Logos and branding
T-shirt and branding icon design for License Plate Garage, an online-based vintage retailer.
Splash image and logo design for "See you next week, In space!", an emerging podcast.
Branding, logo, and print design for Risen Games, an independent video game studio.
T-shirt design for Highland Valley Elder Services, an agency operating Meals on Wheels.
Logo, Vector, and Print Design
A gardening and building creator hired me to develop a logo for their brand, Dandy's Farm. The goal was to create a vector illustration and logo that not only conveyed subjects the client covers on their channel, but showcased the creator himself as part of the brand.
This project required that all of the assets produced be print-ready vectors, I even created a version that could be lasered onto surfaces using a CMC machine.
Here we have two versions of the final logomark ready for on-demand printing.
At left is a mono version of the logomark, specifically designed for lasering onto wood, picture below. This version of the logomark required redesign of the original full-color image to maintain readability with a single color.
I experimented with incorporating tool-like elements in the design in the concepts at right. The idea was to visually communicate the handyman nature of the channel so potential viewers would know up front what to expect.
Sawblade motifs proved to be an effective way of communicating "building" while the harvest basket and vegetables served well for "gardening."
The client successfully utilized the designs in their branding campaign, both on social media and their online shop. A "D" monogram was also created upon request for smaller items like hats and for use as a favicon on their website.
Logo and Vector Design
A local theater company approached me to design a logo for use on merch, signage, and online. They requested lettering and a vector graphic based on the cheeky toy robot at right.
A mono vector was requested for screen printing, which required some additional redesign of the character.
I experimented with expressions and colors, but felt that the original robot had the best combo of retro and bold that the client had requested.
License Plate garage
Graphic and Print Design
I was contracted to produce a number of t-shirt designs and a graphic for digital branding. The client did not have a specific vision for the branding image, but did want it on one of the shirts. As for the other shirt designs, one was requested in the style of license plate art, and the other of a slogan provided by the client.
My first goal was to produce the branding image. The picture at right is the client's 1959 Corvette, this car proved to be great inspiration for the piece.
I pitched my idea to the client alongside an image of the album cover and they loved the concept. I asked them for a reference image showing the car from the front and they sent me the image at right. From here, I set about breaking down the form of the car into lines and shapes.
As a kid, I used to flip through my parents album collection and stare at the front covers. When I started thinking about how to incorporate the Corvette in a design, the same image kept popping into my head: The cover of "Eliminator" by ZZTop.
I envisioned a scalable image of the Corvette seen from below the front bumper with the grille and headlights aggressively pushing towards the viewer. I decided to create this image using bold lines with no shading, to make the silhouette as recognizable as possible.
I created two versions of the final design. The first, done only in white and transparency for use as a versatile logo or branding icon which could easily be converted to any color and size.
The second version, I produced as an experiment during the design process, mostly to see what could be done with more than one color. I happened to show this version to the client and they ended up wanting this one to be the T-shirt design.
Final Designs
At right are the final designs for the Corvette, License Plate Artist, and More Plates shirts.
Once I completed the designs, I prepared all the images for use with the print-on-demand marketplace offered by Amazon. I also provided the client with a scalable and easily recolored version of the car design for use on their website, packaging, and other branding.
The clients were very happy with the results of this project and we have continued to work on projects together going forward.
At left are the other two T-shirt designs:
License Plate Artist
I created "pieces" of license plates by tracing over images of real plates and arranged them to resemble a piece of license plate art.
More Plates
I punched up a slogan suggestion by the client to be more concise and arragned the words to emphasize the message.
See you next week, in space
Graphic and Branding Design
An emerging podcast contracted me to design a splash image for branding purposes, to be used on their website, social media, and podcast pages. The show is two sisters watching various science fiction movies and discussing them after the fact. One sister loves sci-fi, the other hates it and the energy of each episode revolves around their disagreement.
The clients wanted an image depicting both of them in the style of Powerpuff Girls, but had little specific guidance other than that.
