I was asked to create a re-imagined concept for North Water Brewing Company’s affiliated Run Club. The brewery itself already had some beautifully made assets and color palettes to work with. What they’d asked for is a design that felt iconic, recognizable, clean, bold & fast. These designs would proudly be worn by the many runners who are dedicated to this club and are loyal patrons to the brewery. So, I took the brewery’s emblematic Great Blue Heron and turned it into a sleek, geometric design and paired it with a bold in-line typeface. I’ve also included another alternative concept that takes the heron weaves it into the letter-form of an abbreviated NWB logo using one of the brewery’s signature typefaces. It also includes a motif of waves to evoke the idea of “running” water.
After the designs were agreed upon by the brewery & the run club, I was asked to create a can design for the brewery that was cohesive with this new look. The design would be placed on pint cans that would be filled with any of their draft beers on-site after which the beer’s information would be written on the spaces provided.
A hypothetical gardening group with a mission: Promoting the conservation of native plants and protection of pollinator habitats by raising awareness and fostering public knowledge of native plants and their ethical issues.
It's also about community, just like the bees & other pollinators that make these native gardens thrive, it all works better when locals come together - people, plants & pollinators.
And why can't they look cool while they do it?! Just like it's recommended to plant a variety of diverse plants of various shapes and colors to attract all the birds & bugs, these bold and stylish brochures & shirts would surely attract newcomers to the group. These colors are drawn from the unbelievable colors in nature -notably, the Purple Coneflower that is native to Ohio and served as the inspiration for the logo mark.
Find Your Happy Pace Run Coaching came to fruition in 2023 on the heels of years of successful marathons & collaboration in Christine & Aaron’s run club in Kent, Ohio. When they decided to form this coaching partnership they asked me to help bring their brand vision to life.
Find Your Happy Pace needed to be… Happy - obviously, but also convey that they were the professionals to help you achieve your running goals whatever they may be. The word mark was to be bold & straightforward with friendly rounded letter forms but with watch hands to give pace. The icon however was an opportunity for more fun & personality. They decided to have the ostrich be their mascot of sorts - “nature’s marathon runner.” With ostriches being inherently goofy - it was important to me to have this emblematic silhouette be in a proud & confident stride. This icon then carried into a larger design we wanted to create for appropriate instances. The idea is our champion ostrich at the focus of an almost linocut style relief via shoe print. The ostrich would be highlighted by a big, happy yellow sun & it’s reflection along with rolling hills. All of this brought to life with familiar, warm, monochromatic colors that their runners would love & be proud to wear.
Inspired by the coolest frontman of that little ‘ol band from Texas- ZZ Top, “The Reverend” Billy Gibbons.
More to come soon… This is Phase 1 of Colt Following’s branding package. In Colt Following style, we’re keeping air of mystery around this curious new coffee roaster.
My yearly Christmas card illustration for 2023. This year we commemorated getting our new puppy - a source of so much joy in our household, but also of chaos never before known… so I wanted to imagine what may transpire if he found Kris Kringle stirring on his turf.
In the fall of 2023 I decided to take part in a great drawing challenge put on by True Grit Texture Supply - a leading purveyor of digital brushes & textures of which I use several. This challenge came with a list of Halloween-inspired prompts for each day. But in my pursuit of purposeful practicing, I chose to inject an added level of challenge and make every prompt feature orangutans… I know it’s odd, but I have a personal project that I am working towards involving them - they’re my favorite!
So, all that being said - these are a handful of my favorites from the challenge. The main image was even re-posted by the hosts as one of their favorites for the day’s prompt!
A hypothetical magazine article for which I composed a layout and included my own original food photography of New Mexican Hatch Chiles during the window of time they are available in my area in the late summer.
In 1627, someone at the headquarters of the Flemish province of the Jesuits in Brussels thought it was a good idea to investigate the brewing methods of their subsidiary monasteries. Belgian historians rediscovered this recipe and “St. Swignatius” is a rendition of said recipe created by Hansa Brewery’s Head Brewer Corey Miller and sponsored bythe Jesuit Priests of Saint Ignatius High School exclusively for The West Side Catholic Center’s 7th Annual Sips & Swigs 2020.
An illustration I created of my wife & I “Rockin’ around the Christmas tree” for our annual holiday card. Sort of mid-century inspired and a fun exercise in texture, shape & color.
A commissioned project on Cliff’s behalf. Cliff was formerly un-housed and has been searching along with the help of others to find his “thing” and he seems to have found in preparing some amazing burgers at Farmer’s Markets in Arizona.
With him serving up these burgers using his name at the brand, I felt like it was only appropriate to capture his likeness as the primary branding mark. I created custom text for the accompanying brand name which gave way to a secondary mark resembling a burger. As for the rest of the branding, I wanted it to feel approachable, nostalgic & familiar so I chose a straightforward color palette of burger-esc colors and a second non-custom font that helped achieve a retro feel that hearkens back to tradition of serving up great burgers!
A personal drawing challenge I gave myself to keep me drawing everyday through the busy holiday month of December. I decided to make a diverse list of 31 of my favorite iconic holiday movie characters from which I would pick one from each day spinning a wheel to keep it a surprise.
I not only did this to keep myself drawing, but as purposeful practice - to challenge myself with the exercise of achieving a likeness or capturing these iconic essences quickly - I kept all of these drawings to under an hour.
I’m really happy with the results. It was a challenge but I’m seeing the benefits too which is an added benefit! Hope you enjoy these as much as I do - already thinking about next year!
An individual commission to honor the memory of the client’s beloved dog, Loki who had sadly crossed over the rainbow bridge.
They’d imagined their furry friend terrorizing the clouds in a large, rusty, red truck with spikes affixed to the tires. I had fun imagining crashed pearly gates, filling his wrecked path with rubbish and some of his favorite toys and discarding a few of the truck’s emblems to go from “Dodge” to “Dog.”
- All dogs go to Heaven, but none raised Hell like Loki.
A hypothetical rebrand of an Ohio local legend - Abruzzi’s Peppers. Their Hot Peppers in Oil hit the scene in the 1960’s catching the attention of numerous Hollywood stars- so it felt fitting to re-imagine their brand in a way that was reminiscent of the 60’s & 70’s but also classic and enticing like the peppers inside. This new take pays homage to Abruzzi’s historic past - maintaining the inclusion of a trumpet - a nod to their founder Guerino "Greenie" Abruzzi an accomplished trumpet player and restaurateur. Though this design is rooted in Abruzzi’s history - it was done with the intention to serve up this timeless flavor to a new generation.
Located in the neighborhood of Ohio City in Cleveland, Ohio, Hansa Brewery is brewing award-winning German biers and serving them up alongside authentic Eastern European cuisine. This along with their adjacent Import Haus that has stood as a staple of the community continue to make Eastern European immigrants in the area feel at home.
When I was asked to design the label for their Crowlers, the cans that would allow guests to take these biers home… I wanted to honor Hansa’s history & place in the community. To do this, I chose to base it on their memorable iron gate that welcomes new visitors and the regulars that enter for a taste of home.
A personal project inspired by our cozy little Cleveland home.
For Hansa brewery’s first bottle release, they went big! Collaborating with Cleveland Whiskey, they aged their Belgian-Style Quintuple Ale on Cleveland Whiskey’s barrels for 6 months! In the end, this 15% ale was ready to make for a Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!