Tosetto Paper Label

Program used:

• Adobe Illustrator

Created for:

• Tosetto Vintners (fic)

This label was designed to accompany the logo and poster I created for Tosetto Vintners, a fictitious winery I created a logo for after spending a day wine tasting in Amador County, California. I designed 2 styles of labels for the company: one to be printed on paper and glued onto a bottle and a label which would be screen printed onto the bottle itself. 

Tosetto Screen Print

Program used:

• Adobe Illustrator

Created for:

• Tosetto Vintners (fic)

This label was designed to accompany the logo and poster I created for Tosetto Vintners, a fictitious winery I created a logo for after spending a day wine tasting in Amador County, California. I designed 2 styles of labels for the company: one label which would be screen printed onto the bottle itself and another to be printed on paper and glued onto a bottle. 

Recycle

Program used:

• Adobe Illustrator

Created for:

• Design class at Seattle University

For this project we were asked to create a textless advertisement for some type of conservation act. In this poster I illustrate how clear-cutting, rather than recycling used materials to be used again, causes our cities to decline, while recycling products and leaving the forests alone allows our own cities to thrive. Being responsible for our waste by using and reusing, rather than the constant use - trash mentality, allows our surroundings to prosper.

Postcard Announcement

Program used:

• Adobe Illustrator

Created for:

• Deep Pond, Inc

A postcard announcing Deep Pond's name change from Purple Wave Auction and their new affiliation with Cabela's Trophy Properties. Deep Pond helps land and homeowners with unique properties find the right buyers using the wide reach of the CTP website which hosts listings for exquisite recreational properties nationwide.

Marketing Brochure

Program used:

• Adobe InDesign

Created for:

• Deep Pond, Inc

A brochure laying out benefits and options brought by Deep Pond in partnership with Cabela's Trophy Properties. Many of the photos used within the brochure are my own, mixed with images sent to me by Cabela's marketing department. I went with a paper texture for the text backgrounds against the natural images for a feel to mesh with the Cabela's business identity while still being the look of Deep Pond, Inc.

Challenge Coin

Program used:

• Adobe Illustrator

Created for:

• Nevada Army National Guard Joint Force Headquarters

I worked with the JFHQ's 1st SGT Wheeler to design this challenge coin for the unit. Historically, challenge coins were used during WWI to designate the allies from the rest of the armies as there weren't any true set clothing regulations at the time. Now, many departments -- from military to law enforcement and firefighters -- have challenge coins to designate their unit/class. The tradition is that if a higher ranking person asks for your coin, and you don't have it, you have to buy him and the rest of the unit a drink. This taught the men to keep their coins on them at all times. On the front side of this coin is the crest of the state of Nevada: the star with two swags of sagebrush, and a ribbon with the proclamation "Battle Born" across the bottom against a dark blue outline of the state itself. On the reverse side are the words "In Recognition of Excellence", circled by the 1st Sergeant's stripes, Master Sergeant's stripes, and Major's leaf, with the seven Army values around the outer edge. Along the rim of this coin is engraved the names and ranks of the 3 soldiers killed in the Carson City IHOP shooting of September 6, 2012. Never Forget.

Luncheon Invitation

Program used:

• Adobe Illustrator

Created for:

• Seattle University Donor Relations and Stewardship office

I worked with the Director of Donor Relations & Stewardship, along with her staff, to create this self-mailing invitation design for the upcoming annual luncheon held on campus. The theme was growth and excellence, which inspired the design of the vine, growing out as the invitation is unfolded, and culminating in a bloom on the final page. The luncheon is a time for students who received financial aid from the University to meet the people who donated their money to help students in need. It is a time of appreciation and gratitude for donors and students alike. Along with these invitations I created an email invitation, program cover, and graphic to be used on other materials which all follow the theme.

Resiliency Partners Logo

Program used:

• Adobe Illustrator

Created for:

• Resiliency Partners, LLC

Worked with a firm which does security, business continuity, disaster & crisis management assessment and consulting services to create a simple, professional logo for their company. They were looking for something associated with growth or tree graphic which illustrated expansion or elevation. After sketching what seemed like a million ideas I returned to the client with three fleshed out ideas: two incorporating oak tree seedlings and the one which ended up being altered into what is seen here. It has been used on print materials along with being embroidered onto jackets and printed on pens and other hand-outs for conferences. The company currently has a contract with Starbucks.

