In the winter of 2012 I dreamed a story of a girl who is kidnapped, then rescued by some hero whom she rewards with a stocking full of Gold. As a result of the gift the hero is implicated in a crime far worse than the one he prevents. I committed to telling this story in comic book format.

What did you learn from this project?

“Ella” led me down a path of inquiry that has proven highly valuable to my personal and professional growth as a writer. Realizing the complexities of telling a compelling story with the necessary dramatic elements, I have taken coursework in drama and screenwriting since the beginning of this work, with the intention of manifesting “Ella” and other stories with full clarity. I’m aware of the potential for sequential art works to be adapted to film, and this has become a long term goal which I am actively pursuing.

The only way to really complete work like this is through organization and scheduling and that is also a skill that I have developed through the process of writing, character design, pencil work, digital inking, and layout.

You’re welcome to view the book by following these links:

Part 1.
Part 2.

Goodshop is an online shopping portal that offers discounts to it’s members, donating a portion of proceeds to non-profit organizations that do good. In 2015 I worked with The Media Grind agency and Goodshop by designing the visual guidelines for their Goodshop Sunday promotion.

My work included repurposing the shopping bag element in the logo, and developing the typographic styling for a series of social media posts, as well as the visual system specifying consistent color and placement of the elements.

It’s very important to provide appealing graphics when circulating what amounts to an advertisement in a social media feed. There is a delicate relationship of trust between an organization and it’s followers–and it’s vital that the messages be simple, readable, and aesthetically pleasing.

What challenges were overcome with this project?

It isn’t uncommon to be tasked with a brand project, without access to any of the original creative assets, making a “repurposing” job more challenging than it sounds. That was the case here. So, using a low resolution version of the logo that was available on the website, I drew an exact replica of the shopping bag icon in vector using Adobe Illustrator. This task requires a sensitivity to line weight, the subtlety of the curve, and a working understanding of the tools involved.

The other main challenge was a typographic one. There is often a danger of committing to “logo slap” where a careless practitioner “slaps” the logo on everything, adding no value but negative in the form of redundancy. Finding such slappy redundancy to be creatively loathsome, I took care to develop a type treatment that is unique, readable, and pleasing; taking advantage of recognizeability while presenting a fresh message in the same glance.