OverviewDesigner toys have become a hit with people who do not want a normal toy experience for themselves or their children. Many of these designer toys rely on abstract shapes or distorted proportions to catch the intrigue of the prospec-tive buyer. The goal of the Totemi series is to hark back to a more primal time in human history— A time when nomadic peoples of the world carried charms (or totems) with them to promote luck or a certain aspect of the meaning of the to-tem itself. The first series of Totemi are “The Rabbits”, three tiny members of the Leporidae family that represent the ideas of Knowledge, Curiosity and Serenity. ChallengeIn a sea of other designer toys, the Totemi needed to contain the unique feel of my personal style, while still remaining a viable product. The first series of Totemi figures also set the standard for the design of the toy and packaging elements for the series to follow. The challenge set before me was to create something that would have enough impact to continue the interest in all subsequent endeavors. DevelopmentIdeally these figures would be produced in a light, hollow plastic, however, these prototypes were cast in resin due to budget constraints. Rabbits were chosen as the subject matter for the introductory series because of their near universal appeal to the customers who purchase this type of toy. A lot of research into rabbit/hare symbolism went in to this project. I read scads of Native American trickster tales, Japanese stories about the rabbit on the moon, and quite a few in-terpretations of the sign of the Hare in the Chinese Zodiac. Their small size lends wonderfully to the idea of a blind-box to hide the identity of the toy within until opened by the consumer. The whole idea of a totem seems bound up in Fate, and what better way to enhance that connection than with a blind-box as the pack-age?

SIZE IN PERSPECTIVE TO A QUARTER VEIW

Designed byFind out more at HelloCreatures.com

OverviewEvery designer worth their salt must create a font at some point, weather it be for business or pleasure. This one was created for pleasure.ChallengeThe challenge of this project was simply to create a downloadable 27-character font for the pure enjoyment of creating one. And then use it in a promotional poster… also for the fun of it. DevelopmentJavaboks is one of those things that is simultaneously a joy and a pain. The pain lies in rendering each pixel square within the glyphs with a set of (mostly) strict mathematical rules of counting and alternating filled and non-filled spaces… which were made up by my own sadistic brain just to give myself a nasty design conundrum. Yet, the forms of the glyphs speak of a kind of non-rigidity that is a contrast to the rules which created them— a joyous freedom through following the rules, if you will. For the longest time Javaboks was going to be called “pawn’d” or some other terrible chess or checkers pun due to it’s game-board nature. This was mostly my fault for sitting far too close to the screen for far too long. Upon looking from a distance at that which I had created, I saw how it vibrated, how it seemed to jiggle a bit, as if it had had too much coffee. Not unlike me, empty mug next to my laptop. Java. Boxes? Bokses… Javabokses? JAVABOKS! javaboks.

OverviewYou may have heard of Michelle Obama’s campaign against childhood obesity, and if you haven’t— you have now. “Let’s Move” is a consortium of teachers, nutri-tionalists, parents, school board members and a variety of other people who have a direct impact on the health and wellbeing of children. The idea is to get kids eating healthy and exercise while playing. There are a lot of pamphlets, guides and idea sheets for adults, but there is a certain lack of interesting material for the children themselves. Challenge“Let’s Move” is about kids. But you wouldn’t have gotten that feeling from the collateral included in the original campaign materials. My challenge was to create something kid-friendly and easy to comprehend, starting with a new logo, with a lot more MOVE to it than the original. DevelopmentIt started with a little fat lump of a doodle. It pouted and seemed to say “NO” to everything. No + Lump = Nump. Now, every bored, negative little Nump had to have a contrasting group of doodles, which seem to hum with verve, spritelyness and a “Yes!” attitude— and there were the Yepps, dancing, snacking healthy and loving every second of it. The belly x’s and checks emphasized the “YES” and “NO” attitudes of the characters, and from these marks was born the new logo. A vivacious and moving bit of wordform that twists, turns and leaps like the kids it is meant to draw into the program. The booklet I created would be found directly adjacent to the more adult-centric Let’s Move literature, as well as possibly passed out in elementary and preschool’s start-of-the-year folders.

