Herman Miller Threads – Portrait Illustrations

Client Project

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Herman Miller Threads – Portrait Illustrations
At the heart of the furniture manufacturer's legacy lies its iconic pieces and the visionary designers behind them, such as Alexander Girard, and Ray and Charles Eames. "Threads" is a presentation and conversation lead by former graphic designer Steve Frykholm and writer Clark Malcolm. They weave Herman Miller's rich history of design innovation, its embrace of new ideas and talents through captivating narratives that shaped Herman Miller's 111-year journey. Because of my illustrative portrait line style, I was commissioned to create illustrations tailored to complement the theme of "threads."

Because of my former work in simple line portraits and having already completed a portrait of Steve, I was approached to create a portrait of Clark. These portraits were seamlessly woven into promotional and presentation materials, tailored to complement the theme of "Threads."

 

  • Herman Miller (MillerKnoll)
    Furniture Design & Manufacturing

  • + Portrait Illustration
    + Sketching & Ideation

  • MKN Design Team:
    + Michael Nÿkamp, Illustrator

    Herman Miller Stakeholders:
    + Mark Beard, Art Director
    + Kathy Keating, Senior Manager, Brand Design Operations

  • My portrait series, formally called Facebook Friends started as a self initiated project illustrating my friends on Facebook. This endeavor evolved into illustrating portraits of speakers for CanUX Conference, and numerous portraits for friends and clients.An article titled "Face Behind the Faces" was written about me and the portrait series.

Rethinking Math Workbooks

Creative Musing

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Rethinking Math Workbooks
During my childhood, I despised math and often wondered if it was due to how it was taught and presented. Perhaps it was, perhaps not. Even now, I feel my kids math workbooks are unapproachable. So, I thought create a cover series for simple math workbooks – taking my youngest sons math workbook, I stripped it down to its bare essentials, and gave it a complete rebranding. The typeface I used for this design is DIN Condensed Variable, designed by Isabella Chaeva and Tagir Safayev from Paratype.

 

Illustration Society

Article

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Illustration Society
I contributed several limited edition screen prints from the Citizen Project, specifically the poster Thirteen Stripes, Fifty Stars, to the Illustration Society, Silent Auction (organized by Kendall College of Art and Design). The proceeds will support Kendall’s illustration program and Helen DeVos Children's Hospital.

 

  • Thirteen Stripes, Fifty Stars are limited edition screen prints, they are available for purchase in my shop.

  • Read an article about the Citizen Project by Emily Pots from Against The Grain.

Merchandise Mart – Architectural Illustration

Client Project

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Merchandise Mart – Architectural Illustration
I was approached by The Integer Group to license the minimalist Merchandise Mart illustration I created several years prior. The iconic illustration was used for promotional and invitation materials for the grand opening of Pella Windows' new store front, Pella Crafted Luxury in Chicago, Illinois.

 

  • Pella via The Interger Group
    Architectural Products & Luxury Home Furnishings

  • + Architectural Illustration
    + Sketching & Ideation

  • MKN Design Team:
    + Michael Nÿkamp, Illustrator

    Stakeholder:
    + Lisa Braden, Art Director
    + Jeanette Eckhardt, Director of Content Production

MCM Numbers

Creative Musing

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MCM Numbers
Illustration of simple concentric MCM numbers. The numbers are a custom typeface designed for this exercise.

 

Putting Your Brand To Use

Article

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Putting Your Brand To Use
Lucy Engleman and I spoke at the Kendall College of Art and Design Career Symposium on building your brand as a freelancer. This event was  held at Fountain Street Church. The talk focused on the importance of building a brand (or ego), either as an freelancer or in search of full-time employment.


Presentation Key Takeaways
• Looking at the current freelance landscape⁠—market, location, competition, potential clients.
• Professional practices presenting yourself via social media and a personal website.
• The importance in expressing your personality, identity, style.
• Professionally curating yourself via social media, personal website, networking and joining organizations.

 

Woosah & The Illustration League Workshop

Article

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Woosah & The Illustration League Workshop
A small group of ambitious individuals attended our lino-cut print workshop yesterday at Woosah Outfitters⁠—lots of good discussion and great prints. Thank you to Woosah's, Erica Lang for helping put this event on with TIL and her time with educating us on lino cutting and printing. A special thanks to Molly Singleterry of Spectacle Design Studio for coming and taking photos of the event. Also, thanks to Central Michigan Paper for providing us paper.

House Industries Studio

Article

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House Industries Studio
I had a great Creative Mornings event this morning with David Dodde on work ethic. He is a self-taught, award winning artist, designer, and print maker and his body of work is meticulous beautiful. Love his silkscreen Home Sweet Home doormat he created for his studio.

 

  • Learn more about David Dodde via his website.

Unify

Creative Musing

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Unify
Created these after hearing the constant barrage from media outlets on talk about tensions between minorities and police, republican vs. democrat this past year. Unify is a verb, meaning to make or become united. In the image on the right the letterforms are a custom typeface designed specifically to for this mark, Try to locate the 'F' and a representation of the US flag.

 

Good To The Bone

Client Project

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Good to the Bone
Invited by AIGA, West Michigan to design a fun graphic for Design For Good participants. I came up with this quirky illustration, Good to the Bone. The Design For Good is a three-day event for dedicated to helping non-profits in creating design assets that align with their business and mission.

 

  • AIGA, Grand Rapids
    Professional Design Organization

  • + Concept Development
    + Illustration
    + Sketching & Ideation

  • MKN Design Team:
    + Michael Nÿkamp, Design Director

    Stakeholder:
    + AIGA, Design for Good

Steelcase – Showroom Illustrations

Client Project

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Steelcase – Showroom Illustrations
We produced a series of 23 environment illustrations for Steelcase’s showroom in Los Angeles. Each illustration originated from an interior scene within the showroom and was divided into three distinct layers to emphasize its significance within the space. These layers were comprised of the primary products rendered in full color, the background environment delineated with gray lines, and the showroom's architectural framework presented in gray.

 

  • Steelcase via Jody Williams Design
    Furniture Design & Manufacturing

  • + Technical Illustration

  • MKN Design Team:
    + Michael Nÿkamp, Illustrator

    Stakeholder:
    + Jody Williams, Art Director

Case Study No.8 – Architectural Illustration

Client Project

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Case Study No.8 – Architectural Illustration
Thesis is a small and experianced design agency nestled in St. Joseph, Michigan, their process is embodied in their name and distinctive approach. Thesis approached me with a request to acquire a license for the Eames House illustration I had created several years ago.

Thesis utilized the Eames House illustration I created by having it letterpressed and using it as a gift for their clients.

 

  • Thesis
    Branding Agency

  • + Architectural Illustration
    + Sketching & Ideation
    + Qualitative Research

  • MKN Design Team:
    + Michael Nÿkamp, Illustrator

    Thesis Stakeholders:
    + Brian Edlefson, Founding Principal & Creative Director
    + Mark Cook, Founding Principal, Strategist

  • Explore additional illustrations from my collection of Mid Century Modern homes.