Curriculum Vitae (CV)
A Curriculum Vitae is a collection of work that when viewed in totality tells the story of your career. What follows is the story of how I got to where I am today.
The Middle Ground Foundation
The Middle Ground Trifecta is a small bounty of projects and productions that collectively make up the essence of what Middle Ground is. In other words, without these core programs Middle Ground wouldn't exist.
Ongoing
Open Notes (→) Founded 2025
Open Notes shares small thoughts about the big picture. Each week I share a note via the Ground Up Newsletter, and every so often I publish a Open Notes analog book.
Ongoing
Middle Ground Bookshop (→) Founded 2024
The Middle Ground Bookshop was founded to sell the books we publish for curious readers and artifacts we've designed for digital essentialists.
Ongoing
The Ground UP Newsletter (→) Founded 2023
The Ground Up Newsletter was founded as a way to build an audience without using and becoming dependent upon social media. It's now the primary way I share my work.
Ongoing
Middle Ground Compendium (→) Founded 2021
Middle Ground Compendium is a collection of designs made for fun. It's no longer shared weekly, but is regularly updated!
Side Projects
Side projects are endevors that were big enough to draw a lot of my time, but not significant enough to become an on-going production. Each of these projects started and ended (in varying capcityies).
2024
ICONS (link coming soon)
ICONS stands for Innocuous Concepts Offering Novel Solutions and was founded as a medium for making intagible ideas visual.
2023
Tid-Bit badge Catalog (link coming soon)
The Tid-Bit badge catalog was my first crack at combining writing and design into one unique practice. It gave way to all of my shorter and longer form writing projects.
2021
Saturday Type Club
Saturday Type Club was my first real creative endevor. Each Saturday I would complete and share a peice of type-based design. STC eventurally become the Middle Ground Compendium.
Design
The Collection of design work in this portion of my CV is meant to give you a better idea of both how I've grown as a designer and the work I am currently capable of. To see more projects navigate to the "Projects" page.
2025
The MiddleVerse Icon Family (link coming soon)
The MiddleVerse is a comphrensive collection of everything noteworthy about Middle Ground
2025
Hayes Family Crest (link coming soon)
My name is Mike Hayes, and I'm married to Rebecca (the best wife ever). This ICON symbolizes our unity and makes me feel happy.
2025
Book Mark Stamp
Bookmark or Book Mark? This stamp helps me keep note of the important details as they pertain to my book reading.
2024
Lead Collective 2024 Impact Report
Each year I design a new Impact Report for Lead Collective. This artifact is the cornerstone of their messaging and fundraising.
2024
GOAT Adventure Hoodie
GOAT or Great Outdoor Adventure Trips. Provides free outdoor adventures for students in Greenville. This hoodie represents all of the places the visit.
2024
Harbor Coworking Brand Design
Harbor Coworking exists as a sustainabilty project for Lead Collective.  
2024
Go-Fig Brand Design
GoFig is an emerging AI technology start-up that allows its users to allocate and interpret all of their data in one easy to navigate platform.
2024
To Do Today Journal
Without consukting this journal I'd be lost. I need a physcial to-do list. Maybe you do too.
2023
Lead Collective Brand Design
Lead Collective was founded in 2019, but by 2023 their initial brand was failing. I refreshed the kit and set them down the straight and narrow.
2023
One Community Church Brand Design
With a callback to blackletter typography, this mark represents One Community's desire to uphold established and helpful church traditions.
2023
Greenville Ultimate Brand Design
A sports crest for the best sport ever. A match made in ultimate frisbee heaven.
2023
Single Speed Wallet
A wallet with one job; to hold onto my various cards.
2022
The Judson School Brand Design
The Judson School offers premium educaion services to children and this mark tells that story with its leafy imagry, a slight nod to growth.
2022
Bel-Aire Brand Design
Bel-Are is a community partner, this mark symbolizes thier commitment by tying a knot with the "B" letterform.
2022
Bridge City Brand Refresh
bridge City had a strong brand, but needed a lift. Another designer and I went in and cleaned up a few things.
Publishing
I've officially published two books, and plan to publish more! In fact, I plan to publish as many as I can both fiction and non-fiction. You can plan on this section of my CV being continually updated.
2024
Log Out
Log Out explores our questionable relationship with modern media. To read it, click the link above.
2023
Stepless
Stepless explores how to use creative hurdles as fuelf or the journey. To reacd it, click the link above.
Work Experince
I've gotten to be apart of some pretty special organizations over the years. You may not see a ton of hopping around to X, Y, or Z company, but that's intentional.
2022  — Now
Lead Collective・Creative Director
Ideating, and executing various creative ideas rooted in design, marketing, and story telling.
2021  — 2022
Great Outdoor Adventure Trips ・Program Director
Created and executed organizational vision for GOAT. Hired, and lead various roles ranging from Summer Guides to Program Coordinators. Communicated with Partner organizations.
2019  — 2021
Bridge City Coffee ・Shift Lead / Designer
Upheld café standards. Lead / managed coworkers. Refreshed brand idenity system and created bespoke brand assets.
Education
My formal education is pretty limited. I'm not a formal higher education guy. I've got pleanty of street and DIY smarts though.
2017 — 2021
North Greenville University ・ Bachelor of Science in Marketing
Graduated a semester early with a degree in Marketing. Self taught Graphic Designer.