A personal goal of mine was to join the creative team for Feld Entertainment, Inc. Feld is a company that specializes in live entertainment shows around the world: Disney on Ice, Monster Jam and the infamous Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey just to name a few! So naturally, I was very excited to be selected as a graphic designer for their Creative Services department. I am not one to brag, but there were over 60 other candidates for this single graphic design position. :)
As I mentioned before, the Creative Services department worked on a variety of large live entertainment shows throughout the year. I touched on numerous live show projects, however, my main assigned focuses were to market Feld’s two-wheel motorsports divisions: Supercross, Supercross Futures and M.E.C.
Being a main pillar to Supercross’ brand and marketing, I was given the opportunity to work on a huge variety of projects. Most of the Supercross projects were only assigned to me, which allowed for a more cohesive marketing strategy for both digital marketing and the live racing events and venues. From 1500px x 1500px Instagram posts, to 10 foot tall venue column wraps, to 60 foot tall building-size banners, I did it all. Additionally, I also lead the charge for new Supercross campaigns at the beginning of each season, developing the campaigns and promotional materials from the ground up.
Supercross Futures is a smaller but independent branch of Feld’s two-wheel motorsports. Futures is for children who dreamed of being in competitive motorsports as a career. When I joined Feld, Future’s had limited funding and an almost nonexistent marketing campaign. I took it upon myself to revamp their campaign, adding more color and excitement to their marketing content and coined the slogan, “Race With Me.” To my surprise, the kids loved what I created. Quickly, numerous Futures children reached out to Feld’s coordinators and specially requested custom posts for their Instagram pages. I was happy to oblige them.
The last area of Feld’s two-wheel motorsports I focused on was M.E.C. (Monster Energy Cup). M.E.C. is a huge, stand alone, 3-day event that is not part of Supercross. Motorists from around the world travel to participate in M.E.C. each year to have a chance of winning $1,000,000. Because the event is so large, I would spent almost the entire year working on promotional materials, venue banners, wraps, posters and more. In the past, M.E.C. took place in Las Vegas. So, all materials had a very “Vegas feel.” However, the 2020 event had a new California location. It was my job to conceptualize new graphics and strategies with a warmer California vibe.
Working with Bealls for several years gave me a number of opportunities to expand creatively. One new experience was the task of creating multiple printed ads simultaneously for various campaigns and seasons. From the ground up, I worked with a team of creative minds, collaborating to create campaign colors, graphics, ads (print and web), in-store visuals and more. Designs were shown in all Bealls stores, online and mailed to thousands of Bealls guests regularly.
I am particularly proud of my Mother’s Day campaign, which was selected among several other proposed concepts to be used in 2018 and 2019. Hundreds of images, which I art directed over the years, were used across various print and web media as well. (See Art Direction on the home page)
In 2017, I was selected to develop Bealls’ new credit card designs (both gold and standard versions). The designs were approved by Matt Beall, and rolled out to guests at the end of the year. Excitingly, the credit card designs took part in the 2018 ADDY Awards.
Working for Bealls gave me plenty of opportunities to art direct photo shoots for print and digital ads. Representing the merchandise in their appropriate environments was key. Stylizing the shots for the seasons was particularly enjoyable.
One of the greatest challenges of directing a photo team is encountering unpredictable events, such as changes in weather patterns or model lineups. Through quick thinking and pragmatism, I was always able to capture the shots I needed for a successful shoot.
Please see the “Bealls” page, accessible via the home page, to see examples of how these images were applied to printed ads.
Developing the brand and logo for Store From Japan was one of my favorite projects. I was inspired by the maneki-neko (beckoning cat), which adorn many storefronts in Japan. These cats are said to bring good fortune and wealth to businesses.
