content Developer (SAM) – Cengage Learning, Boston MA (July 2015-Present)
Redesigned layout of instruction files, documentation, and graded summary reports for SAM 2016 Projects; redesigned layout of instruction files, documentation, iconography, and graded summary reports for SAM 2019 Projects; updated design and layout of various SAM 2016 Excel projects to meet style standards; created UI mockups to explain proposed system design changes; worked with Cengage Creative Studio to develop images for an internal presentation.

Cover Design, Wristband Design, & Social Media Content – Princeton University, Princeton NJ (Spring 2019)
Provided full-service design from conception to completion; presented exploratory sketches, rough thumbnails, and finished illustrations/designs along with overall layout of wristbands, and a short video for Instagram.

Project Manager, Designer, & PowerPoint Specialist – Cengage Learning, Boston MA (August 2014-March 2015)
Designed & produced performance dashboards for Talent Acquisition; worked with Head of Talent Acquisition to craft a presentation explaining the core of Cengage's Talent Acquisition department to internal clients; created graphics and charts, produced PowerPoint slide layouts and input text; created various one-page flyers to help visually communicate recruiting concepts as needed. Designed interactive dashboards to help the Compensation department track and compare salary information nationally. Worked with the Facilities department to build a searchable seating directory for sites nationwide.

Graphic & Web Design – History in Motion, Somerville, MA (Fall 2013-Fall 2014)
Created original logo for web and print for History in Motion; generated and presented logo variations, produced finished logo and business card according to client's choice; produced icons for web and provided consulting for website design.

Layout & Visual Marketing Design – Panjiva, Cambridge, MA (Summer 2014)
Created a quarterly report and a series of 4 sell sheets for Panjiva; produced finished layouts of copy for print and web according to company brand standards.

Graphics & Administration – Uyghur Kitchen, Somerville, MA (Spring 2014)
Created website, promotional materials, and signage for debut of Uyghur Kitchen Food Truck according to client's wishes; completed and assembled paperwork for licensing process, coordinated with vendors, and provided design consultation as well as image preparation for website and social media outlets.

Visual Marketing Design – The Playtime Players, Newton, MA (Fall 2013-Spring 2014)
Created original illustration and poster, along with a coloring book page for debut of local theatre group performing interactive theatre for young children.

Production Art for Web – B2W Software, Portsmouth, NH (Spring 2014)
Produced 28 website and mobile app mockup screens for B2W Software for the 2014 B2W User Conference according to branding and project guidelines.

Logo Design, Costume Design & Branding – Princeton University Alumni Class of 2004 (Fall 2013-Spring 2014)
Provided full-service graphic design from conception to completion for the Class of 2004's 10th Reunion; presented exploratory sketches, rough thumbnails, and finished illustrations/designs for promotional materials (print and web) along with overall layout of copy.

Illustration & Layout – Emily Lapolice, Somerville, MA (Fall 2013)
Created original illustration for Save-the-Date card; presented exploratory sketches, rough thumbnails, and finished illustrations along with overall layout of copy and illustrations for print.

Cover Art, Design, & Layout – Videri String Quartet debut album "Portals", Somerville, MA (Spring 2013)
Completed a series of 5 original illustrations for print; presented exploratory sketches, rough thumbnails, and finished illustrations along with overall layout of copy.

Assistant Community Space Coordinator – Somerville Open Studios, Somerville, MA (Fall 2012-Spring 2013)
Assisted the Community Space Coordinator for Somerville Open Studios 2013, a city-wide art exhibition. Created database of relevant details from participating artists to assist in space planning, created floor plans to help with space configuration.

Children's Book Illustrations & Layout – Harvard College Stories for Orphans, Cambridge, MA (Spring 2012)
Collaborated with writer to create an original story for orphans in Ethiopia; presented exploratory sketches, rough thumbnails, and finished illustrations along with overall layout of copy and illustrations for print. Printed books were delivered to children at Yesewasew Genet Orphanage in Debre Libanos, Ethiopia.

Logo Design – Stanford Biomedical Optics Group, Cambridge, MA (Fall 2010)
Created original logo for web; generated and presented logo variations, produced finished logo according to client's choice.

Logo Design – Ellerbee Consulting, GmbH, Zurich, Switzerland (Summer 2010)
Created original logo for web and print; generated and presented logo variations, produced finished logo according to client's choice. Also designed business cards for client.

Technical Drawings – MIT Analog Circuits and Biological Systems Group, Cambridge, MA (Summer 2009)
Adapted original technical drawings from client into vector artwork for print. Work was published in the book Ultra Low Power Bioelectronics: Fundamentals, Biomedical Applications, and Bio-Inspired Systems, by Professor Rahul Sarpeshkar.

Author/Illustrator – Princeton in Asia (Fellowship), Tokyo, Japan (September 2006-September 2007)
Authored and illustrated original children's book as a recipient of a Carriebright Fellowship received from Princeton in Asia.