Refugees Path to Self-Reliance

This was about programs helping refugees get work. For Tuft's Fletcher magazine. Art direction by Laura McFadden.

Roughs needed to communicate refugee and work/path forward.

 Narrowed down to these.

I thought Laura was smart to pick this one.

Now to figure out color and composition.

Tried to make the group Somalian in the tight drawing.

Rose Wagner Poster

And here's the last poster in the series for Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, which is mostly modern dance.

The exterior of the building recently had this interesting architectual treatment.

Which I knew I'd be able to do something with in the first mockup.

Inside the lobby they have these interesting colored plexiglass sculpture all over.

So twist one into a dancer.

And this big fanlike art in the lobby as well.

Mirrored dancers for the third mockup.

Here's the final without the typography.

Abravanel Hall Poster

Abravanel Hall the third in the series of posters commissioned by BWP Communications for each of the main performing arts venues in SLC.  Brett Palmer was the AD and Summer Milligan the designer.

The venue has a unique triangular shape.

Which I hit on in my first mockup.

The triangle shows up in their logo...

So I did a mockup with that as well.

But the most unique visual aspect of the venue is this huge Chiuly sculpture in the main lobby.

Could twist easily into musical notes.

Eccles Theater Poster

Eccles Theater Poster, second in the SLC Arts poster series art directed by BWP Communications.

First step was to drive down the city and shoot some photo reference.

Theater is brand new and gorgeous interior has starry sky and sandstone like layers.

First mockup. Poster had to have a general broadway theme, but not to specific.

Although Chorus Line was suggested as ok.

Trying to hint at the layered sandstone and starry night ceiling in the third mockup.

Skoll World Forum Oxford England

Bigger project for the 12th Skoll World Forum in Oxford, England. Which is sort of the Davos for social entreprenuers.

Worked with Takayo and Kit at the esteemed Studio Hinrichs in San Francisco on this one. Which was an honor for me because I attended Kit's lecture at ICON.

The title for this year's conference was "Belief" a pretty open concept, but I live for that kind of challenge.

I won't bore you with all the roughs, there were alot, there has to be, since the sketches have to survive through so many levels of executives all the way to the top.

Terrorism 16yrs After 9/11

For Wall Street Journal on how terrorists keep coming back even 16 years after 9/11.

At first the direction was to do something with the shadows of the twin towers and terrorism.

More shadows ideas requested, but it still wasn't working. No problem.

Instead we tried to focus on the point of the story that the terrorists keep on coming back. And the respawning heads was chosen.

I always like to send a tight color sketch first, and good thing, the terrorist deemed too swarthy.

So I toned down the eyeliner, in the line work before painting.

Capitol Theatre poster

I was commissioned by the ad agency BWP Communications to do large posters (4 x 6ft) for each of the main performing arts venues in SLC.  Here's the first one, the Capitol Theatre. Brett Palmer was the AD and Summer Milligan the designer.

Each poster had to be about what the venue showed (opera/ballet, modern dance, broadway or symphony) and respond to each venue's architecture.

So my first step was to go the venue and take some photo reference. This is the main ceiling.

The first mock-up. I usually don't go this far for "sketches" but this needed to be presented to a committee and I needed to give Brett all the help I could since he had to sell it.

Second mock-up, using element of the facade.

I needed to cover the Opera angle in the third mockup.

And the birth of venus beehive on the facade that inspired the womans wig.

Hiking Danger

"Hiking Danger" for the Minneapolis Star Tribune

Apparently most of the danger is about getting lost. Most of the trees look the same.

We narrowed it down to these, and to help the editors I threw in a little color.

The AD on this one, Robert Timmons, requested some additional bleed for the typography. Luckily I had painted some extra background and photoshop made up what I didn't :)

Color Blinded

 Double page spread for By Faith magazine, design and art direction by Tiffany Forester, Metaleap Creative (whom, by the way, just won a SPD medal). For the final I was worried about all the white, but I used spray paint over a gouache flesh base to give it some contrasting texture.

Since the topic of race and religion was sensitive, it required alot of exploration in the concepting phase to get it right.