The challenge was to design a maneki-neko in a way as to not appear cheesy and cliché. To accomplish this, the elements of the maneki-neko were simplified, and constructed entirely out of round, basic shapes. The result was a clean graphic with a touch of kawaii (cute). The writing on the gold coin, which traditionally says “fuku” (luck), was changed to “nyan” (meow), a fun bonus to anyone familiar with the Japanese language.
I have always been a huge JK Rowling fan, and thoroughly enjoyed bringing some of her creations to life through illustration. These two deer figures, or Patronuses, are described as having a mysterious blue translucence; their bodies more vapor than solid. Creating 2-dimensional illustrations to appear incorporeal was an enjoyable challenge. I look forward to adding more to this series in the future.
House Ravenclaw ftw.
Recreating Earth Science Services’ new brand and marketing identity was a very exciting process. Their home office location in Oklahoma provided a great opportunity to incorporate Western and Native American elements.
At the top of the ESS logo sits a mountain comprised of Native American blanket patterns. The colors both tie together the reddish clay hues commonly found in the natural landscape as well as the native history. Ligatures were used in the company name to add an element of modernity and technology.
The business cards were printed double-sided on 32lb stock. Three alternating backs were printed, showcasing the company logo against charcoal, slate and white. A chili-red seam along the edges of the business cards add that perfect finishing touch.
Located in Florida, Paradise Island Hemp is a start up company specializing in hemp supplements and oils. The company had previously been branded with a logo and package design. However, the owner wanted something completely new to give the product a high-end and professional look.
Developing the brand for Paradise Island required a unique approach. Hemp designs can easily become trite and the product itself suffers stigma. The idea was to create a brand design, no only professional in appearance, but capable of destigmatization.
The inspiration for Paradise Island’s logo came to me while sketching various tropical foliage. I thought of the hemp leaf and bird of paradise flower, and merged the two to create a logo that perfectly represents the Paradise Island name and product.
The labels were developed to play off of fun, tropical textures and graphics. Colors were pulled from the logo and applied alternately to discern the supplements intended for pets. A paw print pattern and corner banner were also added to help differentiate the two supplement types.
Electri-city was a focus on linear illustration and hatchwork. I was inspired by sound waves, and their resemblance to city skylines. Before I knew it, an entire illustration was created around that single idea.
The completed illustration was submitted as part of a contest. Later that year, Nordstrom featured Electri-city on their online merchandise.
Internal Glow is a startup hair and beauty salon, with the goal to reveal one’s internal beauty through vegan and organic hair products. The president of the company envisioned luxurious blacks contrasted by gold, for a classy appearance. Following these guidelines, I created an elegant pair of sheers as the company’s main symbol. The curls and delicate lines along the sheer handles as well as the typography mirror the curls and movement of hair.
Several logo variants were created for various usages on decals, print, web, digital and fabric embroidery. Where applicable, the logo is printed in gold foil on rich black cardstock, or embroidered using gold thread.
Mill River Brewing BBQ & Smokehouse is a family owned and operated brewpub, located in Vermont. Some of their more popular brews, sauces and dressings are bottled and sold individually in-store. I designed a label for their signature maple shallot vinaigrette dressing, while keeping within their pre-existing brand and marketing standards. My inspiration came from maple syrup and maple leaves, both staples of Vermont, to communicate the flavor of the dressing visually. A shallot icon was added to tie the whole design together.
A.P.A. (Agent Personal Assistant) is a real estate marketing company that wanted a total redesign of their own brand identity to give them a competitive edge in the industry. From the ground up, I selected their marketing colors, typography, refined their logo, and recreated their marketing standards.
A.P.A. has clientele across the United States, and often participates in conferences and trade shows. I had the opportunity to create large quantities of flyers and posters in addition to trade show visuals. I also led the development of seasonal campaigns and worked alongside the web department to create graphics for digital advertising and email blasts.
The Dog of Man was created as a tip of the hat to Magritte. Imitating Magritte’s fluid brush strokes through digital illustration was a reincarnation of his art style through the means of “modern medium.”
