THE WHAT

I long loved many of the cool designs seen in modern fashion design, with one caveat: I hated how many graphics used in clothing are blatant advertisements for their own brand that transform the wearer into walking billboards. One day, I decided to change this. I wanted to offer my own brand that provided really cool clothing that is free from advertisements and allows the wearer to take back control in the messages their clothing is sending. So I made CTRL

CTRL is a contemporary brand that offers contemporary designs for a limited time. Once they are gone, they are gone forever. The clothing will avoid use of it’s own branding as clothing graphics, but it’s brand will represent the style of work you can expect on the clothing.

CTRL is not currently selling products while I look for a new printing solution. This page will be updated once I do.

THE WHY

The Control key on your keyboard (Typically abbreviated “CTRL”) has an internationally reconized icon which I adapted for the branding icon. This not only represents the control key from which I take the name of the brand, but also visually represent’s the captain’s wheel from a sailing ship. This is to symbolize the control over the fashion journey I am providing my customers. I then used a bold typeface to match the icon and to represent the visual impact the clothing brand will have.

The What:

I have long been concerned with Facebook’s constantly expanding attempts to force it’s prying eyes into our every day lives, and I am not alone in my fears. I have minimized my use of the platform, and limited it’s technological reach through a variety of privacy applications and by restricting what their apps can do on my phone. With the recent controversy surrounding Cambridge Analytica I decided now was the best time to bring attention to the long-standing privacy issues regarding Facebook.

The Why:

The posters are designed to mimic Facebook’s branding using their brand fonts and colors. However, as the reader moves down the poster (and further down the rabbit hole) they encounter a pattern that relates visually to the topic. The posters all conclude with a call to action and rallying cry: #DeleteFacebook. They also feature sources when appropriate to respond to anyone saying “There is no way they really do that, right?”

The What:

I was tasked by Student Life with creating a series of posters advertising student leadership positions to be hung throughout the campus and residence halls. One poster would be for the Peer Leader position, another for the RA position, and one advertising both positions.

The How:

I first chose some colors that would stick out like a sore thumb, using green to match the RA uniforms, a yellow-gold for the Peer Leader uniforms, and Blue as a tie-in to the new Northern Vermont University branding colors. I then angled the grid I was placing my content on to break away from design common trends of other posters seen around campus. Finally, I added a light honeycomb pattern to reflect our past branding identity.

The What:

The Lyndon Leadership Conference is a annual conference hosted at Lyndon State College aimed primarily at providing topical workshops and networking opportunities for student leaders across the region. Often pulling in student leaders from college campuses many hours away, the conference is a great opportunity to talk shop with other leaders in similar roles working at other institutions.

As a student leader, I attended the conference three years in a row and lead multiple workshops in two of those years. When approached by to create a logo for the program, I felt it was a perfect opportunity to give back to an event I loved so much.

Initially, there was very minimal direction given by the client, save for a request for a variety of options for a simple logo, possibly one that represented that year’s theme for the event: “Voices of Leadership: Defining Your Story”.

However, as the project went forward, the focus shifted away from the theme in favor of celebrating the 10th anniversary of the conference.

The Why:

The final logo combines modern themes with a timeless touch, all the while linking back to the institution it is representing. This is achieved by using a bold clean sans-serif typeface – NEXT ART – as it’s primary logotype, which is in keeping with much of contemporary design trends. It is then placed inside a large heavy box to only further express the boldness. To contrast the bold and modern logo type, the slab-serif version of Roboto was used to stress the age and prestige of the event while still having enough modern sensibilities to appear coherent next to the main logo type. A pine green color was chosen to give a nod to the college brand without directly linking it to it by using the exact same green.

The logo was produced in two versions – one horizontal and the other vertical – for the varied applications the logo would appear in.

The What:

Vault 9 was a series of documents published by WikiLeaks detailing the CIA’s cyber warfare and intelligence gathering ability, including the ability to compromise some cars, internet browsers, smartphones and other smart devices. Shortly after the leak, I decided to make the first page of a magazine article about the leak.

As part of this, I wanted to make a design that was not part of the clean and crisp design style I was using so frequently and instead do something gritty. Because of this, I figured this project would be a perfect time to do just that.

The How:

The main graphics – the cityscape, the surveillance camera walkers, and the sky – I made to push the concept of a dark and gritty future surveillance state in which complacency has allowed our freedoms to be taken from us. I then used the title – The Secrets Of Vault 9 – to separate the bulk of the graphics from the beginning of the article. I used a torn paper effect and the partially obscured text to further emphasize the idea of secrets being revealed.

The what:

Ever since the game Mirror’s Edge came out in 2008, I was a fan of the simple visual aesthetic using bold colors, along with the fast paced parkour focused gameplay. Furthermore, I have always loved the Swiss design style (otherwise known as the International Typographic Style) for many of the same artistic reasons. It makes sense that the game shares many of the same visual styles that were used in Swiss design, as the developer DICE is based in Sweden. It also made sense that I would make a promotional poster in homage to the game I loved so much when a new game in the franchise, Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst was announced.

The Why:

I used many of the principles I saw to be effective from famous poster designs I saw came out of the Swiss design movement to mimic the style, using simple text aligned to an angled grid and bright colors that would pop on print. Also, I used copies of the main image to imply movement that is so key to the gameplay.