Graphic Design
CASE STUDY
REBRAND • IDENTITY • COLLATERAL
STYLE GUIDE
Overview
The Mind’s Eye Interiors has been a successful furniture business in Hawaii for over 50 years. They offer island-styled furniture and decor that’s hand-selected by a team of designers. In 2021, BedMart acquired the company to be a sub-brand for their furniture products while building more locations across Hawaii. BedMart wanted to rebrand the Mind’s Eye to fit more in line with their business.
Timeline
1 month
Project Scope
I was tasked with creating the identity for this rebrand with a new logo mark, color palette, and more. The logo would be the starting point for many pieces of collateral—which include hang tags, tape measurers, and shopping bags—that I would create down the road.
Research
Using inspiration from the decor of the Mind’s Eye designers and the colorful Hawaiian landscape, I had a lot of bright imagery to pull from. The client was looking for an “electric” palette that would complement the bright colors inside the store, while being easily identifiable within the busy patterns on the furniture. The font (Gotham) was pulled from BedMart’s branding, as this was intended to be an extension of that company. Since the Mind’s Eye has such a reputation in Maui, I tried to give a nod to the previous version with the eye symbol.
Execution
The final logo features lowercase type intended to create a more approachable experience, in contrast to the all-caps logo of old. The symbol conveys the mind’s eye concept with an “eye within an eye” graphic and sunrays (or eyelashes) coming from the center. Along with the logo, the palette complements the bright colors found inside and outside the store.
Conclusion
I’m proud to have been a part of this process and see this be applied to multiple Mind’s Eye locations—modernizing a historic brand tremendously.
Note: mindseyeinterior.com does not include the “s” like the logo, due to that domain previously being claimed.
Staged furniture photos created by MEI designers
Client: BedMart & Mind’s Eye Interiors
Team: BedMart Marketing Dept.
Role: Logo system, branding, and style guide development; creative direction and design of collateral
CASE STUDY
BRANDING • IDENTITY • MASCOT
STYLE GUIDE
Overview
This is a branding kit for The Keg Stand Brewing Co., a brewery in Northern California.
I was approached by the owner Jacob to come up with a full logo set, which includes a word mark, monogram, badge design, and mascot.
Timeline
2 weeks
Project Scope
The deliverables would include a flexible logo system, and mascot for signage, apparel, and social media usage. Style guide developed for usage, as well.
Execution
For the overall feel, we wanted to go towards something very timeless and classic that would scale well. Using simple colors, bold lines and a couple of clean typefaces, it helped achieve what we were going for.
Conclusion
The unified system helped create some continuity that was lacking in the previous identity, with a simple palette and clean presentation.
Client: The Keg Stand Brewing Co.
Team: Freelance
Role: Logo system, branding, and style guide development; creative direction and design of collateral
CASE STUDY
UI DESIGN • ICONOGRAPHY
BRANDING • ILLUSTRATION
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
Overview
Surfboard is an app for sharing videos with people within a 15-mile radius of your location. Along with sharing, you could “surf” for trending and local content. This was run by a start-up in Texas that I collaborated with online in mid-2020.
I was contacted by email to work remotely as Creative Director and Design Lead. The objective was to create a consistent user interface, along with cohesive marketing materials.
Timeline
5 months
Project Scope
Mascot refinement, UI design of the app (some UX), pitch decks for investors, materials for social media, marketing concepts, and assisting in website functionality.
Execution
The materials were designed almost exclusively on Figma, as it allowed our team to effectively collaborate and exchange feedback quickly. Any illustration work I created would be done in Adobe Illustrator and imported into Figma. Projects were tracked in Asana with communication using Slack.
Most of the brand had been developed before I started, such as the logo, fonts, palette, and mascot. I took those elements and refined them for a more consistent look that reflected our vision. We wanted the app to feel very identifiable and modern, with the marketing materials incorporating a synthwave vibe.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, the Surfboard project came to an end in November of 2020, with complications from COVID. Nevertheless, it was a rewarding experience to be a part of as my first time in app development, and I’m glad to now have a deeper knowledge in UI.
Client: Surfboard
Team: Freelance
Role: UI design of app, creation of digital ads, development of website, rebrand of mascot, custom icon and type illustrations, social media management
Rough edit for the creators page of the website — intended for recruitment.
CASE STUDY
EVENT BRANDING • IDENTITY
COLLATERAL
Overview
This is a set of event collateral that was created to celebrate BedMart’s 30th anniversary at the company’s annual holiday party. I was tasked with creating the look and feel for the event and building out the pieces.
Timeline
2 months
Project Scope
Design of event word mark and look and feel, invitations, multimedia, event swag, and interior signage. Along with the design piece, I also handled the logistics on getting the materials produced.
The event mark would carry over into evergreen materials outside of the event, such as email signatures and window graphics.
