Craig Kunce - Professional Bio

Being born with a curious mind and a desire to explore new areas and ideas, my professional background is deep, layered and focused.

Brand Management and Product Development

A large portion of my design career has been spent working in corporate creative/art departments. I began in a paste-up department as a keyliner, then gained valuable experience as a layout artist, prepress artist, production art assistant manager, graphic artist, designer, and art director/product manager.

In this position I designed, art directed and managed in-house corporate brands, and also managed and adapted outside brands to fit licensed product lines. My accounts included the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games, the NFL, MLB, NBA, NASCAR, NHL, WNBA, MLS, NCAA, Pro Wrestling (WCW), Nickelodeon, Garfield, Looney Tunes, Rugrats, Rugrats the Movie, Peanuts, Scooby Doo, and several Warner Bros. movies including Batman, Space Jam and The Quest for Camelot.

As product manager, I worked as part of our product development team to research, conceptualize, test, design, cost, implement and ultimately launch the marketing campaigns of several new product each year. Our team was also responsible to track product success, redesign and updating, as well as ongoing analysis and monitoring.

Learning while having fun…

A special moment in my career came while directing a licensed product launch for a newly acquired Garfield license. An “immerse yourself in the brand” trip to Paws, Inc., in Muncie, Indiana, led to a memorable creative session with Garfield creator Jim Davis. During a meeting to negotiate the licensing contract, Jim and I noticed each other daydreaming a little. So Jim asked me to join him at the end of the huge conference table, opposite the negotiations. While the others negotiated, Jim pulled out a sketch pad and asked me for some product ideas and concepts. For the next half hour or so, I threw out ideas and headlines while Jim sketched Garfield in poses and apparel to match. It was an experience of a lifetime that forever impacted how I view the creative process. Developing the Garfield product line was one of the high-points in my career.

Other fond memories include attending annual licensing events. These events were designed to immerse the attendees in the property’s brand culture and help art directors and designers better understand how to adapt the brand to licensed products. Some of of my most memorable events were: riding the official Olympic bobsled run in Park City, UT (going 55 mph—quite scary!); NASCAR’S 25th anniversary dinner and party in the Rainbow Room in New York (we also went to a live taping of Letterman); Warner Bros. licensing party for the opening of Batman in Burbank, CA, (complete with some Hollywood glitz and huge ice sculptures of the Batman car and logo); Nickelodeon’s licensing party for Rugrats the Movie, in Orlando, FL. (Devo played live and reminded me that we all grow old—but can still have fun); and WCW’s licensing weekend in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, where I got to interact with the “talent,” chat with Bill Goldberg, and have a beer with “Mean” Gene Okerlund about Baron Von Rashke and Mad Dog VaShon—“Hey, I thought it was real!?”

While the hands-on (and eyes-on) brand-culture education these events provided was invaluable, these events also provided the fondest memories of my corporate art career. Throughout, I always made it a point to have fun first, meet new people, experience new things, get inspired, and live life. Designing was what I (and my very talented staff) did after the fun—and it made the work that much more enjoyable.

Designing and Building Custom Furniture

I've always enjoyed designing and building furniture, so I left the corporate world for three years and went into business making custom, solid-wood furniture. I rented 1100 sq. ft. in an industrial park and hung out my shingle.

For three years I worked with many wonderful people and businesses building furniture for their homes and offices. In three years I built approximately 150 different pieces. They included entertainment centers, hutches, tables, chairs, dining sets, bar stools, curio cabinets, porch swings, gun cabinets, dressers, night stands and beds. It was another rewarding experience that I will always cherish. For me, there is something special about working one-on-one with nature’s elements and crafting them into functional pieces of art.

College Teaching Experience

Reversing gears a little… At the green, yet ambitious age of 22, I was hired to teach the design of advertising, graphic design, illustration, and portfolio at Viterbo College in La Crosse, WI. This amazing experience led to many years of adjunct teaching at Viterbo University and Western Technical College in La Crosse, WI. It also turned out to be something I wanted to pursue full-time. Several years later, I joined the full-time staff at Western Technical College's Graphic Design Department where I currently teach Design Fundamentals, Illustration Concepts, Graphic Design and Marketing and Graphic Design Portfolio.

Children's Books and Licensing My Art

To ensure I continue to remain relevant and inspirational in my graphic design classroom, I license my artwork to be used on retail products, and I write, illustrate and publish a series of children's books under the title and brand, Edrick the Inventor. My art has been used to make home and garden products like decorative home banners, windsocks, and garden flags. My work has been sold on products in Walmart, Miles Kimball and Menards. I currently have two Edrick books published, with a third on the way.

I also do several author visits to elementary and middle schools each month. I read my children's books and discuss my experiences as a writer and illustrator. It is a rewarding experience that allows me to share what I have learned with a new generation of creative minds.