one acts poster

The Gresham High School Drama dept. needed a poster to promote their annual winter One Acts performances. They wanted the theme to be light, a little comedic while still looking professional. Photos not allowed and black ink only since printing would be coming straight off of a copier. I chose the typeface Blindfold for the heading and mixed in Adriatic as the supporting font. They really liked it and soon many were printed on colored paper, hung in school hallways, classrooms, etc. and distributed throughout local businesses.

Note: Special congrats to Kevin Miller for stepping up in Holy Wars and taking on a larger part last minute — you brought a delightful presence to Cruise 82, great job!

corporate identity : transportland

 

It’s always a relief when the gathering of images and information can finally unite as one entity of work. Here is the list of products I created for my new client, Transportland (spring 2008):

• Logo design and corporate identity
• Style guide for logo use
• Stationary :  letterhead, business cards, envelopes
• Billboards : city, industrial and rural
• Ad series of 3 : magazine, newspaper, web
• Brochure, folded, 2-sides, full color
• Promotional pieces : lanyard/name badge, tyvek key fob, magnets, decals
• Website : 3 pages to start

This is a cohesive design style and direction I created for a new public works concept. A Portland-based community services group formed, calling themselves the PDX Think Tank.  Comprised of local leaders, biz execs and community members, this group has the potential to see very progressive ideas come to fruition.

It was my job to give my new client a logo identity, create a cohesive design strategy and advertising campaign while also enjoying the option of contributing my own ideas into their planning and processes. Dream come true project for me, I love this stuff!

The web pages (shown above) create continuity with the green side panel as the nav bar on all pages. Providing opportunities for the public to become more involved in the ideation and information gathering phases give Transportland an edge in making the city and its communities most desirable and efficient for commuting — be it by foot, bike, car, bus or light rail.

 

 

I really enjoyed working on the different aspects for the logo and its style sheet. As I work on several aspects of the project, bouncing from project A1 to A2, B1 to B2 to B3 [sounds like a game of Battleship] I like to move things around, reposition my pieces as strategies continue to evolve. Sometimes I float around with an idea carrying a few more aspects to it than perhaps necessary. It’s tough to toss those elements or concepts overboard, but I can be ok to at least set them aside. Perhaps there may be a better use for them later.

So, in this case, staying with only one of my three original designs, the pedestrian icon, kept it simple and universal. This symbol serves as a reminder that regardless of how we travel, we always start off by foot. Walking is the purest form of transportation thus taking us back to the basics as we continue to move forward.

 

 

The brochure and removeable window decals (also printable as bumper stickers) were for public distribution. Handouts and freebies serve well to educate, inform and remind us that how we travel is affecting our environment, our future and the future of many generations to come. Current data, a graph and a tagline play a significant role in keeping this topic top of mind.

 

 

Billboards placed strategically within industrial, city and rural areas keep Transportland in the minds of local citizens, no matter where they live. Addressing this topic in schools, churches and other public forums and institutions keep people talking, thinking…changing.

 

 

Finally, the ad campaign below demonstrates a consistent theme within which a variety of solutions will make a difference as we economize, decongest and repair our current state of travel.

 

soklet : product & package design

Introducing soklet — a company, product and brand development project incorporating logo design, branding, package design, advertising and marketing campaigns utilizing all general aspects of creating and selling a product. soklet, which means chocolate in melanesian pidgeon (a language spoken in the Solomon Islands) is a product and resource designed to engage and employ the people of the Solomon Islands. soklet is a company that believes in supporting and giving back to the very culture from which it harvests its main ingredient for chocolate production — the cocoa bean.

soklet consists of four main organic products: chocolate shavings, white chocolate shavings, cocoa powder and chocolate sticks with vanilla creme.

Researching the island’s culture, people, art and political scenarios helped associate my new company and its products within its place of origination. This also served as the connection for its story and purpose for its development and design. Below is a page out of my book that illustrates the ideation, creative and visual exploration from which my final designs grew.

Creating an inspiration board (below) gave me a place to store my gatherings of art and information. In addition to the cultural exploration, I also enjoyed working with colors, shapes, type and my own hand lettering while blending images, ideas and facts.

I chose the word soklet from the culture’s language to help reduce language, cultural and geographical barriers. Looking for ways to establish soklet as top of mind, I switched out the english word chocolate for soklet within popular american chocolate quotes in my ad campaign to help embed the word soklet/chocolate into everyone’s mind. This created a sophisticated yet fun, educational yet entertaining and emotional attachment to the word, product and its culture.

To see more about soklet check out mhccim, my portfolio or ask to see my 28-page book. You can also try out this quick, easy and delicious recipe to experience soklet at its best:

friendship quilt : hiroshima

One of my favorite first year assignments in GD150 was the music visualization project. Its purpose was to explore the relationship between the senses. Creating an image from a non-visual subject, using music as our source of inspiration, we chose a song (I chose two) to graphically represent in a black and white format. Using an idea web, we wrote down characteristics and emotions, examined the rhythm and melodies of the song then developed our image using lines, shapes, textures, patterns and theories to create balance and unity.

