I was initially hired by the team at Project Zero & Harvard Graduate School of Education to design an Identity System for a new innovation & research center called the Center for Digital Thriving. As a result of showing an innate ability to understand who they are as an organization, my team and I was asked to assist them with Art Direction & Web Development to build out their website to launch the Center.

I was originally asked to design a new logo for the growing chain of restaurants. As the project developed, I was then asked to design a full Identity System that included secondary logos, typography, character illustrations, icon illustrations, signage, merch and other marketing collateral.

After designing a main character for the brand, I was then asked to design a series of characters to be used for the openings of other locations of the restaurant.

Responsibilities included:
• Brand Name Generation / Brand Development
• Logo / Identity Design
• Packaging Design / Art Direction
• Character Illustrations / Packaging Illustrations
• Research & Vendor Sourcing of Containers & Packaging Materials
• Vendor Sourcing for Packaging Labels & Embossed Metallic Stickers & Holographic Hype Stickers

To begin this project, I was selected by Raleigh-based agency Pixbit to design the logo & identity system for the restaurant. In addition to the brand identity, I was then asked to design a mural for their outdoor patio space along with signage, tshirts & other marketing materials

After working alongside the co-owners on various side projects in 2013, I was asked to create a hand-lettered script logo that characterized the sewing thread that helped start it all for the company. That work led to me creating more pieces to help upscale their Brand Identity (including t-shirts and other marketing collateral) as their consulting Art Director. Later on we partnered with Project Shelter to bring an elevated merch experience and general store for various music festivals around the country such as Hopscotch in Raleigh, Eaux Claires in Wisconsin & the Northwest String Summit in Oregon.

Responsibilities included:
• Brand Discovery
• Logo Design
• Identity System Design
• Brand Guidelines
• Business Card / Newsletter Design
• Merch & Swag Design

In this role, my responsibilities included, but were not limited to:
––The Flying Pepper Vodka (2015)––
• Brand name ideation for the new spirit that would serve as the company's flagship product
• Identity design, brand story development, bottle style selections, designing a fresh & distinctive product label design along with supporting illustrations
• Worked directly with printers to produce print-ready files, made decisions on paper types, coatings & finishes, along with ensuring quality of color in final prints
• Designing marketing materials which included stickers, banners, coasters, hand-printed promotional posters, hang tags & other items
• Designs used for constructing in-store displays used to showcase the products

––Limited Batch Carolina Agricole Rum (2016)––
• Bottle style selection & designing a product label that fit the style of their already established line of aged spirits
• Designing marketing materials such has hang tags and launch event flyers

I was originally approached with this opportunity by the former VP from Larry's Coffee, who I had built a relationship with while working with them years ago. To start out, I was primarily operating as a consultant in helping the business build out their in-house manufactured t-shirt brands (Cotton of the Carolinas & American Soil Organic) under the umbrella of their Where Your Clothing brand that shows radical transparency of the process for making each garment "from dirt to shirt".
• Responsibilities also included illustrations & designing signage for retail displays, along with graphics for t-shirts and logo designs for other t-shirt brands in development

• Initially brought on in a pool of 5 other designers to deliver a set of possible logo directions for a client rebranding their business
• The client expressed how much they loved the directions that I presented and the thoughtfulness that was captured in the concepts and I was hired to be their designer to carry out the concepts in a full Identity build out
• After wrapping up the initial project I was asked to continue working on other graphic design projects designing pitch decks for landing other clients

Proud to have worked here at the only unionized screen printing shop in California, which happened to be my first job while living in the Bay Area. In this job my responsibilities included all facets of the printing process:
• Setting an emulsion & exposing screens to burn the graphic
• Setting up each screen on the press for mult-color prints
• Curing freshly printed ink using industrial drying equipment
• Reclaiming screens using solvent sprays to clean out the emulsion so that each one can be used again

I began working with the independent coffee roaster primarily worked on the production line working with packaging at all levels and operating various types of equipment for roasting coffee beans, filling bags and sealing them to ensure quality standards and meet fast deadlines. As I grew with the company I was able to work along side of the owner & VP to help them with various marketing efforts and assisted with introducing new product lines to the marketplace.

• Many of my first experiences as a graphic designer started with designing album art, show flyers, logos & various merch for local hip hop groups Kooley High, Inflowential & other affiliated artists in the foudation of their record label M.E.C.C.A. (Middle East Coast Carolina Always)
• In addition to creating artwork for album covers and other marketing materials, my responsibilities also included coordinating with printers; designing one sheets to send out to universities, radio stations, DJs & promotors; seeking out outlets for distribution to get their music in the marketplace; and organizing photo shoots

• Built strong relationships with customers who would frequently come back to talk with me as a trusted source for recommendations on new music or films to check out.
• Recognized as Employee of the Quarter (2007)
• Responsible for keeping all media well stocked and organized.
• Set up special ordering with district office representatives to ensure local independent artists would have opportunities to sell their albums in our store
• Implemented marketing campaigns by ensuring all signage was properly changed and up-to-date for each new release for all music, DVDs & gaming systems
• Set merchandising planograms & end cap displays that increased sales by placing special attention on particular products

Learning basic web design & web hosting skills using Adobe Dreamweaver