Thomas Carling

40 Dover Street, APT 3R New York, NY 10038 USA
Website: http://www.carlingdesign.com
Contact

Professional Experience

GOT WORDS? NOW GET READERS. You want your magazine, book, or e-publication to be sought, bought, used, and talked about. You want... Readers, and I can help you connect with them, in print, on screen. I’m a New York-based publication designer offering a full range of art direction, design, and production services in print and digital formats. Over the span of a two-decade plus career, I’ve designed a sweeping array of magazines books for kids, young adults, and grown-ups in close collaboration with major publishers and global brands. They’ve reward me by coming back time and again. The average length of my relationship with my top five clients: 12 years. Checkout my new website: www.carlingdesign.com. Drop a dime: 212-393-9430. Or send a note: tom@carlingdesign.com

Expertise

Art Director
25 Years
Graphic Designer
25 Years
Designer
25 Years

Specialty

Business (general)
25 Years
Sports & Recreation
25 Years
Books & Literature
15 Years

Industries


Magazine - Trade magazines/publications (B2B)
25 Years
Book Publishing Consumer
15 Years
Association publication
25 Years

Total Media Industry Experience

13 Years

Media Client List (# assignments last 2 yrs)

W.H. Freeman (10+), Asset International (10+), Shoreline Publishing Group (10+), Oomf Inc (3-5), Krames/StayWell-American Red Cross (1-2), Rodale Inc (1-2), Print Matters (3-5), Scholastic (1-2)

Corporate Client List (# assignments last 2 yrs)

Pace Law School (10+), AUTM/Blue Waters Group (6-10), The Leadership Program (1-2)

Other Work History

Art Director, The American Kennel Club

Technical Skills

Photo research, photo retouching, compositing, color correction expertise, pre-press/print production savvy, press checks

Computer Skills

Mac OS 10, InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator

Equipment

Fully-equipped graphic design studio, proprietary FTP

References

See Website or contact directly. Rick Resnick, VP Marketing Time/Fortune/Money/FSB: rick_resnick@timeinc.com Alec Morrison, Director, Custom Content, Sports Illustrated: alec_morrison@timeinc.com Jim Buckley, President, Shoreline Publishing Group: jbuckley@shorelinepublishing.com Anna Palchik, Creative Director, Bedford/St.Martins: APalchik@bedfordstmartins.com

Awards

I don't enter competitions. Repeat clients are my measure of success. Average length of relationship with top five clients since 1989: ?12 years.

Associations

Freelancers Union, LinkedIn

Showcase

Magazine Designer

Pace Law School Alumni Magazine
(Pace Law School 7/8/2016)
Pace Law School approached Carling Design to redesign and produce their annual alumni magazine. As well as creating a fresh, new look which reflected the school's recent rebranding, we implemented a clearer organizational structure and reduced the overall page count by more than 10%.
The Star
(Mercedes-Benz Club of America 7/16/2016)
"The Star" is the official magazine of the Mercedes-Benz Club of America. Carling Design prepared this redesign in anticipation of an RFP for the design and art direction of the bi-monthly publication. "I didn't feel The Star went far enough to reflect the upscale, younger aura of the brand."
Star Wars 20th Anniversary Commemorative
(Topps/Lucasfilm 7/16/2016)
This 96-page, one-shot commemorative magazine celebrated the twentieth anniversary of the original Star Wars movie. Having access to Lucasfilm’s vast archive provided a wealth of visual material to illustrate the feature articles. A prominent feature of the magazine was the use of sculpted text columns which helped to counter the boxiness of the many picture windows.
HomeOwner
(Sports Illustrated 7/16/2016)
Really a magazine within a magazine, I often thought that HomeOwner could have stood on its own. This twelve to twenty-four page section ran five times a year in Sports Illustrated and featured a variety of original service and essay pieces on all aspects of home ownership and family life.
Commemorative Magazine
(Cancer Research Institute 7/8/2016)
CRI wanted to make a splash for their 60th anniversary and commissioned Carling Design to produce a 48-page commemorative magazine. Scott Laumann's cover art tells the story: CRI is the leader in cancer immunotherapy -- breakthrough treatments that utilize the body's immune system to fight disease.
Custom Content Advertising Spreads
(Sports Illustrated 7/9/2016)
Some called them “spreadvertorials”; customized editorial niches (left side of spread) designed to provide a favorable environment for advertisers. In general, we strive to compliment the ad creative and reflect the brand. In most cases, Sports Illustrated had complete control over the design and content of the edit pages. This sampling is selected from the later years of our association with SI. Some campaigns appeared in many Time Inc titles including Fortune, People, Money, Time, Parenting, Health and Life.