Concepts and Mockups
My first task was to nail down the requested style. Using pictures of the sisters as reference, I created an image of each using the large features and simple shapes associated with Powerpuff Girls. I depicted each sister with the demeanor they affect on the show to push the theme.
At left is a color test I made as a way to gauge the client's desired color palette for the image. I had started with purple and as a base, and this is what the client ended up liking the most. Going forward, I stuck with this color palette as an over-arching theme for the rest of the designs.
Initially, I placed the sisters wearing spacesuits in the vacuum of space, as above. I thought this left the characters unanchored in the image, so I experimented with placing them next to a porthole.
Final Images
In the end the porthole motif was used in the final design because we all felt that it pushed the sci-fi theme the most effectively and created the most cohesive image.
At the end of the project, the clients requested that I create an alternate branding image to give some variety to their visual materials. They wanted the new image to depict them as "90s aliens," so I took the same expressions from the original image, and channeled little green men into them.
Risen Games
Branding and Graphic Design
Following the collapse of a game studio I was working at, some colleagues and I founded Risen Games. Thrust into the indie world, our budding studio needed a spicy logo to catch the eye.
We were hooked on this idea that our company had emerged from the ashes of our old one, like a phoenix being reborn. Our attitude was "indies are cool, and so are we." We wanted a logo that was rad enough where people would want to wear our shirt even if they didn't know our games.
Concepts
As a teen, I was a huge fan of skateboarding and the art on Birdhouse boards and shirts stuck with me in particular. Skateboard brands were one of those things where people wore the clothes and used the stickers even if they didn't skate. This is what I wanted for our logo.
After some experimenting I settled on the huge bird skull with tiny, sparrow-like phoenix as above. We hadn't nailed down "Risen Games" as our company name at this point, so I was using the more generic "Phoenix Studios" for my concepts. Although we never came up with a name for the little fire sparrow, people definitely connected with this character, and as I hoped, a bunch of them wanted shirts.
Final Design
The final design was printed on shirts, stickers, posters, marketing materials, and on all our booth gear. Many people connected positively with our logo over the years as we presented at conventions and attended events, and I was asked quite a few times what the idea behind it was.
To me, this design was successful because of the curiosity it created, always leading me into interesting conversations with my peers if nothing else. Even with Risen Games gone I still keep my old shirt, ragged as it is, because I'm always going to think it's cool as heck.
Pandemic Shirt
Graphic and Print Design
I've worked in a Meals on Wheels kitchen for the last 8 years. Originally this was my day job to support my art and design passion, but over time I was given more and more responsibility until the kitchen was handed off to me in 2019 and I became the Head Chef.
1 year later the covid-19 pandemic hit like a truck. I steered the kitchen through the dark days, redesigning protocols, workflows, and safety guidelines. Somehow, we made it through everything without missing a single service, despite several scares.
After the first year, my company approached me to create a shirt for our employees as part of a thank you package for all their dedication throughout this trying time. I took this design from conception to printing over the course of two weeks and several feedback sessions.
Concepts
With a quick turnaround desired, I created mockups right away for review by my bosses. I pieced these together according to a short design brief outlining which logos should be included. For the image I wanted to depict the raised fists of Meals on Wheels workers in a show of solidarity.
Mockups
I removed the hand with the steering wheel at this stage because I felt the design was too cluttered. This element represented our drivers, who I did not want to exclude, so I created a car graphic and added it to the back.
The board of directors at my agency wanted to see our logo moved to the top of the back design. In addition, I updated the placeholder "meals served" count to an actual figure and some of the wording was tweaked.
Printed Design
The final shirt, printed by a local vendor and worn by the designer.
I'm very proud of the work I've done with Meals on Wheels, and I am inspired by the bravery I witness among my employees throughout the pandemic. Regardless of the size of the gesture, I am overjoyed to have been a part of showing gratitude to the people who kept these meals moving.