Nevada State Parks

Program used:

• Adobe Illustrator

Created for:

• Nevada State Parks

I won the Nevada State Parks 75th anniversary logo design competition in the winter of 2009. I began this project contemplating what is important to Nevada and its landscape. Residents can always peg an out-of-towner by their mispronunciation of 'Nevada'. Unlike the characters on CSI: Las Vegas and Reno911!, real Nevada residents know that Nevada is pronounced "ne-VA-duh" not "ne-VAH-duh". With this in mind I decided to incorporate the proper pronunciation into the logo. Another important aspect of Nevada is that it is not all a barren wasteland (though a large part of it is) and Las Vegas is NOT the center of Nevada. When asked where I'm from and I say "Nevada", I usually get the follow up of "Oh really? Do you go to Vegas a lot?" My answer, and most Northern Nevadan's answer, is this: Actually, no, I live closer to San Francisco than I do to Las Vegas -- by about 200 miles. While keeping the diverse landscapes of Nevada in mind -- the Sierra Nevada mountains, high desert with sagebrush, alkali flats, green river valleys, low desert with Joshua trees -- I decided to simply illustrate the transition from the Sierra Nevadas into the high desert of Northern Nevada. I chose this as the imagery because it is not the usual understanding of Nevada by outsiders but is the beauty which can be found there.

Tosetto Logo

Program used:

• Adobe Illustrator

Created for:

• Tosetto Vintners (fic)

After spending a day wine tasting in Amador County, California, I got the idea for this logo and quickly sketched it out on the back of an envelope -- the only paper I had with me at the time. When I returned home and had some time I sketched out another, more detailed version and scanned it into Illustrator. As I worked the sketch into an illustration I thought over names for the winery and settled on the last name of some long-time Italian friends: "Tosetto". As I worked out the logo I decided to also create a poster for a party along with labels for the company.
  
Original sketch and second version

Urban Exodus

Program used:

• Adobe Photoshop

Created for:

• Personal project

A digital interpretation of a poem I read by Ashley Hennefer, one of my fellow high school graduates. When I first read her poem, Urban Exodus, I had images going through my head which I had to get down into a stable form. After sketching for hours I finally moved onto creating this photo-manipulation to illustrate some of what I saw when reading her poem: the dark and rainy city streets as the young woman moves toward a dream of her love on a beach. This piece was featured in the Brushfire Literary & Art Journal at University of Nevada, Reno.

Adelaide

Program used:

• Adobe Illustrator

Created for:

• Personal project

Before becoming really interested in graphic design I had an interest in art. My mother is an illustrator and artist and my father is an inventor. With these two sides of my life I had a focus in the arts from a young age. Ever since I first saw the Taittinger champagne advertisement featuring Grace Kelly I wanted to be able to create art like it. Much later in life, as I was teaching myself Adobe Illustrator, I decided to do my own version of the Taittinger poster while learning about gradient mesh. Through this experience I learned more than just gradient mesh, but also more about the styles and forms of the age of the silver screen, one which I have always found beautiful and fascinating.

SU Foreign Language Poster

Program used:

• Adobe Illustrator

Created for:

• The Foreign Language department at Seattle University

For this project I wanted to use aspects of what is traditionally "Berlin" to create an advertising poster to be paired with the brochure for the Seattle University Foreign Language study abroad program to Berlin. The program was for students to spend 2 weeks in Berlin living at the local University, studying art, imagery, design, sculpture, fashion, and anything else they could get their eyes on. In a city rich with culture and history it is difficult not to find something fascinating to look at. For this poster I chose colors which are seen on the Berlin wall as well as those seen in the national flag of Germany. These colors paired with the winding streets and the cityscape of Berlin come together to illustrate the city in a small amount of space.

Escher

Program used:

• Adobe Photoshop

Created for:

• Photoshop class

The project was to take a well known painting or drawing and bring it into the 21st century. I have always admired M.C. Escher for his view on life and attention to detail. When looking for an image for this project it only seemed right to chose one of his drawings. I chose this image because I knew it could be interesting bringing it to life in the 21st century. Originally, the drawing was unusual because it was two hands drawing each other on paper; here they are drawing each other on a tablet. I couldn't help but add the usual desk clutter seen today: CD's (though not so much now, 3 years later), a cup of coffee, and an iPod. The song I have on the iPod is "Nature Boy" by Nat King Cole which topped the charts the year Escher drew this image.

Tosetto

Program used:

• Adobe Illustrator

Created for:

• Tosetto Vintners (fic)

I created this poster advertising a wine event to accompany my logo and labels for a fictitious winery. After spending a day wine tasting in Amador County, California, I got the idea for the logo, which led to wine labels, which led to this poster.

Imogen

Program used:

• Adobe Photoshop

Created for:

• Photoshop class

The project was to creat a 1960s style poster announcing a modern band at a venue. I chose Imogen Heap, a UK artist, because she puts most of her music together by herself. She does vocals, synch, string, piano, odd-sound recording (she once recorded the 'whooshing' sound of the bellows in an old organ for one of her pieces) and puts them all together. She even does pieces on stage live-mixing all of the sounds and parts together. Because of her funky style and eccentricity I felt she was a great artist to do a "flower-child" 60s poster for. The colors I chose as a base were brown and rose, with tints and shades, because they are soft and subtle but speak to the 60s styling. The image of Imogen herself I illustrated from a photograph which I came across on her website and found to be perfect for this project. The feathers, flower, and wild hair (though not as wild as illustrated) mixed well with the smooth colors. The coincidental moment was when I read that she was preforming on the 10th of November that year (2009), just weeks after I designed the poster, though she was playing at the Fillmore in San Francisco rather than the Metro in New York. Not all that exciting, but it was pretty neat at the time.