College Textbook Designer

Biology for a Changing World
(W.H. Freeman/Scientific American 7/8/2016)
This hybrid design--a blend of college textbook pedagogy and newsstand magazine journalism--is an attempt to engage students with compelling, real-life stories. Every chapter opens with a splashy, magazine-like spread and the airy layout and colorful art program draws students through the material.
Nutrition for a Changing World
(W.H. Freeman/Scientific American 9/19/2024)
Macmillan Education turned to us to bring our formidable experience with magazines and trade book design to bear on the fact that college kids don't read textbooks. This book evokes an edgy magazine vibe with unexpected colors, graphic touches, and a clean, accessible layout.
What is Life?
(W.H. Freeman 9/19/2024)
W.H. Freeman had a problem. It was time to redesign the best-selling college biology textbook in the country. How do you make it even better and protect your market dominance? Carling Design had some ideas. Now in it's 3rd edition, What is Life is still a best seller. Oh, and kids actually read it.

Book Designer

Animal Planet Animal Atlas
(Animal Planet/Time Inc Books/Shoreline Publishing Group 7/16/2016)
Animal Planet Animal Atlas, a definitive atlas of animal life, takes readers on a continent-by-continent and habitat-by-habitat passport to adventure! It features striking photos, lively fun art by Aaron Meshon, and an expansive 11 x 13 format that showcases the face-to-face animal meet-up styling.
DK Eyewitness Books
(DK Publishing/Shoreline Publishing Group 7/16/2016)
The most trusted nonfiction series on the market, DK Eyewitness Books provide an in-depth, comprehensive look at the subjects with a unique integration of words and pictures. “Though I didn’t the format, coming up with exciting layouts while staying within DK’s rigorous design guidelines was always a challenge. Every spread is an intricate puzzle.” Carling Design has created more iconic DK books than any other outsourcer.
Year in Sports 2015
(Shoreline Publishing Group/Scholatic 7/16/2016)
Scholastic called on Carling Design and SPG to redesign their kid's sports annual. We jazzed up Year in Sports with high-energy color and a fun, modular design that encouraged browsing. The result: sales in the first two months exceeded the avaerage annual sales of any previous edition. Score!

Marketing and Promotional Collateral Designer

Pace Law School Graduate Program Brochure
(Pace Law School 7/16/2016)
The Director of Graduate Programs for Pace Law School approached Carling Design to design a tri-fold brochure highlighting their LLM degree programs. “These brochures are often seen in a crowded environment with lots of material from other schools. For the cover, I decided to steer clear of the usual photo montages or scenic campus vistas and go with a bold, typographic treatment. I know lawyers love fine print but I went for scale.”
ELA Leadership Report
(Pace Law School 7/16/2016)
PLS's Environmental Law Department came to us to create a "sleek, white, minimalistic" look for their 12-page, annual report. To keep the design from lapsing into "sterile", we incorporated abstract cartography drawings throughout that depict the intersection of synthetic and natural landscapes.
Law Student Recruitment Guide
(ALM 9/19/2024)
ALM, a leading publisher of legal periodicals, asked Carling Design to show how we might redesign their annual "Law Student Recruitment Guide." Their goal was to escape the realm of a bland catalog for a well-organized publication with a friendly yet professional consumer magazine feel."