KitchenAid Packaging

 

Client Project
August 2022

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KitchenAid Packaging
KitchenAid is the leader in home appliance brands. The company was established in 1919 and is headquartered in Saint Joseph, Michigan. Renowned for the innovative and iconic KitchenAid Mixer, now used in most kitchens around the world. The company sells an average of 2.5 million mixers per year.

KitchenAid partnered with MKN Design to define and develop new brand packaging using clean design, illustration and iconography.At the project onset, we gathered research on consumer trends, packaging, design, and illustrative styles. Using this research, we conceptualized packaging ideas and brought them to life in physical form. The result was a collection of innovative packaging concepts that highlighted KitchenAid's unique products, establishing them as a bold leader in kitchen appliances tailored to their consumers.

  • + Packaging Design

  • + Research (competitive, consumer, trend)
    + Concept Development
    + Sketching & Ideation
    + Graphic Design & Layout
    + Iconography
    + Instructional Illustrations
    + Product Illustrations
    + Mockups

  • This project was a joint endeavor involving numerous individuals from both the KitchenAid design team and external independent contractors, such as Heather Tucker and myself.

Twelve Days of Christmas

Client Project
November 2021

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Twelve Days of Christmas
I designed these festive Christmas invitations for my neighbor, featuring the illustration of a partridge in a pear tree by CSA Design. To make it *pop*, I incorporated gold foil. The final invitations were printed by Moo.

  • + Graphic Design

  • + Creative Direction
    + Concept Development
    + Graphic Design & Layout
    + Print Management

Portrait Style Evolution

Client Project + Product
March 2021

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Portrait Style Evolution
These portraits illustrations started as a self-initiated project in 2013 as a stratagem, but also to expanded my skill as an illustrator.


The project began with drawing a few of my Facebook friends and turned into a series of paid client projects for the CanUX Conference, Herman Miller, Fast Company, and IxDA. This personal initiative were simple portrait line studies and evolved to a refined style without compromising its minimalist feel. Portraits from top to bottom: Sam Bleckley, Steve Frykholm, and Hamad Al Zemami.

  • + Portrait Illustration

  • + Style Development
    + Sketching & Ideation
    + Illustration

  • Looking for a custom illustrated portrait of yourself or a group? Reach out via email for further information and details.

Hamad Al Zemami

Client Project
November 2020

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Hamad Al Zemami
I was commissioned to create a portrait of Hamad. The minimalist illustrative style began with simple lines and has since evolved with the addition of bold fills. These portraits are part of a continued series inspired by a self-promotional project I initiated in 2012, named Facebook Friends.

  • + Portrait Illustration

  • + Style Development
    + Sketching & Ideation
    + Illustration

  • Looking for a custom illustrated portrait of yourself or a group? Reach out via email for further information and details.

Sidewalk Serenade

Client Project
August 2020

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Sidewalk Serenade
An invitation I designed for my neighbors, Barbara & George Gordon, who annually host a delightful tradition in our neighborhood. Every summer, they arrange for a small ensemble from the Grand Rapids Orchestra to serenade us in their front yard. The cards I created featured a touch of elegance with flashes of gold foil, adding a touch of bling, bling to the invitation.

  • + Graphic Design

  • + Creative Direction
    + Graphic Design
    + Print Management

ITHAKA S+R

Client Project
April 2020

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ITHAKA S+R
Dedicated to supporting higher education's digital transformation, ITHAKA S+R is a nonprofit conducting research, offering strategic guidance, and providing consulting services. Working closely with ITHAKA S+R, I revamped and modernized their existing design system, creating a beautiful and distinctive visual identity.