The Nump and The Yepps

(A short guide to being a healthy kid)

www.letsmove.gov

Numps never exercise

(Not even a little)

The Nump and The Yepps

(A short guide to being a healthy kid)

www.letsmove.gov

These are Yepps

(They know and care about healthy habits)

This is a Nump(It doesn’t know anything about healthy habits)

Don’t be a Nump

(It’s kinda boring)

Brought to you by

www.letsmove.gov

Numps eat nothing but

cookies and cake(Even though it makes thier tummies hurt)

Yepps eat fruits and veggies

at snack time(They like cookies too, but only eat them on special days)

Numps never exercise

(Not even a little)

Yepps get their exercise by

playing(And have lots of fun at the same time)

OverviewChicken House Publishing is known for it’s contemporary fantasy books for kids and young adults. But with this series of reprints, the company uses their unique style to re-imagine the covers of three classic children’s fantasy novels. Peter S. Beagle’s The Last Unicorn, Michael Ende’s The Neverending Story, and Norton Juster’s The Phantom Tollbooth.ChallengeMaking the covers of these classics into something contemporary and appealing to today’s young readers (in this case, girls ages 8 to 15) was the main focus of the project.DevelopmentEach of the books has a fantastic animal as one of the supporting (or main) char-acters. This individual creature-character was chosen as the main focus of the books’ cover illustrations. Handwritten-style typefaces and hand lettering on the original title illustrations give the series a rather playful quality that will attract the desired readers.

OverviewA more artistic, personal endeavor; that combines the my love of low resolution photography, my intense fear of the dark, and my design and typography talents into one creepy story book. ChallengeThe challenge set to before me was to do something that made me uncomfort-able, something off-kilter from my usual bright, happy, and silly fallbacks. Take a very painful subject, dissect it and put it to light in a photography book.DevelopmentEach of the images contained within the book was taken in situations with little to no light by myself as part of a series exploring my irrational fear of the dark. Once I had finished this series, I explored the idea of bookmaking and intense written word descriptions of what my half-asleep brain perceived to be happen-ing in the photographs.

I s t h a t a s a f e h a v e n i n t h e d i s t a n c e ?

S t r u c t u r e s t h a t p r o m i s e l i g h t a n d s a f e t y

m a k e y o u r h e a r t s w e l l w i t h h o p e

A s y o u d r a w c l o s e r

y o u r e a l i z e

t h e l i g h t w a s d e c e p t i v e

a n d i s o n l y a n o t h e r

l i g h t e r s h a d e o f d a r k

D a n g e r w i t h i n

t h e s a f e b a s t i o n

h a s b e e n o v e r r u n .

Bastion

OverviewMagazines and books on Sustainability are often so full of hippy-esque brown re-cycled paper that you don’t know weather to grow your hair out ultra long and sing to your friendly tree neighbors, or to put your lunch in it. Landscape isn’t one of those magazines. It’s a contemporary take on the sustainability-in-design issue that uses modern approaches and stays as far away from the paper bag ma-terial as it can… though there might be the occasional bit of recycled cardboard. But who doesn’t love a little cardboard once in awhile?ChallengeLandscape was created to house the latest ideas on sustainability as they pertain to art, architecture and design. The challenge of the magazine is to keep it con-temporary without being the cliché sort of magazine that it could easily become.DevelopmentLandscape issue one contains three feature stories, five columns and a letter from the editor. Each of the features uses a different typographic system solution that suits the sort of story the feature is. The magazine keeps it’s contemporary vibe without being earthy throughout by using very progressive type solutions and staying away from overuse of textures.

