christopher a. ritter graphic designer EDUCATION Northern ...

christopher a. ritter
graphic designer
(859) 803-3935 • christopheraritter@gmail.com
85 Burdsall Avenue • Ft. Mitchell, KY 41017
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EDUCATION
Northern Kentucky University — Highland Heights, KY
BFA Art (Graphic Design Emphasis) — December 2006
EXPERIENCE
hyperQUAKE, Cincinnati, OH — Designer (12/06 – present)
Serves as Creative Lead and provides art direction on a variety of projects
Provides an innovative design stance towards all projects
Communicates with and gives recommendations to clients pertaining to strategic
design implementation
Conducts extensive design trend research and provides potential design solutions
based on research results
Brainstorms and develops design ideas across different media platforms including
packaging, magazine layouts, exhibitions, signage, advertising, and web
Provides production files and communication to print vendors
Collaborates with strategists to develop focused, innovative brand strategy
Providing support for development of hyperQUAKE visual identity
WhatIfSports.com, Blue Ash, OH — Designer (9/06 – 12/06)
Assisted with layout and identity of website
Created concepts for and designed promotional advertisements
Drew Photoshop illustrations for web banners
Presented design ideas to company management
CINMAR, Inc., West Chester, OH — Co-op (1/05 – 5/05)
Aided with design of catalogs: Frontgate, Skymall and Splash
Collaborated with Liquidation Department and created sales inserts
Designed safety posers and a variety of in-house projects
Assisted with selection of cover photography
Hand-drew FPO images for Splash
Worked with pre-press on photo color corrections
Assembled comps for designers and executives
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HONORS & affiliations
Served as a reviewer for AIGA Student Portfolio Review — 2008
Mentor participant in AIGA Mentoring program – 2008
Member of ADCC and AIGA — Cincinnati Chapters — 2004–present
Works displayed in The Underground Railroad Freedom Center Show at Northern
Kentucky University, Juror: Michael Ray Charles — Fall 2004
Winner of Freedom Studies Student Visual Art Contest — 2004 & 2005
Student Scholarship Show participant — 2003–2006
Nominee for NKU’s Outstanding Senior, nominated by TKE — Spring 2004
Norse Leadership Society — 2002–2005 — Secretary, 2004
special talents
Leadership — Provides leadership necessary to foster innovative design thinking
Creative — Innovative and strategic design concepts
Software — Adobe CS3, QuarkXPress 4.11, Flash, Mac Platform

hoegaarden repackaging
6-pack & 12 oz. bottles
Packaging of Hoegaarden Beer (pronounced: who-gar-den).
Brand restage includes De Stijl-influenced typography, which
suggests the origin of the brand as well as the sophistication or
imported specialty beer.

g-rides customer appreciation day
11˝ x 17˝ poster
Promotional poster for an event hosted by a Cincinnati
wakeboarding shop. Illustration presents the gift of flowers while
saying “thank you” to the customer.

g-rides demo day
11˝ x 17˝ poster
Promotional poster for a product demonstration hosted by
G-Rides. Poster announces the event while showing a number of
the products to be displayed.

AIGA portfolio review
11˝ x 17˝ poster
Illustrative design making a statement about the students the poster
is targeting. Depicts the scramble of preparing a design portfolio
for review.

vine magazine
editorial design
Cincinnati pop culture magazine featuring expressive design
and typesetting intended to establish a young, liberal crowd in
a traditionally conservative city.

homage to scala
mixed media poster
Homage to the typeface Scala, the first extended type family
to include both serif and sans serif varieties. The collage shows
visual ties to the typeface’s classical music origins and suggests
its double identity.

jesse mcdonald
typographic portrait
Mixed media portrait based from an interview with Jesse
McDonald. The design reflects the subject’s unique personal
style and features an original quote from the interview describing
the subject’s views on living life.

eck
mixed media illustration
Illustration of the musician based from a Rolling Stone article
anticipating his Guero album release. The aggressive style is
representative of the album’s attitude. Design includes samples
of his “cut-and-paste” lyrics and imagery inspired by the artist.

amnesty international
24˝ x 36˝ poster
Promotion poster targeting college students. A confrontational
approach was used to differentiate from the myriad of imagery
today’s college students are exposed to while provoking thought
about one of the principles in Amnesty’s Universal Declaration
of Human Rights.

always
wal-mart awareness
Series of posters intended to raise awareness of the business
ethics of “big-box” department stores. Wal-Mart’s controversial
business practices are used as examples.

fading cincinnati
11˝ x 17˝ screenprinted posters
An 11-part poster series designed for Cincinnati Preservation
Association highlighting the most prominent endangered historical
sites near Cincinnati. Promotes local awareness of endangered
significant historical buildings in the Greater Cincinnati area.

mosquito scratch
6˝ x 9˝ two-color illustration
First illustration of three for the Scratch series. Explores the
viewers impulse to itch at the sight of a mosquito and implies
reverse psychology by telling the viewer, “Don’t do it. You’ll just
make it worse.”

turkey from scratch
6˝ x 9˝ two-color illustration
Second illustration of three for the Scratch series. Composition
hints at the appetizing nature of a home-cooked meal made
from scratch, and displays the elaborate process of producing
such a meal.

illegible chicken scratch
6˝ x 9˝ two-color illustration
Third illustration of three for the Scratch series. This design
explores the struggles of a gifted young boy who encounters
ridicule from his teachers because of his illegible handwriting.