ITHAKA S+R enlisted me to modernize their design for reports, presentations, and infographics, emphasizing enhancements in design, color, and typography within a clear and comprehensive design system. The project had strict requirements, including adherence to brand guidelines, consideration of color blindness and visual impairments, and the need for distinct visual cues for various document types. Additionally, staff needed the capability to create or update all redesigned materials. After research, it was determined that Google Workspace (Docs, Slides, and Sheets) would be the optimal solution for creating these materials. The result was a unified design system that stayed true to ITHAKA S+R’s brand guidelines while providing a distinct visual identity for educational research materials and presentations.

  • + Design System

  • + Creative Direction
    + Project Management
    + Qualitative Research
    + Concept Development
    + Graphic Design & Layout
    + Presentation Design
    + Infographics
    + Illustration

KitchenAid Coffee Drip

Client Project
June 2019

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KitchenAid Coffee Drip
Created a range of ideation sketches and technical illustrations for KitchenAid’s latest coffee maker, focusing on highlighting the distinctive Spiral Head feature. This feature ensures an even saturation of water on coffee grounds, extracting the best flavor and taste. The project underwent several phases of exploration, including discovery, concept sketching, and ideation. I incorporated different perspectives to determine the most effective approach for showcasing the even saturation concept. This culminated in a straightforward line drawing with subtle coloring and a phantom-style technical illustration.

Services
• Research
• Concept Development
• Sketching & Ideation
• Illustrative Storytelling
• Product Illustration

Ancestry DNA

Client Project
April 2019

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Ancestry DNA
Led a complex and comprehensive initiative to shape and establish a visual language for Ancestry DNA products. This endeavor was achieved using an agile methodology that navigated through stages of empathy, user interviews, research, illustrative exploration with incorporating a diverse human-centered photography. The completed illustrative design system style was conceptual, simplistic and underlaid with diverse human centered photography. The image college shown is a representation of a 8-month coalesce of project artifacts.

  • + Visual Identity System Design

  • + Concept Development
    + Illustrative Direction
    + Qualitative & Quantitative Research
    + Sketching & Ideation
    + Graphic Design
    + Illustration
    + Iconography Language

  • The image college shown is a representation of a 6-month coalesce of project artifacts.

Sleepy Cat

Creative Musing
January 2019

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Sleepy Cat
My goal for this small illustration and animation was to depict a simple sleeping cat while maintaining its circular shape. During the sketching and ideation phase, I created numerous variations to ensure the effectiveness of how the animation behaved.

 

Patagonia, Eat Local

Client Project
January 2019

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Patagonia
Patagonia commissioned me to create serveral illustrations based on their prompt, "Eat Local." I developed a series of concept sketches, meetings, and numerous iterations, ultimately delivering eight concepts aligned with their prompt of eating locally. Among these, the illustration titled "Eat Local, Watering Can" was selected to be featured on a tee.

  • Illustration

  • + Concept Development
    + Sketching & Ideation
    + Illustration

Spectrum Health

Client Project
December 2017

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Spectrum Health
I worked alongside a team of engineers and developers to design and develop functional prototype application for Spectrum Health. The application catered to both new and returning patients of Spectrum Health facilities, offering features such as iPad-based check-in for hospital and doctor appointments, seamless access to medical records, and entertainment options. This endeavor required a strategic approach, including the use of personas, iterative wire-framing, and meticulous design iterations to craft a compelling and user-centric digital journey for patients.

  • + Customer Journey Storytelling
    + UX/UI Design

  • + Design Direction
    + Qualitative & Quantitative Research
    + Concept Development
    + Sketching & Ideation
    + Illustrative Storytelling
    + User Experience

  • This project was developed in collaboration with Mutually Human.

Fultonwood Type Foundry

Client Project + Product
September 2017

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Fultonwood Type Foundry
Collaborated closely with Fultonwood Type Foundry to create an illustration highlighting their design process and homage to traditional typeface tools, echoing the stylistic elements of typefaces they craft.

  • + Poster Illustration & Design

  • + Illustration
    + Graphic Design

  • This poster is available for purchase in my shop.

  • The posters is paired with the typeface Bronkema designed by Zac Freeland from Fultonwood Type Foundry.