OverviewThe Geek Group is a not-for-profit public laboratory located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They specialize in computer mechanics, physics, electrical experimenta-tion, and all other manner of physical sciences. A very fantastic place built with a passion for everyday people at its heart—the founder has a vision for his com-pany that is absolutely one of a kind, and anyone who has a love for the arts and sciences would do well looking into donating time, money and/or materials to this fantastic group (Shameless Plug). ChallengeThe Geek Group, while an awesome idea, really lives or dies by local support. A campaign for this group would have to be cost-effective and very localized. Not to mention extremely memorable and visible. DevelopmentWith the challenge in mind, I thought about posters. Not the kind that blanket walls, or the kind that you buy in the shrink wrap— but mini posters printed on a heavy stock, with all the surface information about the Geek Group and it’s mission on the back. More like big postcards than actual posters. Science can be very beautiful, and a lot of the Geek Group’s electricity experiments are very dynamic and surprisingly colorful. Combining these elements with some catchy headlines make for some very keep-able freebies that would remind people that the Geek Group exists and needs the support of its community to thrive. They would also make wonderful insert advertisements in the Friday go-do section of the local newspaper.

The Geek Group is a non-profit organization focused on science, technology, engineering, math, and arts education. We take hands-on to a level never before seen anywhere in the world. We are not a school, we are not a museum, and we are not a university, but we incorporate aspects of all of those environments into our being.

We are here to serve our community through all the equipment, labs, and tools we have. The kind of stuff most people only get to see on television. This is a place where you can not only

get up close and see giant robots, lightning machines, lasers and all

other manner of science and research equipment; but you can pick it up,

touch it, use it, explore it and build your own projects.

Members:

Members are our heart and soul. Members of The Geek Group have access to use all of our tools, labs, workshops and other facilities for their own personal inventions, projects and research. Members also have the opportunity to work together on large-scale Group projects. It's a great way to meet new friends, and learn new skills in an area that you may not have even known existed. Membership is free and anyone can apply. Go to www.thegeekgroup.org to fill out a membership application.

Students:

The Geek Group is an incredible resource for students from many other types of more traditional academic environments. We are proud to offer our facilities and demonstrations for public and private school students, Girl/Boy Scouts, community organizations, and especially home schoolers.

Craftsmen and Artisans:

These are the Electricians, Plumbers, Ironworkers, Steamfitters, Custodians, Chefs and the millions of brilliant people doing the difficult jobs that our country relies upon. These are people for whom a traditional higher education wasn’t their path, but they still have something to give thier country.

The Geek Group902 NW Leonard St. Grand Rapids, MI 49504

616-466-GEEK

www.thegeekgroup.org

We do not presently have guaranteed open office hours. However, if you'd like to come over please just give us a call.

The Geek Group gladly accepts donations of science, technology, and arts related equipment. While working equipment is preferred, we are able to make moderate repairs to most donations. Before sending or dropping off a donation, please contact our offices to ensure that we are prepared to receive your contribution in an efficient and timely fashion.

Money is always appreciated, regardless of the ammount.

OverviewBread & Ink is a pretend bookstore/deli that I daydream of owning and run-ning whenever I get particularly fed up with my surroundings. It’s hip, but not exclusive. Classy, but not pretentious. And the food is delicious and cheap. Also, it’s a USED bookstore, which are few and far between these days. Bread & Ink is a place to find true literary treasures and to trade in your busted-spine ro-mance novels. Sandwiches made with the deli’s delicious fresh baked bread are the house favorite and are more wonderful than anything you’ve ever tasted in a bookstore. ChallengeBread & Ink needed an entire outfitting as a business: logo, menu, business card, furniture, and non-enforced employee uniform. DevelopmentBread & Ink will never be a corporate giant, or even a franchise, it is original and one of a kind, and it’s branding needed to reflect such. Business cards that are bookmarks, a menu that keeps with the purposefully coffee-and-tea stained dé-cor. Ink splatters were also chosen as a pervasive design element, it’s in the name. The tortoise and hare motifs play on the duality of the shop, food on one side, dusty used books on the other.

OverviewThis DVD box set was released in 2009 to commemorate 40 years of Sesame Street on public television. It is a collection of the best and most well-loved moments from all 40 seasons. It is very much a nostalgia piece, and I wanted my design to reflect that. Not to say that the original was bad! I bought the set when it came out, and really adore it, so I wanted to try my hand at a re-design. ChallengeDesigning a packaging design that is congruent with the idea of special moments in Sesame Street history, based on the components of the show.DevelopmentJim Henson was known for his ability to give his deceptively simple Muppets very believable emotions— most of this was shown in the face of the Muppet. Each character had it’s own unique appeal, and I wished to showcase this in the pack-age design. Also, Sesame Street is known for its repeating patterns and bright colors, hence the repeating squares and bright colors on the packaging.

