As the owner and creative director of Point Four Ltd., Mr. Martin is currently and actively looking for employment opportunities from companies that might be interested in his experience and expertise. Point Four Ltd. is also exploring ways in which to form an alliance with other advertising agencies and designers to extend their resources in advertising, design and technical illustration.
History of Point Four Ltd. and Professional Experience of the Owner and Creative Director.
Profile:
Len Martin is an award winning graphic communications professional with over twenty-five years of experience in providing innovative advertising, graphic design, technical illustration and exhibit service for corporations throughout the world. Marketing and engineering departments of leading corporations in the transportation, robotics, coal, pharmaceutical, architecture, computer, waste energy, steel, aluminum and other industries rely on Point Four Ltd. and Mr. Martin for advertising, illustration and photography services as well as literature development, web site design and content, and trade show exhibit design and management.
Mr. Martin is currently president of Point Four Ltd., a full-service advertising, design, and technical illustration agency located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
In 1983 he formed Point Four Ltd. and in 1997 he formed a Sports Division publishing products primarily about Major League Baseball Ballparks. He is renowned nationwide as the creator of build-it-yourself type ballpark books. In 1993, his first book entitled "Fenway Park— Build-It-Yourself' was published by Addison-Wesley of Boston, MA and sold 20,000 copies. In 1995 Point Four Ltd. published "Forbes Field—Build-It Yourself' which has sold over 10,000 copies.
A familiar name to many major metals industry companies, Point Four Ltd. and Mr. Martin are listed as suppliers of technical art and illustration in the Directory of Iron and Steel Plants published by the Association of Iron and Steel Technology. For eighteen years he has worked extensively within the metals industry, and has photographed and illustrated on-site at over fifty steelmaking plants in the United States, Canada, Norway and Denmark. Thoroughly familiar with many manufacturing processes, he is a valued supplier of meticulously rendered technical illustrations used in product and process development, advertising, marketing, parts identification and the assembling and maintenance of plant buildings and equipment. Many of these illustrations have been published in national and international trade publications such as 33 Metal Producing, New Steel, MPT, AIST’s Steel Technology, Steel Times International, SEAISI, ILAFA and Waste News.
After successfully directing graphic departments and in-house advertising agencies for several large companies Mr. Martin founded Point Four Ltd. in 1983.
• one of the nation's leading publishers of books
• the world's largest manufacturer of transformers for electric arc furnaces
• the nation's largest manufacturer of mass transit systems
• international manufacturers of continuous casting machines
• an international manufacturer of electric arc furnaces
• an international manufacturer of induction furnaces
• manufacturers of pollution control equipment for the steel and aluminum industries
• the world's largest manufacturer of electric arc furnaces
• an international supplier of coal preparation plants
• international engineering and construction firms
• one of the world's largest oil and gas companies
• the world’s largest capacity commercial LFG to High Btu production plant
Montauk Energy Capital, Pittsburgh; Rumpke Sanitary Landfills, Cincinnati.
Education:
Mr. Martin has studied advertising and graphic design throughout the Northeast, receiving a Bachelor of Science in Art Education and Advertising from Youngstown State University and specialized instruction at the Pratt Center for Computer Graphics in Design in New York City and the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. He is a native of Sharon, Pennsylvania. Thoroughly experienced in today’s lightening fast paced world of computer graphics and computer illustration, Mr. Martin was listed in the very first edition of Marquis Who's Who Biographical Directory of the Computer Graphics Industry.
Major Accomplishments and Activities:
Highly regarded for his versatility and creativity, Mr. Martin has been tapped for a variety of one-of-a-kind projects during his career. In 1983 Mr. Martin designed, budgeted and supervised the construction of the first trade show exhibit in the world to contain a full-size 25-ton electric arc steelmaking furnace. This exhibit, which was located at the American Foundry Society's Cast Expo in St. Louis, resulted in the largest order (over $700,000) placed from the Exposition's floor.
In 1991 he was selected by the nation's leading manufacturer of transportation systems to design the exterior of the vehicles that where to be incorporated into a $1.69 billion mass transit system to serve Honolulu, Hawaii.
In the spring of 1996 Mr. Martin was selected by the Mayor’s office of the City of Pittsburgh in cooperation with the Three Rivers Arts Festival to design and manage a special exhibit titled, “Forbes Field to Coors Field, A Classic Ballparks Exhibit. “ Designed to reflect the interest nationally of new ballparks as well as the new ballpark for Pittsburgh, now well known as PNC Park.
In 2001 the “Driving It Home” exhibition at The Frick Art & Historical Center and Museum featured historical baseball park images and original illustrations by Mr. Martin including two 12’ high x 40’ long murals of the outside façade of Forbes Field and the 1960 World Series Game 7 scoreboard.
In 2004 Turner Network Television (TNT) premiered a new feature film titled “The Winning Season” The backdrop for the film is the 1909 World Series that pitted the Pittsburgh Pirates against Ty Cobb and the Detroit Tigers. CBS Digital handled special effects for the film at their Television City studios in Hollywood. Point Four Sports where tapped as experts in historical ballpark and stadium design and construction. Mr. Martin's company Point Four Sports assisted CBS Digital in the re-creation of Forbes Field for the Pittsburgh World Series scenes.
In 2007 Mr. Martin completed a 10 year project for ATF Fitness Products, a Pittsburgh based company and their Sci-Fit brand, to design and provide art direction and art production for approximately 4000 dietary supplement labels and packaging for 500+ products some of which included vitamins, minerals, herbs, protein bars, sports drinks, diet and weight loss, creatines, and whey protein.
Mr. Martin has served as a Major League Baseball Licensee, a member of the Association of Iron and Steel Technology and the Society for American Baseball Research. He is also a preservationist serving as a member of Pennsylvania State Senator Jim Ferlo’s Forbes Field Preservation and Protection Working Group in conjunction with the University of Pittsburgh and the City of Pittsburgh Department of Parks and Recreation. Mr. Martin has also served on historical committees regarding three Official State Historical Markers commemorating Forbes Field, Barney Dreyfuss and Exposition Park.
Honors and Awards:
• 2002 Golden Quill Finalist – Sports Journalism – The Press Club of Western Pennsylvania. Touching All The Bases, Pittsburgh Magazine April 2001.
•1999 Best of Category 33rd Annual Exhibition of Western Pennsylvania Printing.
•The 1984 Bronze Medal from the Association for Multi-Image International for a presentation at the 1983 Iron and Steel Exposition.
•Awarded First Place in the 1981 Industrial Graphics International Art Competition in Baltimore.
•First place award for excellence in advertising from McGraw-Hill in both 1976 and 1983.
•"Best of Show" award, 1979 Industrial Graphics International Art Competition in Anaheim, CA.
•"Best of Category" awards in the 1977 and 1978 Industrial Graphics International Art Competitions in Washington D.C. and San Jose, CA.
•"Best of Category" award, 1977 Industrial Graphics International Art Competition.
Once described as eclectic by a local newspaper Mr. Martin provides customer-oriented products designed with the most value for your money. At the same time Point Four Ltd. never loses sight of the budget and always has the best interests of the customer in mind.