FEATURED WORK >

AMERICAN MADE BRAND MANAGEMENT

American-Made was not a single campaign or one-off visual identity. It was a growing DOE/NREL innovation platform made up of prizes, partners, entrepreneurs, national labs, support organizations, and regional networks. The brand needed to feel cohesive at the ecosystem level while remaining flexible enough for individual prizes to express their own audiences, technologies, and goals.

CHALLENGE

  • It had to speak to everyone — innovators, DOE leadership, national labs, industry, regional partners.‍
  • Each prize needed its own identity, but still had to feel connected.
  • Without consistency, the program risked feeling scattered.
  • The challenge: a flexible brand framework that could grow without losing that cohesion.

MY ROLE

  • Evolved and governed the brand as it grew across prizes, partners, and channels.
  • Gave quality control and creative direction so materials stayed consistent and credible.
  • Curated visuals, messaging, and templates so teams knew how to apply the brand.
  • Trained designers, prize leads, and vendors on using the system.
  • Built guidance and reusable assets to help the brand scale.
  • Balanced consistency with flexibility — each prize kept its own identity while reinforcing the whole.

SOLUTION

  • Balanced consistency and flexibility — each prize kept its own focus, while staying connected to the larger brand.
  • Set visual and messaging patterns, templates, and guidance for digital, print, events, and training materials.
  • Supported governance through ongoing creative direction, quality control, and review of partner and vendor work.

IMPACT

  • Helped American-Made grow from scattered prize communications into one recognizable national platform.
  • Strengthened brand consistency across prizes, teams, vendors, and partners.
  • Made it easier for anyone to create materials that felt credible and connected.L
  • Let each prize keep its own story while reinforcing the bigger brand.
  • Helped the program read as one coordinated ecosystem, not disconnected initiatives.

PRIZE IDENTITY & 
COLLABORATION

  • Each prize has its own look, message, and audience — but stays aligned with the bigger brand system.
  • A modular framework lets prizes express their own theme (solar, water, manufacturing) while staying part of the national ecosystem.
  • HeroX powers participant collaboration and community building.
  • The result: a scalable, connected network where every prize feeds the larger ecosystem under one brand.

"John has a unique ability to see the broader picture and to think strategically; every design decision is backed by a clear understanding of the content, audience, and brand., John is someone you want on your team."
–Joelynn Schroeder, Silver Square Solutions