Language: English

STANDARD VERSION Presented in a Format Preserving the Aspect 

Ratio of its Original Television Exhibition

Running Time: Approx. 143 Min

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vel nisi. Nullam arcu augue, cursus id commodo vel, dignissim sed nibh. Donec ut ante elit. Aliquam erat volutpat. Duis eros odio, bibendum vel 

lobortis vitae, posuere ac urna. Curabitur nec risus nulla, non feugiat est. Duis in metus in ligula porttitor sodales. Donec ac sem metus. Donec 

dapibus vestibulum ante, ac luctus turpis semper id. Vivamus lobortis pharetra eros, id mollis augue consectetur nec. Aenean ultricies facilisis 

fermentum justo bibendum ut. Proin non urna egestas ligula facilisis consequat. Vestibulum ornare augue id ante 

interdum eleifend. Aliquam semper lorem non nibh blandit porttitor. Curabitur laoreet nunc vel sapien conseqrta.

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elit. Nam semper, eros in imperdiet posuere, felis 

quam fermentum risus, vel adipiscing dui nulla vel 

nisi. Nullam arcu augue, cursus id commodo vel, 

dignissim sed nibh. Donec ut ante elit. Aliquam 

erat volutpat. Duis eros odio, bibendum vel 

lobortis vitae, posuere ac urna. 

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metus in ligula porttitor sodales. Donec ac sem 

metus. Donec dapibus vestibulum ante, ac luctus 

turpis semper id. Vivamus lobortis pharetra eros, 

id mollis augue consectetur nec. 

Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street, puts the proceeds it recieves from sales of its products right back into Sesame Street and its other projects for children at home and around the world.Learn more at www.sesameworkshop.org

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nam semper, eros in imperdiet posuere, felis quam fermentum risus, vel adipiscing dui nulla vel nisi. Nullam arcu augue, cursus id commodo vel, dignissim sed nibh. Donec ut ante elit. Aliquam erat volutpat. Duis eros odio, bibendum vel lobortis vitae, posuere ac urna. Curabitur nec risus nulla, non feugiat est. Duis in metus in ligula porttitor sodales. Donec ac sem metus. Donec dapibus vestibulum ante, ac luctus turpis semper id. Vivamus lobortis pharetra eros, id mollis augue consectetur nec. Aenean ultricies facilisis 

fermentum justo bibendum ut. Proin non urna egestas ligula facilisis consequat. Vestibulum ornare augue id ante interdum eleifend. Aliquam semper lorem non nibh blandit porttitor. Curabitur laoreet nunc vel sapien conseqrta.

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Relive your favorite Sesame Street moments with this one of a kind Sesame Street 

Collection! Everyone remembers the familiar words to the Sesame Street theme song, and 

the even more familiar tune, but how much do you really know about the worldʼs most

famous street? When did Elmo first begin speaking in that world-famous falsetto? Can 

you name the musician that sang Slimey to the Moon? Who is the voice behind Abby Cadabby? Can you guess which clip was 

voted the fan favorite in an online poll?Find the answers 

and much more packed into this special Aniversary DVD set, which includes 

clips from all 40 seasons, interviews with cast and crew, including Jim Henson, as well as amazing behind-the-scenes 

peeks at how Muppet magic is created.