Execution
The event would be upscale and formal, so the look of the materials needed to feel polished. I went with a timeless feel on the badge for the word mark that would have some flexibility. The swooping elements with an accent of gold aimed to make everything feel elegant.
Conclusion
The event came together nicely and had great attendance. It was great to witness that special moment for the BedMart family and feel that I somehow contributed to it.
Client: BedMart
Team: BedMart Marketing Dept.
Role: Logo and branding of event, creation of all collateral, animation
CASE STUDY
BRANDING • IDENTITY
STYLE GUIDE
Overview
This is a branding kit for Angie Mesenbrink, a local physical trainer in the Portland, Oregon area who is also a mom that could kick my a**.
I was approached by Angie (politely) to come up with something contemporary and bold that would appeal to a younger male and female demographic. The primary use of the brand would be for marketing on social media to grow her client base.
Timeline
2 weeks
Project Scope
The deliverables would include a flexible logo system, messaging (tagline), patterns, and photo graphics to convey the image she was looking for. The extra collateral was created for prototypes or ideas she could use down the road. Style guide developed for usage, as well.
Execution
For the logo, she wanted something flexible and bold, that could work in many iterations and sizes. While being in incredible shape as a mom is rare, another one of the unique traits of Angie is her tattooed body—adding the ink aspect into the T+M barbell monogram of the logo made a lot of sense, giving more emphasis to her name. The monogram also provides a simpler identifier, working well in instances where the full logo would be too small to read. The font used is Termina, which conveys a modern and heavy look.
The palette selected comes from a very popular combo of chartreuse and bright blue, to contrast the heavy use of blacks and grays. The chartreuse for spots of contrast or visual queues in layout.
For the social graphics, the photography was supplied by another freelancer. I took those and the idea of ripped paper and layering to give that raw style she was seeking. Adding the “Train Like a Mother” concept helped elevate the intensity of the materials.
Conclusion
The edgy and electric vibe of the colors and graphics give Angie a youthful image that should draw interest to both men and women looking to take their workouts up a notch. While being a mom might have some write her off, this branding kit should have them take her more seriously.
Client: Tatted Mama Training
Team: Freelance
Role: Logo system, branding, and style guide development; creative direction and design of collateral
BRANDING • PACKAGING
ENVIRONMENTAL
Overview
These are samples of packaging projects, which include bottle labels and more. This also includes full displays for special events. Some are conceptual, to explore ideas or redesigns.
If a project wasn’t for a client, I’ve noted that underneath.
SEMA 2024: 2024 Tacoma topographic wrap of Pacific Crest Trail — collaboration with a contest winner
SEMA 2024: Land Cruiser vehicle wrap graphics, along with signage, layout, and more
Creative and logistics for an annual event -- this launched a rebrand of the company, with collateral that included a 17' blow up tent, hats, lanyards, logo tees, event tees, hoodies, VIP cards, signage, vehicle wraps, social graphics and more.
IM4X4 in-store suspension display for Total Offroad & More — parts mounted on .3 polystyrene
Destination OSU 2016 Dinner look and feel, collateral
Assisted with mockups, photo editing on Chevalier team
Label illustration concept for Hopworks Ferocious Citrus IPA, mimicking current branding
Logo and label design
Logotype, illustration, layout
CASE STUDY
PAGE LAYOUT • PHOTO EDITING
Overview
This is a 32-page booklet outlining pricing for Nikon’s sport optics product line in 2020. This includes binoculars, golf rangefinders, fieldscopes, and other specialty items. Nikon primarily used these at their booth for the 2020 SHOT Show in Las Vegas, the nation’s largest annual outdoor showcase.
Timeline
1 month
Project Scope
Page layout, editing and selecting lifestyle images, color correcting product photos, creating charts to input data, and pre-press.
Execution
The general look of the pricelist was taken from the catalog, which the department director worked on. The goal was to make this a companion piece that continued that cutting-edge style, with a very modern aesthetic.
Using the catalog as a base, this was built with a similar grid structure in Adobe InDesign. The styling and text was derived from the catalog, with modern, sans serif type and squares for bulleted styles. Since the styles had been mostly determined, my creative contribution was figuring out the layout and putting together the front cover composition.
Product photos were mostly outsourced to be clipped, but I would contribute those on my own, if needed. Color correction was also added to the lenses to give a more intriguing display.
Conclusion
This piece communicates the cutting-edge approach Nikon was looking for to go with their products. The layout is consistent, easy to navigate, and assisted in driving sales numbers for Nikon at the 2020 SHOT Show, as well.
Client: Nikon
Team: Chevalier Advertising
Role: Page layout, photo editing
CASE STUDY
VECTOR ILLUSTRATION • TYPOGRAPHY
Overview
This is a love letter to one of my favorite toys growing up: LEGO sets!
I usually participate in the 36 Days of Type challenge every year, and this year, I decided to focus on different LEGO themes by pulling elements from different sets and figures that I grew up with.
