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After my time working on Madison Avenue in NYC, I established and built The Doug Ely Design Group, Inc. (DEDG), where I was President and Creative Director of that firm for 17 years. Over that period, we were recognized as one of the leading marketing and print communication firms in the region And I, personally, was honored as one of the "Top 100 Designers in America," by Graphic Design USA magazine.

 

DEDG won numerous art, design and writing awards over a wide range of categories for work we produced for our clients, who themselves came from a broad array of industries. The particular brochure highlighted here (below) was one near and dear to my heart. It was my baby. I was the primary designer, writer, creative director, and in this case, the client too. It won multiple American Design awards from Graphic Design USA and the Connecticut Art Directors Club, as well as printing awards from the International House of Printing Craftsmen due to some of the unique printing processes used to create it, including specialty paper stocks, varnishes and spot lamination (unfortunately, none of which can be easily viewed on screen).

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Just like all the other DEDG collateral materials, the theme of this self-promotional brochure reflected my own affinity to the ocean and it's shores. I'd spent most of my life on or around the water and was viewed by everyone who knew me, or even mere acquaintances, as a hardcore sailor and someone who spent every spare moment with the smell of salt air running through my nostrils. The sea was in my blood. So it was no surprise that I designed the brochure using that theme. Not to mention, everyone who worked at DEDG enjoyed spending time around the water too. Yes, it seems to affect most people in a philosophical and comforting way.