Language: English STANDARD VERSION Presented in a Format Preserving the Aspect Ratio of its Original Television Exhibition

Running Time: Approx. 180 Min

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nam semper, eros in imperdiet posuere, felis quam fermentum risus, vel adipiscing dui nulla vel nisi. Nullam arcu augue, cursus id commodo vel, dignissim sed nibh. Donec ut ante elit. Aliquam erat volutpat. Duis eros odio, bibendum vel lobortis vitae, posuere ac urna. Curabitur nec risus nulla, non feugiat est. Duis in metus in ligula porttitor sodales. Donec ac sem metus. Donec dapibus vestibulum ante, ac luctus turpis semper id. Vivamus lobortis pharetra eros, id mollis augue consectetur nec. Aenean ultricies facilisis 

fermentum justo bibendum ut. Proin non urna egestas ligula facilisis consequat. Vestibulum ornare augue id ante interdum eleifend. Aliquam semper lorem non nibh blandit porttitor. Curabitur laoreet nunc vel sapien conseqrta.

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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nam semper, eros in imperdiet posuere, felis quam fermentum risus, vel adipiscing dui nulla vel nisi. Nullam arcu augue, cursus id commodo vel, dignissim sed nibh. Donec ut ante elit. Aliquam erat volutpat. Duis eros odio, bibendum vel lobortis vitae, posuere ac urna. 

Curabitur nec risus nulla, non feugiat est. Duis in metus in ligula porttitor sodales. Donec ac sem metus. Donec dapibus vestibulum ante, ac luctus turpis semper id. Vivamus lobortis pharetra eros, id mollis augue consectetur nec. 

OverviewThe kakapo is the world’s only flightless parrot. It is also one of the most criti-cally endangered species of parrot on the planet, with only 123 known, living birds left in February of 2010. The main objective of this Campaign is to raise awareness of the Kakapo and it’s critical endangerment. To do this, March Third has been declared Kakapo Awareness Day.ChallengeThe main challenge of Kakapo awareness is to get people interested in being AWARE in the first place. By creating a storyboard for a set of animated com-mercials, to air during the World Rugby Cup AND the NFL Super Bowl, to explain in short terms what a kakapo is, and why we should care. Also in this campaign there is a ‘Google Doodle’ for Google.com to host on March 3, as it does for many other holidays and awareness days. DevelopmentThe kakapo is such a dopey bird, that I was instantly drawn to it. I saw a lot of myself in the slow, almost clumsy ways of this extremely mellow bird. That said, I had to do something terrible to it. Not as terrible as extinction, but just punchy enough to be funny for the viewer. Pick on the bird for a laugh, and then bring home the message that they won’t be around much longer if something isn’t done, and that this would be a shame because the animal is so silly and lovely.

10 sec Blip #1

kakaporecovery.org.nz

[Kakapo makes a cute noise][Voice Over]: This is a Kakapo.

[Kakapo wiggles] [V/O]: Just so you know.

10 sec Blip #2

kakaporecovery.org.nz

Main Commercial

[V/O]: This is a Kakapo. [V/O]: It is the Fattest parrot known to man, [’fat’ appears when this is said]

[V/O]: it doesn’t have much common sense, [common sense drops in]

[V/O]: and is quite clumsy. [clumsy slides in and bumps bird]

[V/O]: Did I mention it can’t fly?

[V/O]: The Kakapo is probably the most useless bird since the dodo.

[V/O]: Remember the dodo? Humans caused its extinction.

[V/O]: Lots of people felt really bad about that in the long run, and.. well....

[V/O]: The kakapo could be next.

kakaporecovery.org.nz

Kakapo peeks in right side of the l, looks surprised and snaps head back to hide again.

Peeks out the left side this time, decides it’s safe...

Steps out from behind the l...

And promptly trips over the edge of the little g. Lands on its back on the edge of the g, bounces to its stomach on the edge of the o, slides down the side of the o, lands on its head on the bottom of the g, bounces to a landing on stomach below Google. Feathers lost at every impact.

Kakapo raises itself up, looking a little dazed as feathers fall all around it, landing on parts of the Google logo.

Kakapo shakes off the dazedness, and continues on its way under the two o’s. When it reaches the G, it readies itself for a hop by wiggling

it’s bum, and rasing it’s useless wings a bit.

Hops, and lands with success. Looks to the crossbar on the G...

Readies for another hop, wiggles again...

Hops, and lands on the incline of the G’s crossbar, scrambles a bit trying to gain its footing and make it to the strait part for better

footing.

Makes it to its pearch and settles in.

End animation.