Timeline
1 month; making 1 character a day
Project Scope
1 fully illustrated alphabet, or typeface
Execution
I wanted this to visually call back to the isometric angles and assembly process in the instruction manuals.
It was definitely difficult trying to track down reference images for each of these, but I really enjoyed the nostalgia trip in the process. For the numbers, I decided to focus on video games and pull those elements into the designs.
Conclusion
This was a really rewarding experience — getting to relive the days of playing with LEGOs as a kid. I feel like this came together as a very cohesive set.
L to R: Arctic, Buccaneer, Captain Redbeard, Docks, Eskimo, Frontier
L to R: Ghost, Hydronauts, Islanders, Jurassic World, Knight’s Castle, Life on Mars
L to R: Moon, Ninjago, Overwatch, Paradisa, R.E.S.-Q, Robo
L to R: Soldier, Trees, U.F.O., Vidiyo, Witch, X-Ray
L to R: Baby Yoda, Zombie, Zero (Mega Man X), NES (first system I played), Sonic 2, Mega Man 3
L to R: Mortal Kombat 4, Grand Theft Auto 5, TMNT (game I first played at 6 years old), Final Fantasy 7, Bowser (8th world), Mario Party 9
Process:
Sample of reference images for the patterns in the letters.
Sample of instruction manual, referencing isometric angle and directional arrows.
CASE STUDY
BRANDING
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
Overview
This is a feed that I assisted in building and maintaining from January 2021 to June 2022, in an effort to create a cohesive presence for BedMart on Instagram. There was a strong desire to rejuvenate the feed, as the previous posts were lacking branding or identity.
Timeline
1.5 years (2-3 weeks to create the style, then maintain and apply it to each post going forward).
Project Scope
I was tasked with creating the overall look and feel of the posts and maintaining some consistency. I also helped animate reels as needed, build stories, and write content. The posts included “swipes” or carousels, as well as promotions for blog posts and sales.
I also suggested creating a “bug” for the avatar, as the BedMart logo is very horizontal, making it unreadable in the Instagram format. I thought adding some “Zs” could give a more playful feel, appropriate to the space. This could also create a brand “stamp” on the corner of the posts.
Execution
Working with the Marketing Manager, we planned out content for about a month in advance. The posts were mostly geared toward educating followers on sleep tips and the benefits of specific mattresses—wanting the tone to be very fun and inviting.
I worked out the feed in a grid as I built the posts, an effort to control how posts looked next to each other. The Marketing Manager recorded reels with her assistant and handled the scheduling and posting. Posting was on average 3 times a week during peak times, provided by our IG insights.
Conclusion
The engagement seemed to pick up, with our followers increasing from about 430 to 530 and likes averaging around 20 per post. It was great to build a cohesive system for a year, until the project was handed off to another party and I assumed other duties.
Client: BedMart
Team: BedMart Marketing Dept.
Role: Development of avatar, branding of Instagram feed, animation for posts, help with content writing and planning
Close-up of logo bug developed for social media
Example of “swipe” post: highlighting the ideal sleep temperature for a good night’s sleep, with an illustrated graphic
BedMart palette from style guide—goal of integrating accent colors back into feed
Accent colors on the left and inspiration on the right, this helped keep things consistent and change it up from post to post. There were also placeholder spots for reels, as the posts were scheduled on a calendar to be recorded on a later date.
“Swipe post” creation; making sure there’s a flow and cohesiveness to each set.
VECTOR ILLUSTRATION • COLLAGE
Overview
Some posters and stickers — most of which I've made for fun. I’m a huge fan of anything retro or from the nineties and I try to bring that out in my work, whenever I can. I also enjoy projects focused on my home of the Pacific Northwest. A majority of these posters are setup to be multi-layered screen prints.
Client projects have been noted underneath
Commissioned project
Commissioned project
VECTOR ILLUSTRATION
SCREENPRINTING SETUP
Overview
Here are some graphics for clothing, which include screenprinted tees, stitched hats, and a bandana dedicated to my cat, of course.
These include self-initiated projects to grow as an illustrator and further understand apparel design. I love clothing that is bold, with heavy illustration and bright colors.
Winning design for a Portland Gear tee contest
2nd place design for a Wayward & Wild tee contest
Assortment of neon designs, for fun
Custom apparel for Bigfoot Kick
Illustrated patterns I created to show my passion for retro games
Custom apparel for Bigfoot Kick
BRANDING • IDENTITY
Overview
These are some more branding projects I’m proud to have worked on, with a few of them being concepts, for practice. These include logo marks as well as graphics for sales promotions.
If a project wasn’t for a client, I’ve noted that underneath.
Custom deck illustration and branding concept for Creature Skateboards
Concept project
Graphics and animation for the BedMart smartMATCH campaign (press play). I created the graphics and storyboarded the animation, which was built by a third party.