Experience / Brand Narration / Illustration

At the center of the all is Steve Prefontaine Hall, which has been Nike’s Museum, hosting a revolving exhibit series to educate and inspire visitors and employees since the early days. Pre Hall (as it is commonly called) and the rest of buildings of Nike’s Legacy Campus are named after legends of sport who are foundational to the Nike story. A series of museum cases presides in the lobbies of these buildings, which up until now directed people to whatever attraction was on display at Pre Hall. A decision was made to create a permanent installation that would celebrate the athlete of which the building was named and elevate the space.

This was my commission. Create a story and visual language that captivated the viewer. It needed to be artful and timeless enough to justify it’s place, while offering education or delight or inspiration to someone just discovering an athlete’s greatness and diehard fans alike.

Identity, Branding & Publication Design

I was brought on to infuse dynamism to the layout of the Rejuvenation catalog and enhance the retail experience. You could feel the excitement building in the employees with every new project. The brand had a new confidence. After a year and a half, Rejuvenation was purchased by Williams-Sonoma, concluding my involvement on a high note.

In 2015 Mark Parker tapped a small exec team to identify and coordinate the commissioning of artists for permanent installation at the new buildings coming online for Nike’s WHQ Campus Expansion. In support of the executive team, my role on "The Mark Parker Art Project" was to research, identify and build profiles for potential artists, as well as creating decks to aide in briefing and interviewing. Beyond that there was a thick interactive deck that compiled all of our findings for Mark Parker. The juggernaut of a deck was designed to be easily navigated for quick hits, deep dives or moving on.

This was one of those unique projects that exists in a category all of it’s own. As a designer and artist, I can’t overstate the impact that it had on my process and ability to envision the future in greater detail, and in new ways . We were having multiple, sometimes hours-long conversations with some of the most relevant contemporary artists today.

Therein, giving me access to their processes and how they would approach visualizing the Nike brand. I am only showing images that are publicly visible. There are many more coming as buildings come online and many that are only intended for rarified audiences/will probably never be shown publicly.

4 BUILDINGS / 13 LOCATIONS / 45 “FINALIST” ARTISTS (initially identified about 90)

DISCLAIMER: I, in no way shape or form, designed or produced the art in this post.

Creative Direction, Identity, Environmental Design, Lifestyle 

Crossbar is a vintage-hockey themed restaurant and bar in the heart of downtown Anchorage, Alaska. Co-founder, Brock Lindow first described it to me this way, ”It’s a place where you’ll dress to the nines – take your lady out for dinner, then stick around to watch the Stanley Cup Finals."

Crossbar is a time machine. It reconnects with warm memories and dreams of future victories, while inviting you into the moment that’s happening right now. The plates are familiar but unexpected – curated but not stuffy. It’s a place that celebrates heritage and the love of hockey. 

Initial discovery and thematic explorations drove the project, framed the needs and defined the language of the creative conversation. More so, the themes seemed to put themselves into archetypical buckets: Hero, Fight, Win, Team, Plan and Rink (Home).

In hockey, the crossbar is the top horizontal bar of the goal (the red metal frame that holds the net). It’s literally the line that separates victory from defeat. The Crossbar identity system centers around the same thin red line.

Identity, UX, Collateral, Design

This logo for Western Arts Alliance is simply paper shaped to set a stage for light and shadow to preform. This minimal brand concept was extremely difficult to print. The die needed to be made and remade and remade until it was right. The rest of the stationary set was no less rigorous. Translating the tactile experience into language, print and digital applications grew from the same ideas of light and shadow. 

Defined Visual Style and UX narrative for Portal Experience.

I can't remember when these doodles become studies–I feel like they have always been there. At some point I realized that they had similarities to one another–overlapping or interconnected lines spiral around or across each other creating forms that infer spacial relationship, rhythm or motion. Over time they have become like letters of an alphabet or characters in a story that I will write through out my life time. 

They represent... the feeling in the moment they are created. When stick is to paper I paradoxically jump back and forth between an intense knowing and an openness to discovery. 

This is a overview compilation of typefaces and fonts I have designed, executed and/or retooled. My first major proprietary font project was designing Nike’s Victory Font Family for Plazm Fonts. It was an amazing learning experience and catalyst for type projects that followed. Each project teaches a new lesson and builds intuition. At some point I realized that designing type had changed how I approach design, layout, UX, experience or any visual language. 

Art Direction, Environmental Design 

I lead a design team exploring new and unexpected ways to elevate the day-to-day experience in the interior common spaces inside of Nike's brand vernacular. 

AGENCY/STUDIO: Liquid Agency

I can't remember when these doodles become studies–I feel like they have always been there. At some point I realized that they had similarities to one another–overlapping or interconnected lines spiral around or across each other creating forms that infer spacial relationship, rhythm or motion. Over time they have become like letters of an alphabet or characters in a story that I will write through out my life time. 

They represent... the feeling in the moment they are created. When stick is to paper I paradoxically jump back and forth between an intense knowing and an openness to discovery. 

...I found myself at home in the living room watching action movies and teaching myself how to write colonial script, which at one point meant methodically tracing the United States Constitution.

I am very interested... almost obsessed with light and shadow. Their equal and opposing qualities are analogies for all types of visual communication. They are romantic and enigmatic and disappear before I can fully take them in. 

Art Direction, Design, Identity, Branding, UX

What will the future look like?

Revelar is the world’s first device that uses breath to detect and measure free radical damage. Each test delivers a score to help patients and practintioners determine a course of action to lower their risk of free radical damage and live longer, healthier lives.

At first Revelar sounds like science fiction but it isn't. I had the opportunity to define/direct core design intent, engage with scientists to create a measurement system to communicate test results, and unravel/rethink a complex portal structure with medical/legal needs and implications for a better experience.

Art Direction & Graphic Systems

A group of fine artists would use the Jive platform to collaborate. What they make would be used as the brand elements. 

I was asked to conceive a set of constraints and brief for the artists, as well as a design framework that would ensure the success of the campaign no matter what they came up with. Working with talented designers, we realized our goal.

Creative Direction & Design