Cabela’s & Real Estate

Program used:

• Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign

Created for:

• Deep Pond, Inc

A postcard advertising Deep Pond's real estate services in conjunction with Cabela's Trophy Properties. When you take Cabela's, the "World's Foremost Outfitter", and pair it with real estate services, brought to you by Deep Pond, Inc, you get Cabela's Trophy Properties. Deep Pond helps sellers find the buyers for their unique properties by listing it on the CTP website which hosts listings for exquisite recreational properties nationwide. The client wanted it strictly typographic with the Cabela's and their Trophy Properties logo featured prominently and her business name as a side-note on the front.

Email Announcement

Program used:

• Adobe Illustrator

Created for:

• Deep Pond, Inc

An email blast announcing Deep Pond's name change from Purple Wave Auction and their new affiliation with Cabela's Trophy Properties. Deep Pond helps land and homeowners with unique properties find the right buyers using the wide reach of the CTP website which hosts listings for exquisite recreational properties nationwide.

Just Sold! Postcard

Program used:

• Adobe Illustrator

Created for:

• Deep Pond, Inc

A postcard announcing the sale of a local house, emphasizing the short contract and sale times. In Nevada, a state with a 14% unemployment rate and the highest foreclosure rate in the nation for four straight years, it is important for real estate agents to be able to move property quickly and easily. This postcard is a testament to Deep Pond's acumen for helping homeowners get out from under their houses in a timely fashion.

SU Foreign Language Brochure

Program used:

• Adobe Illustrator

Created for:

• The Foreign Language department at Seattle University

For this project I wanted to use aspects of what is traditionally "Berlin" to create a brochure to be paired with the poster for the Seattle University Foreign Language study abroad program to Berlin. The program was for students to spend 2 weeks in Berlin living at the local University, studying art, imagery, design, sculpture, fashion, and anything else they could get their eyes on. In a city rich with culture and history it is difficult not to find something fascinating to look at. For this brochure I chose colors which are seen on the Berlin wall as well as those seen in the national flag of Germany. These colors paired with the winding streets and the cityscape of Berlin come together to illustrate the city in a small amount of space.

Benefit Auction Brochure

Program used:

• Adobe Illustrator

Created for:

• Deep Pond, Inc

A quick "I need this tomorrow" project to lay out charity auction services for Deep Pond, Inc. There wasn't any photographic imagery which the client wanted to use so I incorporated a photograph I had taken previously of one of their bid cards. The brochure is text-heavy so I decided to pair it with colored text boxes and the logo's pond to keep it inviting.

Deep Pond Pack

Program used:

• Adobe Illustrator; Adobe InDesign

Created for:

• Deep Pond, Inc

After creating a logo for Deep Pond I went on to create a business package for them based on the simple needs of the owner. The colors used are from the logo and the lines are smooth and fluid like those of the ripples on the logo.

Soap Packaging

Program used:

• Adobe Illustrator

Created for:

• Personal project

Funny story: I was contemplating a packaging design I could do to add to my portfolio as I've never had the opportunity to do anything like it for a client. As I was brainstorming a lot of different, very random company names/product ideas I began thinking about some heavy-duty men's soap. My beau works as a HAZMAT training technician so I am surrounded by information about nasty chemicals and how to properly disinfect someone who has been contaminated, so it seemed only natural to design something based on his work. The four squares of the logo are based on the chemical hazard placards posted outside buildings to notify people of the dangers held within. Blue is health (4 for 'deadly' to 0 'for normal'), red is fire (4 for 'flash point below 23C' to 0 for 'non-burning'), white is specific (oxidizer, acid, alkali, corrosive, use no water, and radiation), and yellow is reactive (4 for 'may detonate' to 0 for 'stable'). And now you know a lot more than you needed to.

I present to you:

Human Decon bar soap: For those times in life when you need a higher level of clean. Great for: firemen, cops, garbage men, doctors, nurses and other hospital staff, HAZMAT technicians, and people in other dirty career fields. [Directions: Wet skin, lather up, scrub until you stop reeking. Warning: May cause excessive loss of man-stink. This condition is not permanent.]  