My image quickly turned into a momento dedicated to one of my best friends from junior high, Denise Okino Etherington.  The illustrations I created for this piece came from the memories of our good times together.  I refer to this as our “Japanese American Friendship Quilt” in honor of her Japanese heritage and both of our American-style upbringing.

My first music inspiration was “China Latina” by Hiroshima. The melody of this piece stirs up happiness, gratitude, honor, celebration, elegance and freedom — everything we experienced growing up in Sacramento, California.

My second song choice was “Kototsu-han (San Kyoku)”, also by Hiroshima.  I think more of Denise’s parents when I hear this due to the song’s more reverent, historical layer which underscores the depth of japanese culture, traditions, respect and discipline.

I remember how proud the Okino family was when Roy Okino, age 73, was finally able to acquire his high school diploma. He and his wife Marie were in internment camps during their high school years, so Roy never had the opportunity to finish his education. This illustration was completed just prior to the family’s celebration of Roy and Marie’s 50th wedding anniversary. Roy passed just 6 months later.

oregon humane society : poster & logo [re]design

Above is my logo (re)design of the Oregon Humane Society. After presenting several design options, this was chosen as the best. It’s professional, contemporary, simplistic approach renders it most versatile within most any genre or design style.

The assignment was to research and design a logo and poster using historical design styles to promote a current company. From a select list, I chose the Oregon Humane Society and was attracted to the De Stijl genre. I picked the impressive Piet Mondrian, who was the prime mover of the De Stijl movement for my inspiration in creating this emulation. His radically abstract paintings executed sole use of primary colors within an effective use of a black and white grid — I am a table and grid fan!

This piece needed to be intriguing while emphasizing the company’s motive. I took photos of our family pets to keep it real, tangible and endearing. I grabbed information off the web and through the Oregon Humane Society to establish the main points of my message. I spent hours trying to come up with a logo that could cross all genres/styles and represent OHS in both a historic and futuristic manor. OHS has been around since 1868 and will be here, hopefully, to the end of times.

Now that the project has ended and restrictions lifted, I wanted to create a full color version and replace the colorized photos with their originals. Kitten photo credit goes to Lenny Pichette, soon to be a senior at UO. One of his passions is photography and he has graciously shared some of his most impressive works with me…so, now these precious little pets look warm, vibrant and lively…just the way our dedicated families and OHS want to keep them!

magazine : editorial design

If craigslist were to ever go to print, here is a cover idea I have for them. After choosing a few stories that have been published/posted to this particular online community in the past, I selected the titles above to create pages of interest for this magazine prospectus. My ideation was based on a Martha Stewart meets Craigslist scenario — combining the refined and finessed with the rough and rugged. My prototype included eight pages with headers, footers, table of contents, etc…plus the cover story as an inside spread. Might this magazine cover catch people’s attention at the checkstand?

direct mail : zappos.com

 

Designing a direct mail piece for Zappos.com using only eight items was a challenge for me. I was glad to have some say in what those eight shoes would be, however, it was really tough deciding which direction to go with from within their rotating inventory of thousands of shoes. Once I narrowed it down to just tennis shoes, it was just as hard choosing only eight from within that category. I narrowed it down to one shoe/style for each member of an entire family. This way I could put more brands up. Even then, tho’ — hard to pick just one each — did you know that Zappos.com has a TON of tennis shoes?

The purpose of this four panel, three-fold mailer was to encourage and promote online shoe purchasing from Zappos.com. Might this encourage you to choose the internet for (tennis) shoe shopping?

Below is an outline of my initial proposal, however, old ideas were abandoned to make room for new ones…and I had many. Too many. I reached a point where I just threw them all out and started from scratch again. I am happy with the end result, however, I could easily go back to this project and create more scenarios that would look very different, yet also appeal to my demographic. Thankfully, there just wasn’t enuf time to design and produce more than one of these puppies!

time4play

I did this in just a few minutes using a free photoshop tutorial online. I enjoyed the simplicity and easy step-by-step instructions of this project while exploring a current, yet basic trend in graphic design. Now to track down that tutorial website info to explore more photoshop techniques…this was fun!

special olympics : LETR t-shirt design

In IM291 Integrated Media Practicum, we work with real clients.  Our clients are either staff, school or non-profit based.  As they deliver their presentation to us describing their purpose, needs and goals, we, in turn, come up with design and/or project solutions that will meet their needs and represent them in a professional manner.

One of our clients, Special Olympics needed a t-shirt design for their annual Law Enforcement Torch Run fundraiser.  It was interesting to learn about this now global event, which includes all 50 states and more than 30 foreign countries…and that in Oregon, more than 1,000 law enforcement personnel from federal, military, state, county and local agencies participate in this year-round campaign. Herewith are the 3 designs I submitted. Descriptions of inspiration and purpose are described under each t-shirt.

posters : print babies o’ mine

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Announcing the arrival of a few posters o’ mine using design, typography, illustration and color. Each poster has its own set of characteristics, personality and features. Each had its own unique labor and delivery schedule and was excitedly received. Each has its own little place in my heart…

So I am excited to present to you my diverse little poster family! I’ve enjoyed watching each one grow, seeing how others mingle and interact with them and where they live after they leave home. I always keep (at least) one of each — never to part, these babies o’ mine.