Mini Wrap

Program used:

• Adobe Illustrator

Created for:

• Personal project

I hadn't designed a vehicle wrap in a number of years so figured I'd do one to keep my hand in. With this project I wanted to do something more than just put a logo and contact information on a car. I wanted to illustrate a company, in this case, a print and design studio. The colors and flow of shape represent the process of printing itself: mixing cyan, magenta, yellow, and black together to produce images and words to share with the world. The wrap is bright and eye-catching to draw the attention of the people around while the colors designate it as a design/print company vehicle.

Ponderosa Ad

Program used:

• Adobe InDesign

Created for:

• Deep Pond, Inc

This flier is advertising properties for sale in Washoe Valley, Nevada. On the front side is the listing for the main property -- a home and barn on acreage -- while on the reverse is listed the prices and specs for each parcel if wished to be purchase individually. All of the photographs (aside from the aerial of the house) are ones taken by myself. The final printed size was 11" x 8.5".

Real Estate Sign

Program used:

• Adobe Illustrator

Created for:

• Deep Pond, Inc

A real estate sign for posting in front of houses listed with the agent. The agent wanted a basic sign which reflected her business colors as well as incorporating a QR code, website, phone number, and logo. I created multiple versions of this sign for the client, some including the Cabela's Trophy Properties logo, for different purposes. To keep the sign with the business image I used the same colors from the logo as well as the same block-gradient used on the letterhead. Printed size of this version is 18" x 24".

4 Freedoms

Program used:

• Adobe Illustrator

Created for:

• Design class at Seattle University

The project was to create an informational, carry-friendly brochure, based on the theme of social activism. I chose the topic of F D Roosevelt's Four Freedoms to illustrate these ideals in such a way as to be better understood by the current generation. I wanted bright, vibrant colors for this project and put together my color pallet accordingly. For each page I combines the colors in a different level to keep each page separate. As the brochure is opened the viewer is introduced to another of the freedoms until the final spread is opened and comes to the final frase of "all over the world". The finished folded size is 3.5" x 5" to easily fit in a shirt or pants pocket.

Deep Pond Logo

Program used:

• Adobe Illustrator

Created for:

• Deep Pond, Inc

When Purple Wave Auction changed names to Deep Pond they were in need of a new identity. Having worked for the owner a number of years I was asked if I could design a new logo. It needed to be unique to the new business, but needed to continue with purple as the base color to keep a bit of continuity from the old to the new, and to keep cost down when updating the website. The name change was brought on partly by a new partnership with Cabela's Trophy Properties, which is a land, farm, ranch & waterfront property sales company -- a branch of Cabela's outfitters. With this outdoor/hunting theme in mind, I went ahead with keeping the logo to a literal illustration of a pond with cattails.

Liquidation Ad

Program used:

• Adobe Photoshop

 Created for:

• Capital City Liquidators (through Purple Wave Auction)

This print ad & flier was created based on a faded xerox image faxed to my office with scribbled notes in the margins. The main instructions were to make an advertisement which could also work as a flier which included the man with his feet on the desk along with all of the notes in the margins. With those simple instructions I created this advertisement. I chose to do it with a more typographic styling as it was a list of so many things for sale. I chose a typeface and worked with fonts within that typeface to create the difference in text throughout the image.

Demo Reel 2012

Program used:

• Adobe After Effects

Created for:

• After Effects class, used as a portfolio for final review

I originally created this in 2010 for an introduction to After Effects class and used it during my final review for graduation. I have since updated it with a few more recent pieces and plan to update it at least once a year. This video was the main project for learning After Effects so it was an all-in, hands-on learning experience which I benefited from greatly. I had taken a course on Adobe Flash, so I wasn't completely lost, but it was definitely a new experience. In creating this piece I had to strip down, edit, and prep all of the files before importing them into After Effects. Some of these were easier than others (if you'd like to see how to get InDesign into a form which can be animated in After Effects view my blog post "InDesign to After Effects") I had about 3 months to learn After Effects and put this video together in full before my final portfolio review which was required for graduation. During that time I became familiar with the main aspects of After Effects and 3D animation, along with beating my head on my desk many times. The pieces contained within this demo reel are ones which I found to be the most important pieces to my portfolio at that time, along with a few pieces which I added earlier this year.

Psyche

Program used:

• Adobe After Effects

Created for:

• Personal project

"Psyche" by Massive Attack (from their 2010 album 'Heligoland') is one of those songs that sings to my inner being. I have been wanting to create a typographic animation ever since first being introduced to After Effects and over my spring break from classes earlier this year I had the time to create one. This came together over a few weeks, beginning with researching the proper lyrics and listening to all of the different aspects of the music (bass, mid, and treble) and went into my obsessive attention to timing and animating some of the music along with the words. The music was the hardest part for me to animate as it was difficult for me to get the images in my head into a physical form -- even more-so than usual. I went through a few different versions of how I animated the music before settling on what you see here. There are some things I probably would have done differently, as there are with all projects in retrospect, but all-in-all I am pleased with it as my first typographic animation. Enjoy.